Russian warships will arrive in Havana next week, say Cuban officials citing ‘friendly relations

[u/Urmomsjuicyvagina]

https://wsvn.com/news/us-world/russian-warships-will-arrive-in-havana-next-week-say-cuban-officials-citing-friendly-relations/?utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter_wsvn

[u/mtntrail]

Having actually lived through that as a teenager and watched the Russian ships on tv, How he did it was not as important at the time, as seeing him stand up to Khrushchev and having the Russian ships turn back. We thought the world was going nuclear at any moment and it was an unbelievable relief to see the situation resolved without fireworks. Knowing in hindsight that there was a lot of negotiation and the Turkey compromise, the reference to a “playbook” was not literal except in the sense that he prevented an escalation into WWlll.

[u/mehvet → u/mtntrail]

The missiles in Turkey weren’t strategically vital either. Russia having missiles in Cuba would’ve been a far bigger deal. Especially since Castro may eventually have gained direct control over them. Even with the full accounting of history it was a huge win for Kennedy and the US.

[u/mtntrail → u/mehvet]

The perspective that I had, as well as most ppl in the US at the time, was that Kennedy headed off what could have been nuclear disaster for the world. At the time he was highly regarded by many and his assassination was an emotional blow to this country that was absolutely devastating.

[u/mehvet → u/mtntrail]

That’s a view that holds true. Just because the US made concessions doesn’t mean it wasn’t a major diplomatic and geopolitical victory. It was a well handled crisis that resulted in a boost in American prestige when it was direly needed. Someone with a hotter head or weaker resolve could’ve easily bungled it and resulted in global disaster.

[u/mtntrail → u/mehvet]

I hate to think of how it would have been handled by some more contemporary “leaders”.