Thirteen Days (2000) Movie Script

Hey!
What the... Who's that?
You're dead.
- Who grabbed me? Who grabbed me?
- Watch out!
Who grabbed me?
- Honey, you're gonna be late.
- What'd you grab me for?
Mom, I can't find my shoes for school.
They're under the couch.
Sit down. Yeah.
Dad, will you sign my permission slip
for tomorrow?
Give it to your mother.
Your mother's arms are full.
- You got time for pancakes?
- Nope.
Give us another one, Dad.
Secretary of Defense.
Dean Rusk.
Wrong. And you get
to wax my car.
Rusk is State, moron.
It's Robert McNamara.
Attorney General.
Too easy.
Yeah, it's Bobby Kennedy.
All right, wise guys.
Assistant Secretary of State for Latin America.
That's too hard.
Wait a minute.
This isn't a permission slip.
This is your report card.
Have you seen these grades?
No.
All right.
Gotta go. Be good.
You...
I'm talking to you later.
- Morning, Evelyn.
- Hi, Ken.
- Ooh, those candies are for the kids.
- Is that right?
- Morning, Floyd.
- Good morning, Mr. O'Donnell.
- Morning, Jackie.
- Hi, Kenny.
- Want a schedule?
- No.
Why'd you cross
all my people off the list?
Because you don't have anybody
on it who means anything.
- No votes there. There's no money.
- It's a party, Kenny.
And the one thing we both can be sure of is
that you don't know how to have a party.
Well, party to you, politics to me.
So, who do you want?
For real?
Everyone on my list.
I don't want to spend
an entire evening
pretending that your votes and money are
more interesting than they really are.
And I want my kids to stop eating
the candy in the Oval Office.
That's not me.
Then who is it?
I don't rat on my friends.
Well, I'm going to take this whole
list thing up with your friend.
Are you trying to go around me?
Go around you, over you, through you...
Whatever it takes.
You're starting to bug me.
Good.
I'll get back to you.
Top of the morning,
Mr. President.
Morning, Kenny.
Just ran into your wife.
- Want to talk about this party?
- No.
- You see Homer Capehart's tirade today?
- I did.
I don't see why he needs
to invent an issue.
He's got his election sewn up.
Even so, we should
still go out for Bobby.
It's good groundwork for us in '64.
Look into that, uh...
That Vietnam thing.
- What, the 2 planes that went down?
- Yeah.
It didn't make it before press time.
I haven't taken a look
at the West Coast papers yet,
but I doubt we'll see
anything till tomorrow.
I was eating that.
- No, you weren't.
- I was.
- No, you weren't.
- I was.
I was, you bastard.
So, what do we got today?
Today.
That's it.
That's the one we're looking for.
- I need to see the President, Kenny.
- All right.
2:30 to 2:45 or 4:30 to 5:00.
Take your pick.
No, I need to see him now, Ken.
You can go on up.
I'll let him know you're coming.
Coffee?
Yeah.
That's not what you said.
What'd I say?
Tell me what I said.
That's not what...
Listen to me, you
worthless piece of shit.
Now, you will put
Daley's man on the circuit,
and you'll do it today.
You owe your goddamn job
to this administration.
Yeah, I can... I can hear
how grateful you are,
but there's a word you need to learn.
It's the only word in politics.
It's called loyalty.
Loyalty!
Now, any part of this
you don't understand?
Good.
What?
This isn't the blessed order
of St. Mary the Meek.
Look, you better come in here.
What was it you were saying to
me the other day about Cuba?
It wasn't important?
Not as far as the election goes.
Mac, let's, uh...
Can I see that for a second?
Ken, you used to look down
a bombsight for a living.
Just ignore the labels.
What does that look like to you?
I don't know.
What is it?
On Sunday morning, one of
our U-2s took these pictures.
The Soviets are putting medium-range
ballistic missiles into Cuba.
They appear to be the SS-4,
range of 1000 miles,
3-megaton nuclear warheads.
Seen here in this year's
May Day Parade in Red Square.
Jesus Christ in heaven.
White House operator.
Yeah, Mr. O'Donnell, please,
for Secretary McNamara.
Go ahead, please.
White House operator.
I've got the President for the Attorney General.
Go ahead, please.
What the crap is going on today?
That's right. That's right.
The principals
are assembling in an hour.
We'll see you then.
Where's Bobby?
- He should be here any minute.
- Well, good.
Good.
Where the hell are you?
We're in here.
Jesus Christ, guys. What the hell
is Khrushchev thinking?
You have any indication of this
from your KGB pal Bolshakov?
Any possible warning,
sense of motivation?
Complete snow job.
And then we went out
and told the country
they weren't putting
missiles into Cuba.
Jesus, I...
I feel like we caught the Jap carrier
steaming for Pearl Harbor.
- Good morning, gentlemen.
- Good morning, Mr. President.
- Mr. Secretary.
- Mr. President.
Bob, I'll bet you had a late night.
Sleep is for the weak,
Mr. President.
- Max.
- Mr. President.
The CIA's been notified.
McCone's on his way back
from the West Coast.
He's been burying his stepson.
General Carter is here, though.
- Ted.
- Kenny.
OK.
Let's have it.
Arthur?
Gentlemen, as most of you now know,
a U-2 over Cuba
Sunday morning
took a series
of disturbing photographs.
Our analysis at NPIC indicates
that the Soviet Union has followed up
its conventional weapons
buildup in Cuba
with the introduction
of surface-to-surface
medium-range
ballistic missiles, or MRBMs.
Our official estimate at this time
is that this missile system
is the SS-4 Sandal.
We do not believe that the missiles
are as yet operational.
Ironbark reports
that the SS-4 can deliver
a 3-megaton nuclear weapon
1000 miles.
So far, we've identified 32 missiles
serviced by about 3,400 men,
undoubtedly all Soviet personnel.
Our cities and military installations
in the Southeast as far north
as Washington, D.C.
Are in range of these weapons
and in the event of a launch would
have only 5 minutes of warning.
5 minutes, gentlemen.
In those 5 minutes, they
could kill 80 million Americans
and destroy a significant
percentage of our bomber bases,
degrading our retaliatory options.
The Joint Chiefs'
consensus, Mr. President,
is that this signals a major
doctrinal shift in Soviet thinking
to a first-strike policy.
It is a massively destabilizing move.
How long until they're operational?
General Taylor can answer
that question better than I can.
GMAC... Guided Missiles
Intelligence Committee...
estimates 10 to 14 days.
A crash program could limit that time,
however, I must stress
that there may be more missiles
that we don't know about.
We need more U-2 coverage.
Gentlemen,
I want first reactions here.
Assuming for the moment that Khrushchev
has not gone off the deep end
and intends to start World War Ill,
what are we looking at?
Well, Mr. President,
I believe my team is in agreement.
If we permit the introduction
of nuclear missiles
to a Soviet satellite nation
in our hemisphere,
the diplomatic
consequences would be...
too terrible to contemplate.
The Russians are trying
to show the world
they can do whatever they want,
wherever they want,
and we're powerless to stop them.
If they succeed...
It'll be Munich all over again.
Yes. Appeasement only makes
the aggressor more aggressive.
And the Soviets will be
emboldened to push us even harder.
Now, we must remove the missiles
one way or another.
Now, it seems to me
the options are either
some combination of
international pressure
and action on our part
till they give in,
Or...
We hit them...
An air strike.
Bob?
We worked up
several military scenarios.
Before I ask General Taylor to take
us through the various options,
I'd like for us to adopt a rule.
If we decide to strike,
we must agree now to do it
before the missiles
become operational,
because once they are, I don't think
we can guarantee getting them all
before at least...
At least some of them are launched.
Well, it's clear we cannot permit
Soviet nuclear missiles in Cuba.
We have to get those missiles out.
You know, I don't think it's going to
matter what Khrushchev's intentions are.
I can tell you right now,
I don't see any way
around hitting them.
If we hit 'em, kill a lot of Russians,
they'll move against Berlin.
All right, they attack Berlin,
that's NATO, and we're at war.
We're damned if we do,
but if we don't,
we're in a war for sure
somewhere else in 6 months.
Well, if there are
alternatives that make sense,
and I'm not saying that there are,
then we need them,
and we need them fast.
All right.
What about Congress?
Now, I think we may need
to start letting key people know,
and they're all scattered across
the country for the campaign.
We can get Congress back.
We're gonna need to get the U.N.
stomping and warmed up.
What about the allies?
We can't start worrying
about everything.
Right now we got to
figure out what we're gonna do
before we worry about
how we're gonna do it.
We've got a bunch of smart guys.
We lock 'em in a room
and kick 'em in the ass
until they come up
with some solutions.
I'll do it.
It's too politicized
with you in there anyway.
They need to be able
to stick their necks out.
Yeah. It'll be the principals,
a couple of the key guys
from each Department...
The Executive Committee
of the National Security Council.
Call it EXCOM.
OK.
So, I'm only gonna show for the
meetings that you call me into.
And impress us.
Do it fast.
And, Kenny, you're gonna be in
charge of keeping this thing quiet.
I mean, if word gets out before
we know what we're gonna do,
there's gonna be panic.
And it's gonna ruin
any chance we might have
at surprise if we decide to hit them.
We're gonna need to do
a few things right away.
No Pierre.
He knows, the press knows.
And you're gonna have
to keep up your schedule.
Your movements
are followed too closely.
Well, George Ball's got
a conference room at State.
Good. You meet over there
this afternoon.
We'll figure out some way to sneak
you guys back in here tonight.
I think we should
bring in Dean Acheson.
Kenny, he was fighting Soviets while we
were still playing ball together at school.
