I was pioneering and well remember the somber conviction pervasive among so many JWs that ``this was IT;'' they were bracing for the showdown between the King of the North and King of the South they had been expected ever since the lime-green Your Will Be Done on Earth book was released in 1958.
Cuban Missile Crisis = How did you feel if you were alive at the time?
by AlanB 14 Replies latest social current
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willyloman
Kennedy was extremely arrogant- the USA had dozens of nukes sitting on the Russian border in Turkey and Western Europe but he didn't want any in Cuba- the USA's back yard? Sort of a two faced hypocritical policy don't you think? I thought Kennedy was an idiot then and still do. He sent people into Cuba to be killed and tortured in the Bay of Pigs invasion, refused to acknowledge that it was his plan and let the survivors languish in prision so that he didn't have to tell the world that he sent people in there to be slaughtered in an ill fated attempt to overthrow Castro.
With your demonstratedability to rewrite U.S. History, you could work for Fox news.
Do you honestly think a commander in chief should have declined to act when confronted with missiles based 90 miles from U.S. soil? You'd have argued that, hey, after all, WE have missiles on their side of the world?
Kennedy took decisive and imperative action. Read any of the historical accounts that have surfaced (an early book, Robert Kennedy's "13 Days," is a fascinating first hand report). The Cuban Missile Crisis was a giant political chess game. At one point the Russians changed their minds about a proposed settlement and sent a second, conflicting message. JFK opted to ignore it and promptly accept the terms of the first letter, and peace broke out. In fact, JFK traded those bases in Turkey for the dismantling of missiles in Cuba. It was high diplomacy, carried out with courage and wisdom.
As for Bay of Pigs, any historian knows that was the military's baby, conceived and all but launched prior to JFK's inauguration. He was new on the job and relied on military intelligence (which, clearly, was just as poor then as it's proven to be today). The disaster steeled JFK's resolve not to rely solely on the military for diplomatic counsel in the future, and that's one reason he was able to discount the military's demand to take out Cuba and confront the Russians in October '62, even if it meant WWIII.
It's become popular these days to disparage JFK, but those of us young and alive in those years recall that we had hope and pride then, a belief we could control our destiny and that America was the bright shining light on the hill and the future was ours. No president since has been fit to stand in his shadow.
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Double Edge
With your demonstratedability to rewrite U.S. History, you could work for Fox news.
or CNN for sure.
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Double Edge
It's become popular these days to disparage JFK, but those of us young and alive in those years recall that we had hope and pride then, a belief we could control our destiny and that America was the bright shining light on the hill and the future was ours. No president since has been fit to stand in his shadow.
Agree. If the democrats only had a Kennedy today, they would win over 60% of the vote.... and he was a fiscal conservative.
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blacksheep
"As for Bay of Pigs, any historian knows that was the military's baby, conceived and all but launched prior to JFK's inauguration. He was new on the job and relied on military intelligence (which, clearly, was just as poor then as it's proven to be today). The disaster steeled JFK's resolve not to rely solely on the military for diplomatic counsel in the future, and that's one reason he was able to discount the military's demand to take out Cuba and confront the Russians in October '62, even if it meant WWIII."
Yes, JFK acted upon known intel then, but he surely didn't take the heat that Bush has. I guess they could have said JFK lied, he manipulated the intel to suit his purposes, he disregarded intel counter to what he really wanted to do. No one accused JFK of that 'cause they loved him
"It's become popular these days to disparage JFK, but those of us young and alive in those years recall that we had hope and pride then, a belief we could control our destiny and that America was the bright shining light on the hill and the future was ours. No president since has been fit to stand in his shadow."
Well, I wasn't alive during that time, and I DO recall my parents awe of JFK. He was bigger than life. He provided hope. But remember, he only served in office a short time before his assassination. People whose lives are cut short too early, especially presidential leaders, ALWAYS become bigger than life. And those days were different. His affairs, the coverups for his brother (Chappiquiddik (sp)--another "great member of the Kennedy family, would have destroyed them politcally today. All of those things were carefully covered up back then.
It is always easier to look back on more "idyllyic" days when the world was younger and innocent than to face the reality of today. The world, however, wasn't so innocent back then. People just didn't talk about things.