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The '''Cuban Missile Crisis''' of October 1962 was a critical point in the [[Cold War]]. American spy planes discovered the Soviets had installed missiles with nuclear warheads in [[Cuba]] with enough range and power to destroy much of the southeastern [[United States]]. President [[John F. Kennedy]] was advised to send in the military to take out the missiles, but instead demanded that Soviet leader [[Nikita Khrushchev]] (1894-1971) remove them. A naval blockade around Cuba guaranteed no more missiles would enter. After a few tense days a compromise was reached. The Soviets publicly removed all the missiles, the U.S. promised never to invade Cuba, and (secretly) the U.S. removed similar American missiles that had recently been installed in Turkey, near the Soviet border.  Kennedy's capitulation about [[Turkey]] was concealed from the [[American]] public at the time.

The '''Cuban Missile Crisis''' of October 1962 was a critical point in the [[Cold War]]. American spy planes discovered the Soviets had installed missiles with nuclear warheads in [[Cuba]] with enough range and power to destroy much of the southeastern [[United States]]. President [[John F. Kennedy]] was advised to send in the military to take out the missiles, but instead demanded that Soviet leader [[Nikita Khrushchev]] (1894-1971) remove them. A naval blockade around Cuba guaranteed no more missiles would enter. After a few tense days a compromise was reached. The Soviets publicly removed all the missiles, the U.S. promised never to invade Cuba, and (secretly) the U.S. removed similar American missiles that had recently been installed in Turkey, near the Soviet border.  Kennedy's capitulation about [[Turkey]] was concealed from the [[American]] public at the time.

The declassification and release in the 1980s of secret communications during the Cuban Missile Crisis shows that President Kennedy was willing to "blink" by trading the removal of U.S. missiles from Turkey if the Soviets removed their missiles from Cuba.<ref>http://www2.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/nsa/cuba_mis_cri/annals.htm</ref>  That deal remained a secret from most Americans, however, and contributed to the myth of Kennedy being a strong president who stood up for the United States.

The declassification and release in the 1980s of secret communications during the Cuban Missile Crisis shows that President Kennedy was willing to "blink" by trading the removal of U.S. missiles from Turkey if the Soviets removed their missiles from Cuba.<ref>http://www2.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/nsa/cuba_mis_cri/annals.htm</ref>  This deal was kept a secret from the American public, however, and contributed to the myth of Kennedy being a strong president who stood up for the United States.

The crisis developed because Khrushchev had disdain for Kennedy and felt he was a pushover.  Indeed, it was General Thomas Power who acted with strength without waiting on Kennedy's indecision: "Gen. Thomas Power, then SAC commander, implemented the airborne alert force as a solution."<ref>https://www.afgsc.af.mil/News/Article-Display/Article/454741/sac-during-the-13-days-of-the-cuban-missile-crisis/</ref>  The highest confirmed [[DEFCON]] ever declared -- Level 2 -- made this crisis the closest that the [[U.S.]] and the [[Soviet Union]] ever came to nuclear war. [[Robert F. Kennedy]] is also thought to have been stronger than his brother [[John F. Kennedy]] in tailoring a response.

The crisis developed because Khrushchev had disdain for Kennedy and felt he was a pushover.  Indeed, it was General Thomas Power who acted with strength without waiting on Kennedy's indecision: "Gen. Thomas Power, then SAC commander, implemented the airborne alert force as a solution."<ref>https://www.afgsc.af.mil/News/Article-Display/Article/454741/sac-during-the-13-days-of-the-cuban-missile-crisis/</ref>  The highest confirmed [[DEFCON]] ever declared -- Level 2 -- made this crisis the closest that the [[U.S.]] and the [[Soviet Union]] ever came to nuclear war. [[Robert F. Kennedy]] is also thought to have been stronger than his brother [[John F. Kennedy]] in tailoring a response.