Find him, Kenny.
We're gonna need
all the help we can get.
Screw secrecy.
You try having that fat ass sit on your
lap all the way from Foggy Bottom.
You were excited.
I say no more.
Everybody agrees
the diplomatic route won't work.
It's too slow, and they'll have the missiles
finished while we're still talking.
I hear old Warren Harding used to
get his girls in through here.
We have 850 planes
assembling at Homestead,
Eglin, Opa Locka,
MacDill, Patrick,
Pensacola, and Key West.
Due to the tropical foliage,
the OPLAN calls for high explosive
and napalm load-outs for
our ground-attack sorties.
I still think there are
diplomatic approaches
we haven't considered yet.
Jesus, Adlai, peace at any price?
We have a gun to our head.
We have high confidence
in the expanded air-strike
option, Mr. President.
The problem is, sir, is that
it's a short-term solution.
Khrushchev can send in
more missiles next month.
The Chiefs and I believe
we should follow up the air strikes
with a full version of OPLAN 316.
- An invasion?
- Yes, sir.
We can be sure
we get all the missiles,
and we remove Castro
so this can never happen again.
Is this the Joint Chiefs'
recommendation?
Yes, sir. Our best option,
as Bob pointed out this morning,
would be to commence the strikes before
the missiles become operational.
The invasion happens 8 days later.
Dean...
What do you think?
Gentlemen, for the last 15 years,
I've fought here at this table
alongside your predecessors
in the struggle against the Soviet.
Now, I do not wish
to seem melodramatic,
but I do wish to impress upon you
a lesson I learned with
bitter tears and great sacrifice.
The Soviet understands
only one language... Action.
Respects only
one word... Force.
I concur with General Taylor.
I recommend, sir, air strikes
followed by invasion,
perhaps preceded by an ultimatum
to dismantle the missiles
if that is militarily viable.
So, it appears we have 3 options.
Number one...
A surgical air strike
against the missiles themselves.
2... A much larger air strike
against their air defenses
along with the missiles, and 3...
Invasion.
So, we're certainly
gonna do number one.
We're gonna take these missiles out.
It seems to me
we can't wait very long.
We should at least be
making those preparations.
We're preparing to
implement all 3 options,
though I must stress again, sir,
there are risks to the strikes
without the follow-on
invasion.
You want to be clear,
Mr. President,
that we've definitely decided
against a political track.
Dean, uh...
How does this all play out?
Your first step, sir,
will be to demand
that the Soviet withdraw the
missiles within 12 to 24 hours.
They will refuse.
When they do, you will order the
strikes, followed by the invasion.
They will resist and be overrun.
They will retaliate
against another target
somewhere else in the world,
most likely Berlin.
We will honor our treaty commitments
and resist them there,
defeating them per our plans.
Those plans call for
the use of nuclear weapons.
So what is the...
What is the next step?
Hopefully, cooler heads will prevail
before we reach the next step.
Thank you, gentlemen.
What happened in there?
I thought he was gonna
give us his decision.
Look, I know them. They just need
to make sure there's no other way.
They'll get there.
Remember that Kennedy's father
was one of the architects of Munich.
There's only one
responsible choice here,
so let's hope appeasement
doesn't run in families.
I fear weakness does.
Jesus Christ.
Call... Call me Irish,
but I don't believe
in cooler heads prevailing.
- You know, they think I froze in there.
- You didn't freeze.
You did exactly what you should've done.
You stayed out of the corner.
You didn't decide.
Well, Acheson's scenario is just...
It's unacceptable, and he's got
more experience than any of them.
There is no expert on the subject.
I mean, there is no
wise old man. There's...
Shit. There's just us.
The thing is that Acheson's right.
Talk alone is not gonna
accomplish anything.
Well, let's bomb the shit out of 'em.
Everybody wants to.
I mean, even you.
I mean, even me.
Right? It sure would
feel good.
And, Jack,
I'm as conniving as they come, but
a sneak attack is just wrong.
Things are happening too fast.
I mean, this is starting to smell
like the Bay of Pigs all over again.
Well, tonight, listening
to Taylor and Acheson,
I kept seeing Lemnitzer
and Dulles telling me
all I had to do was
sign on the dotted line,
and the invasion would
succeed, and Castro...
And Castro would be gone.
Just... easy...
Just like that.
You know, there's something...
immoral about abandoning
your own judgment.
We just can't let this
get out of hand.
And we're gonna do
whatever we have to do
and make this come out right.
- I'm gonna stay here tomorrow.
- No, you can't.
Remember, we talked about this,
your schedule.
The best thing you can do
tomorrow is go to Connecticut.
He's right.
Yeah.
Jesus.
Doesn't anybody in Connecticut
have to work today?
I love you, JFK!
The full spectrum of air strikes
is the minimum response
the Joint Chiefs will accept.
No, no, no!
Now, there is more
than one option here,
And if one isn't occurring to us, it's
because we haven't thought hard enough.
Bobby, sometimes there
is only one right choice,
and you thank God when it's so clear.
You're talking about a sneak attack.
How will that make us look?
A big country blasting
a little one into the Stone Age.
Oh, we'll be everyone's favorite.
Come on, Bobby, that's naive.
This is the real world.
You know that better than anybody.
And you weren't so ethically particular
when we were talking about options
for removing Castro over at CIA.
Bob...
If we go ahead with these air strikes,
you know what it'll
come to in the end.
There has got to be something else.
Give it to me.
Now, I don't care how crazy,
inadequate, or stupid it sounds.
Give it to me.
6 months ago, we gamed out a scenario.
It's slow. It doesn't
get rid of the missiles.
It's got a lot of drawbacks.
The scenario calls
for a blockade of Cuba.
The situation
is worse than we thought.
We now count 40 missiles.
40 missiles.
Longer range IRBMs.
They can hit every place
in the country
except Seattle.
Mr. President,
you give me the order right now,
my planes will be ready to carry out
the air strikes in 3 days time.
All you gotta do is say go.
My boys will get those red bastards.
General, how long
until the Army's ready?
We've just begun the mobilization under
cover of a pre-arranged exercise, sir.
We're looking at another
week and a half.
But you can order the strikes now.
The plans call for
an 8-day air campaign.
It'll light a fire under
the Army's ass to get in place.
General LeMay, do you truly believe
that's our best course of action?
Mr. President, I believe
it is the only course of action.
America is in danger.
Those missiles are
a threat to our bomber bases
and the safety
of our nuclear deterrent.
Now, without our deterrent,
there's nothing to keep the enemy
from choosing general nuclear war.
It's our duty, sir,
our responsibility
to the American people
to take out those missiles
and return stability to
the strategic situation.
The big red dog is
digging in our backyard,
and we are justified in shooting him.
Sir, we have a rapidly closing
window of opportunity
where we can prevent those missiles
from ever becoming operational.
The other options do not guarantee
the end result that we can guarantee.
However, as more time goes by,
the less reliable the choice
we can offer you becomes.
Mr. President,
the motto I chose for SAC
is "Peace is our Profession."
Now, God forbid we find
ourselves in a nuclear exchange,
but if launched,
those missiles from Cuba
would kill a lot of Americans.
The very presence of those missiles
gives the Soviets
first-strike capability.
Those missiles make
a nuclear exchange more likely,
and that is why I'm being
such a pain in the ass
about destroying them and
dstroying them immediately.
Hell, even Mac agrees.
And, sir, given your own
statements about Cuba,
I think a blockade
or a bunch of political talk
would be considered by a lot
of our friends and neutrals
as a pretty weak response.
I suspect that many
of our own citizens
might feel the same way.
You're in a pretty bad fix,
Mr. President.
What did you say?
You're in a pretty bad fix.
Maybe you haven't noticed
you're in it with me.
Now, General, what
are the Soviets gonna do
when we attack?
Nothing.
Nothing?
Nothing,
because the only
alternative open to them
is one they can't choose.
You know, they're...
They're not just missiles
we're gonna be destroying, General.
If we kill Soviet soldiers,
they're gonna respond.
I mean, how would we respond
if they killed ours?
No, they're gonna do something, General.
I can promise you that.
Those goddamn Kennedys are
gonna destroy this country
if we don't do something about this.
We're headed out to the backyard
to take a look for that big red dog.
Thanks, Bob.
I was hoping LeMay pushed you,
because I was ready to knock
that son of a bitch across the room.
We knew it was coming.
And I'll tell you one thing, Kenny,
those brass heads
have one big advantage.
That is, if we do
what they want us to do,
there's none of us gonna be left
alive to tell 'em they were wrong.
Mr. President, we need to
go over what you're going to say.
Gromyko should be on his way by now.
Now, there's still
no sign that they know
that we know about the missiles.
Well, we're gonna keep it that way.
Kenny?
I'll be right there.
I'm getting funny questions
from the guys.
Yeah? What sort of questions?
About some sort of military exercises?
You want me to do my job
handling the press,
I need to know what's going on.
- Military exercises?
- Yeah, military exercises.
Haven't heard anything about it.
Ask Bundy.
I did. He said to ask you.
Mr. Gromyko,
this way, please.
Mr. Dobrynin, what are
your hopes for the meeting?
Mr. Gromyko, can you give us
a statement, please?
Robert.
- Hugh, how are you?
- Good.
Excuse me, Joan.
So, tell me about this military exercise
that's going on down in Puerto Rico.
What?
It's called ORTSAC, I believe.
Castro spelled backwards.
ORTSAC? I... I don't know
what you're talking about.
Me, either. Why?
Well, because maybe the President and
Gromyko are gonna talk about it.
