Many of you reading this blog grew up, as did I, during the Cold War era. It was a scary time. When the Cuban Missile Crisis happened, the world was in a stand off for its continued existence. I was a child when the Bay of Pigs debacle happened and then when Nikita Khrushchev capitalized on the moment to move missiles into Cuba. I still remember John F. Kennedy going on TV and saying this: “It shall be the policy of this nation to regard any nuclear missile launched from Cuba against any nation in the Western Hemisphere as an attack by the Soviet Union on the United States, requiring a full retaliatory response upon the Soviet Union.”

The Joint Chiefs of Staff went to DEFCON 3 as U.S. naval forces began implementation of the quarantine and plans accelerated for a military strike on Cuba. Khrushchev’s response was to characterize the “quarantine” as a “blockade” the difference being that the use of the word “quarantine” legally distinguished this action from a blockade, which assumed a state of war existed; the use of “quarantine” instead of “blockade” also enabled the United States to receive the support of the Organization of American States. Khrushchev deliberately used the provocative term, “blockade” and he said that Soviet ships in route to Cuba would proceed. Then the military went to DEFCON 1. These details are from the official government history website of this event.

Nevertheless, during October 24 and 25, some ships turned back from the quarantine line; others were stopped by U.S. naval forces, but they contained no offensive weapons and so were allowed to proceed. Meanwhile, U.S. reconnaissance flights over Cuba indicated the Soviet missile sites were nearing operational readiness. With no apparent end to the crisis in sight, U.S. forces were placed at DEFCON 2—meaning war involving the Strategic Air Command was imminent. On October 26, Kennedy told his advisors it appeared that only a U.S. attack on Cuba would remove the missiles, but he insisted on giving the diplomatic channel a little more time. The crisis had reached a virtual stalemate.

That afternoon, however, the crisis took a dramatic turn. ABC News correspondent John Scali reported to the White House that he had been approached by a Soviet agent suggesting that an agreement could be reached in which the Soviets would remove their missiles from Cuba if the United States promised not to invade the island. While White House staff scrambled to assess the validity of this “back channel” offer, Khrushchev sent Kennedy a message the evening of October 26, which meant it was sent in the middle of the night Moscow time. It was a long, emotional message that raised the specter of nuclear holocaust, and presented a proposed resolution that remarkably resembled what Scali reported earlier that day. “If there is no intention,” he said, “to doom the world to the catastrophe of thermonuclear war, then let us not only relax the forces pulling on the ends of the rope, let us take measures to untie that knot. We are ready for this.”

Although U.S. experts were convinced the message from Khrushchev was authentic, hope for a resolution was short-lived. The next day, October 27, Khrushchev sent another message indicating that any proposed deal must include the removal of U.S. Jupiter missiles from Turkey. That same day a U.S. U–2 reconnaissance jet was shot down over Cuba. Kennedy and his advisors prepared for an attack on Cuba within days as they searched for any remaining diplomatic resolution. It was determined that Kennedy would ignore the second Khrushchev message and respond to the first one. That night, Kennedy set forth in his message to the Soviet leader proposed steps for the removal of Soviet missiles from Cuba under supervision of the United Nations, and a guarantee that the United States would not attack Cuba.

It was a risky move to ignore the second Khrushchev message. Attorney General Robert Kennedy then met secretly with Soviet Ambassador to the United States, Anatoly Dobrynin, and indicated that the United States was planning to remove the Jupiter missiles from Turkey anyway, and that it would do so soon, but this could not be part of any public resolution of the missile crisis. The next morning, October 28, Khrushchev issued a public statement that Soviet missiles would be dismantled and removed from Cuba.

Trump knows nothing of this, our history dealing with dictators and tyrants who have nuclear capability and what standing up to them effectively looks like. While I am ready to spit on Donald Trump at any time of the day or night for any number of reasons, I am particularly ready to spit on him for this idiocy.

Trump may posture for his moronic cultists but he knows nothing of these matters or the severity of nuclear war. It’s not a “millions would have been killed” proposition. Not if there’s a strike and counter strike. It’s game over for the planet. But he’s too stupid to know anything about this subject. To him it’s a talking point.

And there’s more to this idiotic interview if you can stand it.

Trump is a child. And if he seriously had a threat from Kim Jong-Un or Vladimir Putin or any hostile power about nuclear annihilation, he would be running for the bunker in terror. Kim laughs at Trump. Xi laughs at Trump. Putin laughs at Trump. This is him peacocking and pimping for the base. Nothing more.

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5 COMMENTS

  2. Almost ironic that the fool who may have given classified info concerning our nuclear capabilities, etc. thinks he did avert or will avert a nuclear conflict. You gotta wonder if instead of a skull of bone under that shit on top of his head, he has a sieve allowing his brain to seep out. He certainly doesn’t say or do anything which would indicate the slightest bit of useful brain activity. If this is more of his projection, everyone ought to be shitting themselves right now.

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  3. It’s more the other way round. Due to his idiocy in pulling out of the JCPOA pact and unilaterally imposing more sanctions on Iran, he, basically, wrecked the restrictions on their nuclear weapons production.

    Not overlooking the fact that he is reported to have asked why, if the US had nuclear weapons they wouldn’t use them or the fact that he wanted to use them on North Korea.

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  4. He is a greater threat on many fronts. Let’s hope and pray the voters aren’t suicidal and willing to destroy our children’s future. The fossil fuel stockholders are willing to drive us past the point of no return so they can have bigger yachts. FACT. Trump will encourage them to do so. His moronic selfishnessness knows no limit. VOTE!

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  6. I wouldn’t turn 13 for another month. I didn’t quite understand it, just that it was so every not good. I had classmates,in 5th and 6th grade who were refugees from Castro’s Cuba. I had heard their stories. It felt like thus was going to be even worse.

    Trump is illiterate when it comes to politics and history. He likes any leader who will.schmooze and flatter him, which makes his ignorance doubly dangerous. He is used to being the dictator CEO of a privately held family company where no one dared tell him “no.” Geopolitical situ don’t work that way, but he believes they do.

    I.don’t think he ever expected to be nominated for president. He just wanted to shore up.a sagging brand. Once he became the candidate, he had to win because anything else would make him, in his own eyes, a loser and a sucker.

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