CUBAN MISSILE CRISIS: DAYS SIX AND SEVEN

THE first that America and the wider world knew of the presence of Soviet missiles on Cuba came when President John F Kennedy made an 18-minute-long address on television.

Some 100 million startled viewers heard him say: “Within the past week, unmistakable evidence has established the fact that a series of offensive missile sites is now in preparation on that imprisoned island. The purpose of these bases can be none other than to provide a nuclear strike capability against the Western Hemisphere.”

The medium-range ballistic missiles were capable of carrying a nuclear warhead more than 1,000 nautical miles. “Each of these missiles, in short, is capable of striking Washington, D.C., the Panama Canal, Cape Canaveral, Mexico City, or any other city in the southeastern part of the United States, in Central America, or in the Caribbean area,” Kennedy said.

Sites that were still being worked on were designed for intermediate range ballistic missiles, which would be capable of striking most of the major cities in the Western Hemisphere.

The missiles added to the “already clear and present danger” that Soviet missiles posed to Americans. Kennedy added.

He announced seven urgent measures, including a strict quarantine of Cuba to halt the Soviets’ offensive build-up and continued surveillance of Cuba. The U.S. would regard any nuclear missile launched from Cuba against any Western Hemisphere nation as a Soviet attack on the U.S., which would retaliate in full on the Soviets.

He called on Soviet premier Khrushchev to halt this “clandestine, reckless and provocative threat to world peace”.

“United States warships are standing off Cuba today to turn away ships carrying offensive weapons to the island,” began the Glasgow Herald’s front page report the following morning. The US was “prepared to sink”Soviet ships if necessary. And a showdown could occur within 24 hours, as some Soviet bloc ships were en route to Cuba.

TOMORROW: Robert Kennedy meets Ambassador Dobrynin at the Soviet Embassy