If you're trying to drum
something up, Johnny, forget it.
This meeting's been
on the books for months.
Far as I know, it's just a friendly talk
on U.S.-Soviet relations.
Sir! Sir!
Mr. President!
All right, hold it, guys. Hold it.
You'll get your pictures.
Does it?
Mm-hmm.
I'll be damned.
Kind of simple for the Pentagon.
What is this meeting about, sir?
Sir!
Mr. Gromyko,
thank you for coming.
Hold on, guys. One minute.
Gentlemen, would you mind
shaking hands?
So that there should be
no misunderstanding
the position of the United States,
which has been made clear by the Attorney
General to Ambassador Dobrynin here,
I shall read a sentence from my statement
to the press dated September 13th.
"Should missiles or offensive weapons
"be placed in Cuba,
"it would present the gravest threat
to U.S. national security."
Mr. President,
as Premier Khrushchev's own statement
of September 13th assured you,
our military assistance to Cuba
is of a defensive nature only.
So I do not misunderstand you,
There are no offensive
weapons in Cuba?
Premier Khrushchev's
statement of September 13th
remains the position
of the Soviet Government.
To that, I have nothing to add.
Well, that's good enough for me.
Thanks so much.
Thank you.
Gentlemen, if you'll
come with me, please.
A most constructive meeting.
- What happened?
- Lying bastard.
Lied right to my face.
We're split down the middle.
If I held a vote, I think air strike
would beat blockade by a vote or two.
I want a consensus. I mean,
either air strike or blockade,
but something everyone's
going to stand by,
even if they don't like it.
I need it by Saturday.
Make it happen.
What if I can't?
We go into this split,
the Russians will know it.
They'll know it and use it against us.
Have you canceled Chicago
and the rest of the weekend yet?
If you don't show for Chicago, everyone'll
know there's something going on.
- I don't care. Just cancel it.
- Forget it!
I'm not calling
and canceling on Daley.
You call and cancel on Daley.
You're scared to cancel on Daley?
You're damn right I'm scared.
Well, I'm not.
Watch this.
Welcome to Chicago,
Mr. President.
Mr. Mayor, I wouldn't miss
this event for the world.
Mr. President, over here!
Mayor Daley!
Let's go.
Tonight, you're going to
experience some true Midwest...
Kenny! What's going on?
Now the guys are hounding me about
some troop movements in Florida?
What are you telling them?
The truth... I don't know.
- Am I out of the loop on something?
- No.
Tell them you've looked into it,
and all it is is an exercise.
Oh, and, Pierre,
Tomorrow, the President
may have a cold.
- A what?
- A cold.
Kenny, do I get any input around here?
Yeah.
How bad it is is up to you.
You know, there are major
rail disruptions in the South.
2 Airborne Divisions are on alert.
Sounds to me like that
exercise is an invasion.
Well, you know how Bobby has it
in for the state of Mississippi.
We're invading Cuba.
Damn it, we are not invading Cuba.
Are you crazy?
Nobody gives a rat's ass about Cuba...
Not now, not ever.
If you print something like that, all you're
going to do is inflame the situation.
Nobody talks to assholes
who inflame situations.
Assholes like that can find themselves
cut out of the loop.
That's the first time
you've ever threatened me.
All right.
I won't print anything
until I have another source,
But I promise you, I'll get one.
Bobby.
We've got a consensus for a blockade,
but it won't last past tomorrow,
Kenny. You have to bring him back.
Oh, by the way,
China invaded India today.
You're kidding, aren't you?
I wish I were. Galbraith's
handling it in New Delhi.
Makes you wonder what's coming next.
Jesus, what is it about the free world
that pisses the rest of the world off?
I don't know.
We have Tupperware parties?
Maybe.
I'll see you tomorrow.
OK.
The President has a cold.
He's canceling
the remainder of this trip
and returning to Washington
on the advice of his doctor.
President Kennedy!
Is it true you have a cold, sir?
How do you feel,
Mr. President?
Mr. President!
What's the next step going
to be, Mr. President?
Mr. President,
our deliberations have
led us to the conclusion
that a blockade
of offensive weapons to Cuba
is our best option.
A strong showing of support from the
Organization of American States
would give us
an umbrella of legitimacy.
A blockade is technically
an act of war.
Therefore, we recommend
calling the action
a quarantine.
Let's hope that translates into
Russian the way we want it to.
There are between
20 and 30 Soviet ships
underway to Cuba at this time.
800 miles out, the Navy
will stop them, board,
and any vessels containing weapons
will be turned back.
A quarantine prevents any
more missiles from reaching Cuba,
but it doesn't remove
the missiles already there.
It gives the Soviets a chance
to pull back without a war.
If they refuse to remove the missiles,
we retain the option
to strike and invade.
A sneak attack would be counter
to what the United States stands for.
It leaves us no room to maneuver,
and the inevitable Soviet response
would force us into a war.
Mr. President,
there are still those of us
who believe we should
proceed with the strikes.
Sir, with a blockade,
we lose strategic surprise.
We also run the risk
of the Soviets launching
a first strike against us
if they decide
they have to use
the missiles or lose them.
So, quarantine or air strike.
Ahem. There is a third option.
With either course,
we undertake the risk of nuclear war.
So it seems to me that
maybe one of us in this room
should be a coward,
So I guess I'll be.
A third course is to strike a deal.
We trade Guantanamo
and our missiles in Turkey,
get them to pull their missiles out.
We employ a back channel.
We attribute the idea to U Thant.
U Thant then raises it
at the U.N.
I don't think that's possible, Adlai.
I've not yet made my final decision.
I'll be asking the Networks
for airtime on Monday night.
We'll announce
our course of action then.
Ted, I want you to get
working on speeches
for both quarantine and air strike.
Well, thank you for
all your advice, gentlemen.
I did hear Adlai.
Jesus, you'd think nobody learned
anything from World War II.
Somebody had to say it.
I respect Adlai for having the guts
to risk looking like an appeaser.
We have to pull him.
He's not going to be able to handle
the Soviets in front of the U.N.
Zorin will eat him alive.
We've got bigger problems right now.
Ladies?
No, thank you.
Honey, I'll be right back.
Adlai?
Ah. I just can't seem
to get away from you guys.
Escaping for a night on the town, eh?
As D.C.'s most popular playboy,
the President felt my presence
would be sorely missed, so
in the interest of
National Security, here I am.
Yes, gotta keep up appearances.
Of course, I don't anymore.
I'm a political dead man.
Did you ever see anyone
cut his own throat
like I did today?
No, no.
It's all right.
And by the way, I spoke to a friend.
Reston and Franco have the story.
The Times is going to run it tomorrow.
We're not gonna make it to Monday.
Shit.
We can get Sorenson to lean on Reston,
But you're gonna have
to call Orville Dryfoos.
This is the sort of decision
a publisher makes himself.
All right.
Thanks, Kenny.
Yes, sir, I understand, but, you
know, we held on the Bay of Pigs,
and it was the biggest mistake of my life.
What makes this different?
Orville, I'm asking you
to hold the story
until I can present our course
of action on Monday night.
All right, but I'm gonna need
a reason to give my boys.
They're gonna be screaming
for my head on a plate.
Listen, Orville, you tell them this...
That they'll be saving lives...
including their own.
Yes, Mr. President.
How many Congressmen
have not responded yet?
- Boggs is in the Gulf fishing?
- Yes, sir.
I thought he was supposed
to be campaigning.
Well, he's not gone for long.
Jesus. Get a plane out
there and get him back.
He wants to talk to LeMay again.
He's still considering air strikes.
None of this works tomorrow.
- Figure out how to cancel it.
- Yes, sir.
We're on the phones.
Cam, can you guarantee me
you'll get all the missiles?
Sir, I guarantee we'll get
all the missiles we know about.
Mr. President, we can get
better than 90%of them.
I'll brief the Congressional leadership
tomorrow evening at 5:00.
At 7:00, all United States
Armed Forces worldwide
will stand up to DEFCON 3.
I have a brief statement to make.
President Kennedy will
address the nation tonight
on radio and television
on a subject of
the highest national urgency.
He has requested airtime
on all 3 Networks for 7 p.m.
Thank you very much.
I am not willing to support anything
but the toughest possible...
Congress cannot give you
the support you're looking for.
Mr. President! Sir?
If they want this goddamn
job, they can have it.
It's no great joy to me.
Mr. President,
here's the speech.
I made those changes you wanted.
- I need a minute.
- Kenny, no.
A minute.
Look, I don't want a goddamn pep talk.
You're not the Harvard
quarterback anymore.
We're on the brink here!
They're trying to second-guess me into World War 3.
Well, it's not gonna happen.
- What did you think Congress was gonna do?
- Well, I...
Offer you unconditional support?
Kiss your Catholic ass?
They don't think we even
deserve to be here.
Well, what the hell do you think?
I think we haven't been
that impressive today.
They have good reason
to question our judgment.
What do you want, Kenny?
I want you to sit down.
Well, I'm not going to sit down!
I want you to sit down,
loosen your tie, and take a minute...
I haven't got a minute!
You're the President
of the United States.
They can wait for you.
Well, why not?
Things can't get much worse.
Oh, I don't know.
We could have to...
go down to Lyndon's ranch again
dressed up as cowboys.
Shoot deer out of the back
of his Convertible.
That was a bad day.
You know, I thought there'd be...
more good days.
You know, back when
we were in the wards,
that day Bobby made me
come down and meet you?
I didn't get you at first.
I thought you were lucky.
Your father had a lot of money.
You were skinny.
Girls loved you.
I thought I could beat
you and Bobby up together.
But he just kept going
on and on about you.
