Kennedy was primarily interested in foreign policy. Weeks after his [[John F. Kennedy's Inaugural Address|memorable inaugural address]] sounded the tocsin for vigorous anti-communism, he encountered disaster when the invasion of Cuba failed at the [[Bay of Pigs]] in 1961, and he was forced to pay ransom of $53 million U.S. dollars in food and medicine in exchange for the 1,113 prisoners and 76 other exiles being held in Cuba.<ref>http://onwar.com/aced/chrono/c1900s/yr60/fcuba1961.htm</ref> Soviet leader [[Nikita Khrushchev]], sensing weakness, pushed hard on the Berlin issue, and was able to build the Berlin Wall in East Berlin, despite Kennedy's later rhetoric, "Ich bin ein Berliner!" ("I am a Berliner!") | Kennedy was primarily interested in foreign policy. Weeks after his [[John F. Kennedy's Inaugural Address|memorable inaugural address]] sounded the tocsin for vigorous anti-communism, he encountered disaster when the invasion of Cuba failed at the [[Bay of Pigs]] in 1961, and he was forced to pay ransom of $53 million U.S. dollars in food and medicine in exchange for the 1,113 prisoners and 76 other exiles being held in Cuba.<ref>http://onwar.com/aced/chrono/c1900s/yr60/fcuba1961.htm</ref> Soviet leader [[Nikita Khrushchev]], sensing weakness, pushed hard on the Berlin issue, and was able to build the Berlin Wall in East Berlin, despite Kennedy's later rhetoric, "Ich bin ein Berliner!" ("I am a Berliner!") |