I thought it was because
he was your brother.
But I was wrong.
I was wrong.
You sleeping?
No. Not much.
But I slept last night,
though, you know, and...
Jeez, I...
When I woke up, I just...
Somehow I'd forgotten that
all this had happened, you know?
Then, of course, I remembered, and...
I just wished for a second
somebody else was President.
You mean that?
I said, for a second.
Boy, there is a lot of noise
out there, Kenny.
You know what you're doing,
Mr. President.
You're going to make
the best call you can,
and you know they're
going to second-guess you.
So what?
We're just gonna have to
take our beatings as we go.
So, what are we going to do now?
I'm going on TV.
You know, maybe the American
people will go with me.
Even if their...
elected representatives won't.
You wear something nice for the TV.
Make sure Jackie picks it.
Excuse me.
Oh, right. Thanks, Pierre.
Now, I just changed...
OK, everybody, I think we're ready.
No, I'm fine. Thank you.
Mr. President,
in 5, 4, 3, 2...
Good evening, my fellow citizens.
This Government, as promised,
has maintained
the closest surveillance
of the Soviet military buildup
on the island of Cuba.
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.
Acting therefore in the defense
of our own security
and under the authority entrusted
to me by the Constitution,
I have directed
that the following initial steps
be taken immediately.
First, to halt this offensive buildup,
a strict quarantine on all
offensive military equipment
under shipment to Cuba
is being initiated.
All ships of any kind, bound for Cuba,
from whatever nation or port,
will, if found to contain cargos of
offensive weapons, be turned back.
Second, I have directed
the continued and increased
close surveillance of Cuba
and its military buildup,
and should these military
preparations continue,
further action will be justified.
I have directed the Armed Forces
to prepare for any eventualities.
And third, 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.
Good speech, Teddy.
Yeah, well, I guess
I get to keep my job.
No. It was
a really good speech.
I can't imagine what you did
with the air strikes version.
I wasn't able to write it, Kenny.
It's kind of hard
to write the unthinkable.
I tried. I just...
I couldn't.
We're getting the Soviet response.
It's coming in on the teletype.
"The community of nations recognizes
the fundamental right
of freedom of the seas..."
It's horseshit.
I agree.
They don't know how to respond yet.
So now you're Khrushchev.
What do you do?
You run the blockade.
They'll run the blockade.
Which is exactly what they appear to
be preparing to do, Mr. President.
We're tracking 26 ships
inbound for Cuba.
They show no sign of changing course.
The closest ships,
the Gagarin and the Kimovsk,
will make the quarantine line
by this time tomorrow.
Admiral Anderson,
if the ships do not stop,
exactly what are
our rules of engagement?
Well, Russian-speaking personnel have
been transferred to all our ships.
When the quarantine
takes place in the morning,
our ships will attempt to make radio
contact with the approaching vessels.
They'll be ordered to reduce speed
and standby for inspection.
An inspection team will then
board and search the vessel.
If weapons are found, the ship will be
ordered out of the quarantine area,
or if they refuse, they'll
be towed into the nearest port.
What happens if the ship doesn't stop
for inspection or want to be towed?
We fire a warning shot
across their bow.
And what happens if the ship
ignores the warning shot?
We then fire at its rudder, disable
it, and carry on our inspection.
There will be no shooting
without my explicit orders.
Is that understood?
Yes, sir.
Well, Admiral, looks like
it's up to the Navy.
The Navy won't let you down, sir.
There's one other thing,
Mr. President.
We're commencing low-level photography
runs over Cuba this morning.
It'll be more detailed
than the U-2 photography.
This way, we'll be able to firm up our
estimates of the missiles' readiness
and develop target packages
for strikes,
if you should order them, sir.
To protect our pilots, we're prepared
to retaliate against any SAM site
or anti-aircraft battery
that may open fire.
We have a flight of Thunderchiefs
that'll be able to respond
within minutes
to any attacks on our planes.
I got a bad feeling about
what's going on in there.
In the morning, I'm taking charge of
the blockade from the Situation Room,
and McNamara is going to set up shop in the flag plot
at the Pentagon and keep an eye on things there.
Good, because you'll
get armed boarders
climbing onto Soviet ships,
with shots being fired across bows...
- Well, what about these low-level flights?
- We need the flights.
They're starting in what?
An hour.
You realize what you're
letting yourself in for?
We need the flights, because the minute
that first missile becomes operational,
we gotta go in there and destroy it.
Fair enough, but Castro's on alert,
and we're flying attack
planes over their sites
on the deck!
There's no way for them to know
we're carrying cameras, not bombs.
God damn it!
We're going to be shot at,
plain and simple.
I'm your political advisor.
I'm giving you
a political analysis here.
This... This is a set-up.
The Chiefs want to go in.
They need to redeem themselves
for the Bay of Pigs.
They gotta go in this time.
They got to do it right.
I'm going to protect those pilots.
They're boxing us in with
these rules of engagement.
If you agree to them and
one of our planes gets knocked down
or one of the ships
won't stop for inspection,
the Chiefs will have us by the balls
and will force us to start shooting.
They want a war, Jack,
and they're arranging
things to get one.
How does a man get to
a place where he can say,
"Throw those lives away," so easily?
Maybe it's harder for them
to say than they let on,
but at the very least, they
believe it's in our best interest.
And you know what?
At the end of the day,
they may well end up being right.
Well, I'll tell you one thing,
we're going to have to triple-check
everything the Chiefs say to us
with the guys that
actually have to do it.
And nobody's to know about this,
because I... but Bobby.
I need redundant control
over what happens out there.
And if things aren't as advertised,
then you're going to make sure they come
out the way I want them to come out.
- That's gonna be...
- Starting with this low-level flight thing.
That's gonna be tough.
You know how these guys are
about their chains-of-command.
Listen, you tell them
those chains-of-command
end at one place... Me.
Go ahead, sir.
Speak up, lady. I cannot hear you.
I got a train to catch,
and I'd like to be home
by Christmas. Yeah?
- That's the one.
- Mr. O'Donnell.
- What's her name?
- Margaret.
- Margaret.
- Give me a break. I'm doing the best that I can.
Yes, sir. I understand exactly
what you're talking about.
I speak the language, too.
What?
Margaret, would you mind
helping me with something?
What do you need, honey?
That tone of voice specifically.
What tone of voice? What
the hell is he talking about?
I told you, sir...
I'm sorry. You're outta here.
Ready Room.
Hey, Skipper, what are you doin'?
- Lookin' out the door.
- I'll get him for you.
- For what?
- Cuba.
Skipper!
Telephone.
- Commander Ecker.
- Commander Ecker?
This is the White House operator.
Please hold for...
Shit.
Honey, you don't know what shit is.
Commander?
My name's Ken O'Donnell,
Special Assistant to the President.
Yes, sir.
The President's instructed me
to pass along an order to you.
You are not to get shot down.
Uh... We'll do our best, sir.
I don't think you
understand me, Commander.
You're not to get shot down
under any circumstances.
Whatever happens up there,
you were not shot at.
Mechanical failures are fine.
Crashing into mountains, fine...
But you and your men
are not to be shot at,
fired at, or launched upon.
Excuse me, sir.
What the hell is going on here?
Commander, if you are fired upon,
The President will be forced to
attack the sites that fire on you.
He doesn't want to have to do that.
It's very important that he doesn't,
or things could go
very badly out of control.
What about my men?
If we don't have
anybody to protect us,
I'm gonna be writing
letters home to parents.
If the President
protects you, Commander,
he may have to do it with the bomb.
Now, I've know the man
for 15 years. The problem is...
He will protect you.
So I'm asking,
don't make him protect you.
Don't get shot at.
OK, Mr. O'Donnell,
we'll do what we can.
I know you will.
- Good luck, you guys.
- Find your way back!
Stay close.
Hey, Joey.
- See ya, Joey.
- Thanks, Joey.
Ready to go, Jeremy?
- Hey, Bruce.
- Skipper?
Never mind. Just do what I do.
Hand signs only?
Gotcha.
You are clear and ready to go, sir!
Good luck, Skipper!
Oh-ho, man! Shit!
Did you see it?
Man, you were lucky, Skipper.
Damn sparrows.
Must've been migrating.
Sparrows?
Probably hit a couple hundred of 'em.
How many did you hit, Bruce?
Sparrows?
A few, I guess.
These, uh, 20 millimeter or
40 millimeter sparrows, sir?
Those are bird strikes.
Sparrows, to be precise.
It's the way it is, guys.
Get that film pack done.
Commander Ecker.
Hello.
- Sir.
- Commander.
Mr. O'Donnell, I've been
ordered to deliver the film
to the Pentagon personally.
What's going on here?
The Chiefs must want to talk to you.
They're gonna want to know
if you were fired on. Were you?
You could say that, sir.
Commander, listen to me.
Now, I know this must fly in the face
of everything you've come to serve,
but I'm asking you to look
through this to the other side.
Commander William B. Ecker
reporting as ordered.
- Commander.
- Sir.
Put your gear down over here.
Would you like a glass
of water or anything?
No, thank you, sir.
- Sir.
- Commander.
Have a seat.
Now, Commander, I assume
you know why you're here.
Son, I want to know just one thing.
Those bastards shoot
so much as a BB gun at you?
It was a cakewalk, sir.
Mr. President,
the O.A.S. meeting
starts in less than an hour.
Well, good. I think
we need this one, Dean.
We can't expect miracles.
Listen, the quarantine
is legal if we get a mandate.
Otherwise, it's an act of war
in the eyes of the world,
so you gotta get me the vote,
and, you know, make it unanimous.
Mr. President, the Organization
of American States
hasn't had a unanimous vote...
Unanimous... Dean.
In accordance with
this afternoon's vote
at the Organization
of American States,
the quarantine
will hereby be effective
as of 10:00 tomorrow morning.
At 8 a.m. This morning,
the United States
detonated a hydrogen bomb
above Johnston Island
in the South Pacific.
The blast was quickly condemned
by the Soviet Union,
who called upon all nations
to denounce the United States
for bringing the world
to the brink of destruction.
Who the hell authorized this test?
Christ, what is this gonna
say to the Russians?
They look warlike?
Jesus Christ. We're
lighting off nuclear weapons
like it's our own private
Fourth of July.
You know what we should have done?
We should've brought in the guys
from the Atomic Energy Commission
and talked this through, you know?
Looked at these tests
a little harder before
just givin' the go-ahead.
You know, last summer I read
a book, "The Guns of August".
I wish every man on that
blockade line had read that book.
It's World War I, 13 million killed.
It was all because
the militaries of both alliances
believed they were so highly attuned
to one another's movements
and dispositions,
they could predict
one another's intentions,
but all their theories
were based on the last war,
and the world
and technology had changed,
and those lessons
were no longer valid,
but it was all they knew,
so the orders went out.
Couldn't be rescinded.
The man in the field,
his family at home,
they couldn't even tell you the reasons
why their lives were being destroyed.
But why couldn't they stop it?
What could they have done?
Here we are 50 years later.
If one of their ships
resists the inspection
and we shoot out its rudder and board,
they shoot down one
of our planes in response,
so we bomb their anti-aircraft sites.
In response to that...
They attack Berlin.
So we invade Cuba.
Then they fire their missiles.
And we fire ours.
Helen, I want you to keep
the kids close tomorrow.
I want you to leave the TV on.
I want you to sleep
with it on in the bedroom
until I call you and tell you
you can turn it off.
What's happened?
Nothing. Nothing you don't
already know about.
Just have the car
ready to go in case I call...
or the Civil Defense Warning comes on.
What happens to you?
I'm not leaving without you.
I'll be evacuated with the President.
Great.
Great.
And while you're under a rock
somewhere with the President,
what am I supposed to do
with our 5 children, Kenny?
Honey, we're not gonna
let it come to that.
I promise.
Jack and Bobby, they're...
They're smart guys.
You're smart, too.
Not like them.
Well, hi, Ken.
Helen just asked me
what sort of arrangements
we have for the families.
Yeah, I just checked that myself.
They're being issued identity cards,
and the call comes,
evacuation officers
meet them at
pre-arranged departure areas.
They go by helicopter
to Mount Weather.
We meet them there.
Of course, that's for morale.
Missiles only take
5 minutes to get here.
The President has asked Jackie and the
children to come back from the country
and be with him.
You know those pictures upstairs?
Pictures of Lincoln?
He looked so old near the end.
When we got here, I said,
"It's not gonna
happen to us."
We were too young.
Why don't you go home tonight?
Go on home.
No. It's too much trouble
to get the car.
Ken, we can get your car
in 15 minutes.
- No.
- Go ahead.
No.
I'll let her sleep.
I'll let 'em sleep.
It almost seemed today
as if time stood still.
The shooting hadn't started yet,
but there weren't any
really encouraging signs
that it could be avoided,
but worried, alarmed,
afraid, perhaps even,
the American public, nonetheless,
appeared determined and resolved.
This is Walter Cronkite.
Good night.
Paper?
- Yeah, thanks.
- Here you go, sir.
Gentlemen, can you hear me?
Yes, we can hear you fine.
I've got one minute
till 10:00 here.
The quarantine commences
in one minute.
And no sign of them stopping.
Sir.
Quarantine is now in effect.
And it looks like our first customers
are the Gagarin and Kimovsk.
Chief, I've got something
at zero-three-zero.
X.O., take a look at this.
New contact, Skipper.
What do we got?
A Russian sub.
General Quarters, General Quarters!
All hands man your battle stations!
General Quarters, General Quarters!
All hands, man your battle stations!
General Quarters, General Quarters!
All hands, man your battle stations!
Bracket 231 correlates to
our submarine at 9,000 yards.
It's protecting the freighters.
Bob, is there any way
we can avoid stopping
a submarine first?
I'm afraid not, Mr. President.
The sub has positioned itself between
the Pierce and the Soviet ships.
Admiral Anderson insists
it's too much of a risk
to proceed with stopping
the freighters.
The Pierce would be
a sitting duck for the sub.
- Put me through to the Pierce.
- Yes, sir.
Admiral Anderson!
The President wishes to speak directly
to the Captain of the Pierce.
Is that a problem?
No, it isn't, sir.
He's putting you through, sir.
Sir, I'm patching you
through to the bridge now.
This is the Captain of the Pierce.
Captain, this is
the President speaking.
Mr. President.
Is there any way
you can force that sub to the surface
without damaging it or yourself?
I can bring it up, Mr. President,
but whether it's damaged
or not is up to the sub.
Even if they do force it up,
that sub will be inspected
over the crew's dead bodies.
They'd be executed for
allowing it when they got home.
Captain, force the sub to the surface.
Yes, Mr. President.
- Prepare to fire torpedoes.
- Prepare to fire torpedoes. Aye, sir.
- Prepare to launch ASROC.
- Prepare to launch ASROC. Aye, sir.
Watch your fingers!
Watch your fingers.
What are they up to?
They're slowing down.
Mr. Secretary,
I'm receiving reports.
The Russian ships appear to be stopping.
Mr. President,
Reports are coming
in here to the Pentagon
that the ships appear to be stopping.
Captain, belay that order.
Belay that order!
Hold your fire!
- Bob, where's that coming from?
- One second, Mr. President.
Somebody find out what's going on.
Those ships are definitely stopping.
Some are turning around.
Are they stopping?
I don't know what
the hell they're doing.
Admiral. Admiral,
what's happening!
Yes, sir, they are stopping.
Mr. President,
reports are coming in from all around.
The ships are stopping.
Some are turning around.
Some are turning around.
We were eyeball to eyeball,
and I think
the other fella just blinked.
Yes, sir.
Yes, sir.
We have that information.
Mr. President.
Mr. President, sir.
We have the tally from NSA.
We have 20 ships stopping
and /or turning around.
6, however, appear to be
continuing for the line.
It's a, uh, it's a mistake.
They must not have gotten
their orders yet. I'd-let 'em go.
No. That's unlikely, Bobby.
We've been monitoring
the radio transmissions
from the Gagarin and the Kimovsk.
Their radios are working
just fine, Mr. President.
One ship, an accident maybe.
6, Mr. President?
This is intentional.
Mr. President, let 'em go.
Oh, you're still here, Bob?
4 of the 6 continuing ships
are still a day away from the line.
They've stopped the ones
we suspect have weapons aboard.
We'd look pretty bad shooting up
a freighter full of baby food.
We sure as shit would.
Captain, I want you to maintain
contact with those ships
and do nothing until I order
otherwise. Is that clear?
Yes, Mr. President.
Contact only.
At its beginning, this day looked
as though it might be
one of armed conflict
between Soviet vessels
and American warships
on the sea lanes leading to Cuba.
Find out how close
our exercises are coming
to their anti-ship missiles.
God damn it!
How the goddamn hell did this happen?
I'm gonna have Powers' head
on a platter...
Next to LeMay's.
Kenny, you hear me give the order
to go to DEFCON 2?
Because I remember giving the order
to go to DEFCON 3,
but I must be suffering from amnesia.
I've just been informed
our nuclear forces are at DEFCON 2.
They were limited, Mr. President.
- The orders were limited to our strategic forces...
- Max!
...in the continental United States.
General LeMay is correct.
Technically, SAC has
the statutory authority...
I have the authority!
I am the Commander in Chief
of the United States,
and I say when we go to war.
We're not at war, sir...
Not until DEFCON one.
General, the Joint Chiefs
have just signaled our intent
to escalate to the Soviets.
You signaled an escalation
which I had no wish to signal,
and which I did not approve.
Just get out of here, Max.
Yes, sir.
Rescind the order.
Can all the Chiefs.
Put Nitze, Gilpatrick and
the Under Secretaries in charge.
- Can't do that, Bobby.
- Yes, we can.
We can't fire the Chiefs, Bobby.
Our invasion talk
would look like a bluff.
Or even worse, that
there's been an attempted coup.
Jesus.
Kenny, give me...
a couple minutes
alone with Bobby, would you?
Just... Just try this on
for size.
We get a hold of Walter Lippmann,
And we leak the idea of
pulling our Jupiter missiles
out of Turkey,
and the Soviets pull
their missiles out of Cuba.
Act through the U.N.!
K and K must talk!
End the arms race, not the human race!
Kenny.
Mac.
What did you think of
the Lippmann column this morning?
I think it's a bad idea.
Thank God. Look,
everybody's furious about it.
We trade away our missiles in Turkey,
and we're dead, politically.
You've got to stop it.
We know it was Jack and Bobby's idea.
They leaked it to Lippmann.
The military guys are going ape...
Then they should speak up.
Christ, Ken, it's not that easy.
- It is.
- No, it isn't.
They don't trust the people
who feel this way,
but these people are right,
and the Kennedys are wrong.
We need you to talk to them.
They'll listen to you.
Jack and Bobby are good men,
but it takes a certain...
You mean the President
of the United States?
And the Attorney General?
Kenny, they are good men,
but it takes a certain character,
moral toughness,
to stand up to the Soviets.
You listen to me.
You're in the White House
right now because of the Kennedys.
Now, they may be wrong,
they make mistakes,
but they are not weak.
The weak ones are these people who
can't seem to speak their own minds.
You know I don't mean
that they're weak.
No, they just lack a moral toughness.
Jesus Christ, Mac.
You... You think I'll
play your Judas for you?
You've never understood us, your kind.
We've been fighting
with each other our whole lives,
but nobody plays us off each other,
and nobody ever, ever gets between us!
It's a goddamn trial balloon, Kenny.
Well, then somebody
better publicly deny it,
'cause there's only one way
the world's gonna read this.
We sell out one of our friends
for our own safety.
Exactly.
Jesus Christ, they're just killing us.
...and enter into negotiations
in order to normalize
this confrontation
and avert the threat of a World War.
What is it that Sun Tzu says?
War's a moral contest, and they're won in
the temples before they're ever fought.
...this enormous danger
for all mankind
which exist at this moment...
It's right here. It's right here.
This is where we turn it around.
You call Adlai,
you tell him to stick it
to this son of a bitch.
...diplomatic resolution.
The U.S. believes that
with their economic boycott,
by pressuring other countries
to cease trade with Cuba,
we would surrender due to hunger.
How does it feel,
Mr. President,
to be this heroic
and force a country to surrender...
Am I still on hold here?
They're trying to find him right now.
Ken, Adlai's too weak.
We have to convince Jack to
pull him. Get McCloy in there.
You can't take him out
this late in the game, Bobby.
Zorin will eat him alive.
Then talk to your brother,
god damn it.
The two of you don't need
my advice to get into trouble.
What's gotten into you?
Are you still sore about
this Lippmann thing?
That's something your father
would have done right there.
My father?
I'm just trying to make a point.
This idea is that fucking bad.
Adlai can handle Zorin.
He knows the inning, he knows the score.
He better,
because nobody believes
he's up to this...
Nobody.
Yes?
- Adlai?
- Yes.
It's Ken. How you doing?
I'm busy, Ken.
What do you need?
The President told me
to pass a word to you.
Stick it to them.
Cuba together...
I hear you.
I'm glad it's you calling.
I... I thought
it would be Bobby.
Adlai, the world has
to know we're right.
If we're gonna have a chance
at a political solution,
we need international pressure.
You got to be tough, Adlai.
You need to find it, Buddy.
Well, if they're still sticking
to their stonewalling strategy,
I'll get them.
I'm an old political cat, Kenny...
But I've got one life left.
I know you do.
See you, Ken.
We'll be able to find together
a proper...
Bobby.
We call upon the world
to condemn this purely
American provocation.
We, the people of Romania,
are standing in solidarity
with the people of the Republic
of Cuba and the revolution
in the face of this
American threat to world peace.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
We're very glad that you could
join us, Mr. Stevenson.
For the last 2 hours,
the entire world here
is asking only questions.
The United States
is pushing the entire world
to the brink of catastrophe.
The people of the whole world
want to know why.
We are told again and again
about some incontrovertible evidence
of offensive weapons in Cuba...
But no evidence can be shown to us.
Perhaps your spy planes are so secret
that you are simply incapable
to present such evidence.
Some planes.
I make the call,
Adlai is out. McCloy goes in.
Let's just hope
it doesn't come to that.
...simply don't have
such evidence.
Perhaps the United States
of America is simply mistaken.
Yes, the United States of America
does not have any facts in hands,
only falsifications.
John, get ready to send
your staffer in.
He's gonna be coming out.
The Chair recognizes the representative
from the United States of America.
Well, let me say something
to you, Mr. Ambassador.
We do have the evidence.
We do have it, and it is clear
and incontrovertible.
And let me say something else.
Those weapons
must be taken out of Cuba.
You, the Soviet Union,
have created this new danger...
Come on, Adlai.
Not the United States.
Mr. Zorin, I remind you
that the other day
you did not deny
the existence of these weapons,
but today, again,
if I have heard you correctly,
you now say they do not exist.
All right, sir, let me
ask you one simple question.
Come on, Adlai, don't let him off.
Do you, Ambassador Zorin,
deny that the USSR
has placed and is placing
medium and intermediate-range
missiles in sites in Cuba?
Yes or no?
Don't wait for the translation.
Yes or no?
Yeah.
I am not in the American courtroom,
and I do not wish to respond
to questions...
questions that a prosecutor
would put to the defendant.
You will get...
all the answers to your questions
as this session progresses.
You are in a courtroom
of world opinion right now,
and you can answer yes or no.
You have denied they exist, and I want to
know if I have understood you correctly.
Continue...
Continue your statement.
You will get your answers
in due course.
Don't worry. Don't worry.
I'm prepared to wait for my answer
until Hell freezes over,
if that's what is needed.
John, I'll get back to you.
I'm also prepared to present
the evidence in this room
proving that the Soviet Union
has lied to the world.
If you have decided not
to continue your statement,
the Chair recognizes
the representative from Chile.
I yield my time on the floor
to the representative
of the United States.
Well, then, ladies and gentlemen,
since it appears we're going
to be here for a while,
shall we have a look at what
the Soviets are doing in Cuba?
May we have the presentation, please?
Ladies and gentlemen, if you will
observe in photograph "A"...
Yeah. Yeah.
...taken approximately
August 29...
Old Adlai had it in him after all.
Zorin must not have
gotten instructions.
Somebody in their Foreign Ministry
is blowing it big time.
In photograph "B", we have October 14th.
The photograph taken then...
Mr. President.
There are at least 3 missile sites
being constructed.
There are bunkers...
The ship is called the Grozny.
We lost track of it
yesterday at nightfall.
We thought we gave it plenty of room
when we moved the quarantine line back.
We just reacquired it.
It crossed the line hours ago.
Well, how the hell do you
lose a goddamn tanker?
What the hell's going on over there?
Hail 'em again.
I want you to try 'em again.
We are kidding ourselves.
New coordinates for the Pierce.
Pierce coordinates,
25 degrees, 30 minutes north,
78 degrees, 10 minutes west.
Not responding, Chief.
Tell the Skipper.
They're not responding, sir.
General Quarters, General Quarters!
All hands, man your battle stations.
All hands, man your battle stations.
Very well. Load your guns.
Guns are loaded, sir.
What was that, Admiral?
We've been hailing the Grozny
for the last hour, Mr. Secretary.
The Grozny refuses to stop.
What are you doing?
Carrying out our mission,
Mr. Secretary.
Now, if you don't mind,
we're very busy right now.
We need to be able to do our jobs.
Admiral, I asked you a question.
We're going to follow
the rules of engagement...
The rules of engagement which the
President has approved and signed
in his order of 23 October.
Yes.
Yes, you may proceed, Captain.
- Clear your guns.
- What?
Damn it!
- Stop that firing!
- What?
Stop that firing!
Cease fire. Cease fire!
God help us.
- The ship was firing star shells.
- What?
Star shells! Flares,
Mr. Secretary.
God damn it! I've got
a job to do here.
Now, you've been camped out
out there since Monday night.
You're tired, you're exhausted,
and you're making mistakes.
You interfere with me and
you will get some of my men killed,
and I will not allow that!
Star shells.
Get out of our way,
Mr. Secretary.
The Navy's been running blockades
since the days of John Paul Jones.
I believe the President made it clear
that there will be no firing on ships
without his express permission.
With all due respect,
Mr. Secretary,
we were not firing on that ship.
What the hell was that?
Firing on a ship
means attacking a ship.
We were not attacking that ship.
We were firing over it.
That was not the President's
intention when he gave that order.
What if the Soviets
don't see the distinction?
What if they make
the same mistake I just made?
There will be no firing anything
near any Soviet ships
without my express permission.
Now is that understood, Admiral?
Is it?!
Yes, sir.
And I will only issue
such instructions
when ordered to by the President.
John Paul Jones!
You don't understand a thing,
do you, Admiral?
This isn't a blockade!
This is language...
A new vocabulary
the likes of which the world
has never seen.
This is President Kennedy
communicating
with Secretary Khrushchev.
Well, who the hell
authorized this missile test?
Who do you think?
God knows what this is gonna
communicate to the Soviets.
Communicate with the Soviets?
We can't communicate
with the Pentagon,
and it's just across
the goddamn river.
LeMay must think you're afraid of him.
I'm not taking that bait.
The right move here is to move on.
The United States Destroyer
Joseph P. Kennedy...
This is the point
at which we are concerned
that there might be shooting
among the ships at sea,
the possibility that invasion
might have to be undertaken
to assure that those bases
are eliminated.
If invasion is undertaken,
the Russians have said
that they would retaliate
with rocket fire.
We have said if there's
rocket fire from Cuba,
we will retaliate,
and there goes the whole ballgame.
Kenny.
What's this?
Can anyone just walk in here now?
Ken, don't worry. I'm not
here to do an interview.
Well, if you're looking for a cup of
sugar, John, you got the wrong door.
Kenny, we need to see the President.
Something's happened.
The point of the crisis...
This is the point at which...
I have lunch with him,
maybe once a month.
The way he talks, he acts like
he knows Khrushchev personally,
but he's never elaborated.
I've used him as a source
in a couple of stories.
The FBI has identified
this Alexander Fomin
as the Soviet resident,
um, the KGB equivalent
of one of our Station Chiefs.
He's their highest-ranking
spy in this country,
and he knows John's a friend of mine.
All the trademarks of
a back-channel overture.
Yeah. Some back channel.
ABC News guy, my goddamn
next-door neighbor.
So they'll remove the missiles,
and we'll pledge not to
invade Cuba or destabilize Castro
or assist anyone
who plans in doing so.
I think this may be our
first real message from Khrushchev.
The alternative,
Mr. President, is that
this could be a trap.
Mm-hmm.
And how is that exactly?
Dangle a settlement.
Tie us down in negotiation.
We come up short.
Why else would they
approach us this way?
It's deniable.
The Soviets have done
nothing but lie to us.
This could just be more of the same.
That may be why Khrushchev's
introducing this guy.
We've been burned by his usual
players in the formal channels,
so he brings in an honest broker.
That may be what
they want us to think.
The truth is, Mr. President,
we don't even really know
who Fomin speaks for.
It could be Khrushchev.
It could be some faction
of the Politburo
or the KGB itself.
We just don't know.
Oh, by the way, Scali,
your activities now fall under
the secrecy codicils
of the National Security Act.
Sorry, John. No Pulitzer.
Mr. President,
we haven't much time.
I'm scheduled to meet
with him again in 31/2 hours.
So it seems
the question of the day is,
is the offer legitimate?
And if it is...
Well, if it is,
we can't afford to ignore it.
So, John...
We'll have instructions for you
in a couple of hours.
Thank you.
Thank you, John.
Sir, we don't have much time to
Kenny.
I need you to get over
to your old stomping grounds
and go through everything
the FBI has on Fomin,
And I need your best call...
Is the guy legit,
and is he speaking for Khrushchev?
OK, so what we got here is this guy
Alexander Feklisov, aka Alexander Fomin,
declared Counsel
to the Soviet Embassy,
but in reality the KGB Papa spy.
An illustrious tour of duty
during the Great Patriotic War
gets him on the Party fast track.
Various tours of duty in KGB.
American postings.
He's an expert on us,
and that is all that
we got on Papa spy.
How do you become the KGB
top spy in the United States?
You gotta know someone.
You gotta know someone.
So, politics is politics.
Walter, get me Khrushchev's files.
Pass me that.
I want to see their career
chronology side by side.
- We know they're not related, right?
- Right.
They're not from the same hometown.
They went to different schools.
Right.
So if they were gonna meet,
they should have met here.
I think they could have met.
They couldn't have.
He was an engineer stationed outside
of Moscow at the end of '41.
That's it.
They know each other.
They're war buddies.
That's pretty thin, Kenny.
Well, real life usually is, Walter.
They know each other, Jack.
Khrushchev and Fomin were war buddies.
You sure?
Don't take it to court, but we've got
good circumstantial evidence.
Well, you're there. I mean, what's your instinct?
I gotta move on this.
My gut's telling me
that Khrushchev's turning
to a trusted old friend
to carry his message.
OK. We're going.
I've been instructed to tell you
that the American Government
would respond favorably
to an offer along the lines
that you have discussed.
If such a solution were raised
at the U.N. by Ambassador Zorin,
he would find a favorable reply
from Ambassador Stevenson.
So, I understand you correctly.
If the missiles in Cuba
were dismantled,
returned to the Soviet Union
and a guarantee was made
not to reintroduce them,
the United States would be prepared
to guarantee that
it would never invade Cuba?
That is correct.
And this is from
the Highest Authority?
Yes, the Highest Authority.
There are 2 conditions.
The U.N. must be allowed to inspect
the removal of the missiles.
Of course, the U.N.
must also be allowed
to observe the redeployment
of forces from the American Southeast.
I can't speak to that.
What's the second condition, John?
Time is of the essence.
How much time?
48 hours.
In 48 hours, there can be no deals.
Hoo hoo.
I'll see what I can do.
I think it's very difficult to
make a decision from this document.
Well, it looks to me like
Fomin's overture was genuine.
That's a big "if," Bobby.
It's 10 pages of sentimental fluff,
but he's saying it right here.
He'll remove the missiles
in return for
a no-invasion pledge.
Mm-hmm. Mr. President,
our early analysis says
this probably was written
by Khrushchev himself.
It's a first draft.
It shows no signs
of being polished
by the Foreign Ministry.
In fact, it probably wasn't
even approved by the Politburo
as they wouldn't let
the emotionalism go by.
The analysts say it
was written by someone
under considerable stress.
Glad to know we're not alone.
Well, it never was my intention
to invade Cuba anyway...
Until they put the missiles in there.
Gentlemen, I think
we should
seriously consider this deal.
- Hi.
- Hi.
You look old, O'Donnell.
You don't.
It's 2:30 in the morning.
You flirting with me?
We got a back-channel communication
from Khrushchev this evening,
feeling us out about a deal.
He confirmed it
just a little while ago in a letter.
Thank God.
Jack kicked us out of
his house for the night.
Darn it.
For a second there,
I thought you'd been fired.
No such luck.
You know, I'm driving home...
there was something
I wanted to tell you.
Finish that thought.
Yes?
Kenny, it's Bob. We're getting
another letter over the teletype
from Khrushchev.
I have a bad feeling.
Ok, I'll be right there.
You're beautiful.
It looks like Fomin
was a ploy after all,
and they were just stalling for time.
It gets worse.
Gentlemen,
my specialists are in agreement.
This morning's letter
is not Khrushchev.
Last night's letter was.
The evidence supports
only one conclusion.
There's been a coup, and
Khrushchev was replaced overnight.
Dean?
At the very least, it does suggest
he's been co-opted
by hard-line elements.
Which at the end of the day,
amounts to the same thing.
A puppet Khrushchev
and a hard-line Soviet Government
pulling the strings.
No deal, and the missiles
are almost operational.
What if the Soviets have no intention
of honoring this second deal?
Then tomorrow,
they make another condition.
Meanwhile,
the quarantine isn't working,
and they're completing work
on the missile sites.
Sir, I think we have to issue
pre-invasion orders for our forces.
Mr. President,
this morning's photography is in.
It appears the Soviets have commenced
a crash program
to ready their missiles.
The first missiles became
operational last night.
We expect they'll all
be operational in 36 hours.
Then we're out of time.
We have to go in.
That may not be as easy
as we thought, either.
We have gotten confirmation
the Soviets have also deployed
battlefield nuclear weapons to Cuba.
FROGs, we call 'em.
Short-range tactical nukes.
Now, we don't know
whether they've delegated
release authority
to their local commanders
for use on our invasion troops,
but the good news is,
as of this moment,
we know where the FROGs are,
and we can target them, too.
But the longer we wait,
the harder it's going to get.
We have no choice.
General, issue orders to our forces
to be prepared to execute
the air strikes Monday morning.
And the follow-on invasion
according to the schedule thereafter.
I'll need the official release
orders on my desk on Sunday night.
Understood, sir.
We'll need to step up our overflights,
finalize our pilots' target folders
in order to carry out the strikes.
- Permission granted.
- Yes, sir.
Well, gentlemen,
if anybody's got
any great ideas, now's the time.
Major Anderson, there's
a phone call for you.
Thank you.
All right. Give me
just a second here, guys.
This is Major Anderson.
Hello?
Hello, anyone there?
- Major?
- Yes, sir?
My name is Kenneth O'Donnell,
Special Assistant to the President.
Major, a few days ago,
the President ordered me
to help him keep control
of what's going on out there.
I've been... I've been
browbeating pilots,
you know, Navy guys left and right
to make sure you don't get us
here in Washington into trouble.
But you know what?
We're pretty damn good ourselves
at getting into trouble,
so instead of riding your ass,
I'm just gonna tell you what's going
on here and let you figure out
how best to help us out up here.
Go ahead, sir.
Last night, it, uh...
looked like we were going to cut a
deal to get us all out of this mess.
Today, the Soviets are reneging.
We're gonna try and
salvage the situation, but
a lot of things are going wrong today.
It's making everyone nervous.
And when things go wrong,
people will become more nervous,
and it will be very hard
to avoid going to war.
I'm not sure what you're
tying to tell me, sir.
Just my standard line
I've been repeating
to guys like you all week.
Don't get shot down.
Beyond that, whatever else you can
do to help us I'd appreciate it.
Sir...
When you're at 72,000 feet,
there's a million things
that can go wrong. I mean,
Is your oxygen mix right?
Are your cameras gonna freeze up?
Are you leaving a contrail?
Those million things,
they're beyond your control mostly.
But...
You know, when you realize that,
there's a kind of peace, you know?
If you're a good man and
if your ground crew are good men,
that is all you can ask for.
With the grace of God,
that'll get you through.
Are you a religious man?
Yes, sir, I am.
Good.
The plane is missing, Kenny.
We are presuming the pilot is dead.
Well, it's hard to believe,
with the Soviet centralized
command structure,
that this could've been
an accidental launch.
The question is, does
this attack on our plane
represent a definitive
intentional escalation
on the part of the Soviets?
Mr. President,
taken with the events
of the past few hours,
I believe this confirms
our worst fears.
We're now dealing with
a hard-line Soviet Government,
Perhaps with Khrushchev as a puppet
head, perhaps not. We don't know.
You OK?
Yeah.
I'm fine.
Mr. President...
What now?
A U-2 on a routine
air-sampling mission
got lost and penetrated
Soviet airspace over Siberia.
Oh, God damn it!
Soviets scrambled MIGs in pursuit,
thinking it was a bomber.
Got out OK.
Somebody forgot to cancel the mission.
You know, there's always some son of
a bitch who doesn't get the word.
You know, this is just what we need.
Soviets thinking we're bombing them.
Anybody else?
Mr. President,
our pilots are in danger.
We must order punitive air strikes
against the SAM site
that shot down Major Anderson
per our rules of engagement.
No.
I want confirmation it wasn't
some sort of accident first.
Mr. President.
I think that's
a good idea, Mr. President.
I can wait a day and a half.
Be safer for my boys to
get the SAMs on Monday
when we get the rest of the bastards.
Hut... hut!
Yeah, yeah.
Break!
That's the quarter.
- Hey, Dad.
- Hey, Sport.
- You winning?
- Yeah.
Is everything gonna be OK, Dad?
Everything's gonna be fine, Kenny.
I guess you won't
be coming home tonight.
I, uh...
I...
Let's go!
Second quarter!
It's OK. Go on back
to your game.
All right.
I'll see you around, Dad.
First down!
Break!
Damn it!
Jesus, Mary and Joseph!
Take off for 2 hours,
you're gonna miss a little drama.
I told you how stupid it was
to float that Lippmann article.
Now you're gonna do it for real?
The Jupiters are obsolete, Kenny.
They were supposed
to have been dismantled...
I know they're obsolete!
That's not the point.
The point is, you trade our missiles
in Turkey for theirs in Cuba,
they're gonna force us
into trade after trade,
until finally,
a couple of months from now,
they demand something
we won't trade, like Berlin,
and we do end up in a war.
Not to mention that
long before that happens,
this administration
will be politically dead.
I don't care if this administration
ends up in the freaking toilet!
We don't do a deal tonight,
there won't be any administration.
It's the wrong move, Bobby,
and it's not just me who thinks that.
Everyone on this so-called EXCOM is
telling you exactly the same thing.
Well, whose side are you on now, Ken?
Oh... God damn it.
What if there hasn't
been a coup at all?
What if it's you two?
- What is that supposed to mean?
- What if it was you two
who invited that second letter by
raising the possibility of a trade?
Mr. President, we have
only 30 hours left,
and whatever response we send,
it will take several
hours for the wire
to be received by our Embassy
and delivered to the Kremlin.
So we're looking at
early tomorrow morning
at the earliest before
Khrushchev can respond.
Which one of you geniuses
is gonna tell me
how to explain it to the world
if we don't make this trade?
So, what are we gonna
say to the Soviets
about this offer?
Well, it depends,
doesn't it? I mean,
Do we really believe
there's been a coup?
What if Fomin wasn't a ploy?
What if his message was real?
What if what is happening
is a series of accidents?
Accidents like them
shooting down our U-2?
Yes, accidents like that.
And the accident's making the
second letter seem more aggressive
and the whole situation
appear worse than it really is.
- "The Guns of August".
- That's right.
So we just reject the second letter?
No. No, no.
We don't reject it.
We accept the first letter
and pretend the second
letter doesn't exist.
It won't work because
that's wishful thinking!
He made an offer, so I...
That's the same
wishful thinking, Bobby,
that blinded us all these months
while the Soviets were sneaking
those missiles in under our noses.
Ignore the second letter,
agree to the conditions of the first.
There's no reason to believe
the Soviets will let it go.
Max is right.
Why will they accept it?
It can work if...
If they believe we're gonna hit 'em,
and hit 'em hard.
We've got time
for one more round
of diplomacy, and that's it.
The first air strikes
start in 28 hours.
But we have to make them agree to it.
Right. So how do we do that?
Well, we give them something.
We tell 'em we're gonna remove
the missiles from Turkey...
Hang on!
But we do that 6 months from now,
so it appears there's no linkage.
We also tell 'em if they go
public about it, we'll deny it.
Right. We deny it.
The deal's off.
And we do it under the table, so we
can disavow any knowledge of it.
It's transparent, Kenny.
The press'll be all over it.
6 months from now, we're
not gonna care, are we?
We'll deal with it then.
At the least, it'll expose whether
Khrushchev has been overthrown.
We'll know who we're up against.
Well, I've been thinking
about Khrushchev,
and if this is a move to appease
the hard-liners
in his Government,
then it may be just the bone he needs
to regain control of his own house.
Whoever carries the message
has to hit the nail on the head.
Come across as too soft,
they'll push us.
Too hard, they'll be cornered,
and even more dangerous.
All of you...
All of you do understand
that there is an enormous risk
in offering this deal.
Because if they turn us down,
and we've already told them
that we're coming in
on Monday morning...
- They'll strike first.
- Yes.
Bobby.
You know Dobrynin best.
Yeah.
Then you're it.
Ted, I want you to
start working on the draft.
And, Bobby, you gotta go in there.
You gotta make them understand
that we have to have
an answer tomorrow,
because Monday we go to war.
What do you want?
A good-bye kiss?
Hey, Joe, listen.
I'll take care of him.
Go on inside. Grab some coffee.
We'll be back pretty quick.
- Are you sure?
- Sure.
What's the matter with you?
Forget how to open a car door?
Jesus.
You rich people.
I promised the girls
I'd take them riding tomorrow.
Make sure you keep that date.
We gave up so much to get here.
I don't know. Sometimes I think,
what the hell did we do it for?
Well, I don't know about you, but
I'm in it for the money.
We knew we could do
a better job than everyone else.
Remember?
You know, I...
I... I hate being called
the brilliant one,
the ruthless one...
The guy everybody's afraid of.
I hate it.
I'm not so smart, you know?
I'm not so ruthless.
Well, you're right
about the smart part.
I don't know if I can do this.
There's nobody else
I'd rather have going in there
than you...
Nobody else I'd trust Helen and...
the kids' lives to.
Take a left.
You smell that?
They're burning their documents.
They think we're going to war.
God help us, Ken.
Sir, Ambassador Dobrynin is already here.
He's waiting in your office.
Here.
I'll whistle up some luck for you.
Mr. Ambassador. Thank you.
Who are you?
A friend.
My brother, my friends,
my countrymen, and I
cannot and will not permit
those missiles to become operational.
I promise you that.
Then I fear our 2 nations
will go to war...
And I fear where war will lead us.
If the missiles do not
become operational,
if you remove the missiles,
then there will be no war.
At this moment, the President
is accepting the terms
of Secretary Khrushchev's
letter of Friday night.
If the Soviet Union
halts construction immediately,
removes the missiles,
and submits to U.N. inspection,
the United States will pledge
to never invade Cuba or
aid others in that enterprise.
If your Jupiter missiles in Turkey
were removed also,
such an accommodation
could be reached.
That's not possible.
The United States cannot
agree to such terms under threat.
Any belief to the contrary
was in error.
You want war?
However...
While there can be
no quid pro quo on this issue,
the United States can offer
a private assurance.
Now, our Jupiter missiles
in Turkey are obsolete
and have been scheduled
for withdrawal for some time.
This withdrawal should take place
within, say, 6 months.
Of course, any public disclosure
of this assurance
would negate the deal
and produce the most stringent
denials from our Government.
This private assurance
represents the word
of the Highest Authority?
Yes.
And it can be relayed beyond
Comrade Khrushchev's ears
to the top circles of my Government?
Our pledge can be relayed
to any Government officials
Secretary Khrushchev
sees fit to satisfy,
with the caveat that
it is not to be made public
in any way, shape, or form.
And we must have an answer tomorrow,
at the latest.
I cannot stress this point enough.
Tomorrow?
Tomorrow.
Then you must excuse me
and permit me to relay
the substance of our discussion
to my superiors.
Of course.
We have heard stories that some of
your military men wish for war.
You're a good man.
Your brother is a good man.
I assure you there are other good men.
Let us hope the will of good men
is enough to counter
the terrible strength
of this thing that was put in motion.
What's going to happen?
If the sun comes up tomorrow,
it is only because
of men of good will.
And that's...
That's all there is
between us and the Devil.
This is Radio Moscow.
Premier Khrushchev has sent a message
to President Kennedy today.
The Soviet Prime Minister reemphasizes
the need for urgent measures
to prevent a fatal turn of events
and to preserve world peace.
In addition to instructions
earlier transmitted
to stop construction work
on installations in Cuba,
the Soviet Government has ordered
the dismantling of weapons in Cuba,
as well as their crating
and return to the Soviet Union.
Is everybody ready for church?
It's a beautiful morning.
Pass the butter up to Dad.
Dad, you want your paper?
Dad, what's wrong?
The sun came up.
Every day the sun comes up
says something about us.
What does it say, Dad?
What's wrong with Daddy?
This is the foreign policy trophy
we were hoping for.
Mr. President, sir.
Mr. President, great job.
Hold it, hold it.
Well, Mr. President,
I think I can speak for everyone here
when I say,
"Bring on those mid-terms,
there's no stopping us now."
- 4 more years.
- All right.
You know, it's been
a long 2 weeks, and...
or whatever, but...
I'd like to thank you all.
I think you all did a great job,
and I just think...
I don't think we should be
gloating too much.
It was...
just as much a victory
for them as it was for us.
Hear, hear.
Enjoy your morning.
Thank you, Mr. President.
Get some rest, Mr. President.
We've got a lot
of new clout right now,
and we can run the table
on Khrushchev,
the Middle East, and Southeast Asia.
Right. You're right.
Dear Mr. And Mrs. Anderson,
I was deeply shocked
when advised your son was lost
in an operational mission on Saturday,
October 27, 1962.
Your son rendered distinguished
and dedicated service to his country
throughout his career.
He was admired...
and respected
for his courage,
and his professional skill
by all with whom he served.
His tragic loss will be deeply felt...
and a grateful nation
will be forever in his debt.
Ken, we're out here.
What kind of a peace do we seek?
I am talking about genuine peace...
The kind of peace that makes
life on earth worth living...
Not merely peace in our time,
but peace in all time.
Our problems are man-made,
therefore, they can be solved by man.
For in the final analysis,
our most basic common link
is that we all inhabit
this small planet.
We all breathe the same air.
We all cherish our children's future,
and we are all mortal.