40 pages • 1 hour read
Thirteen Days
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Pages 37-55Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapter Summary: “It was now up to one single man.”
The committee presented the recommendations to President Kennedy at a meeting of the National Security Council on Saturday. After listening to the arguments for each position, the President decided in favor of a blockade of Cuba. Robert Kennedy found some of the arguments advocating for military action problematic and recalled “the many times that I had heard the military take positions which, if wrong, had the advantage that no one would be around at the end to know” (38).
On Sunday, the President was informed that the U.S. could not be confident that an airstrike on Cuba would successfully eliminate all of the missiles. That information dissolved any reservations President Kennedy had about proceeding with a blockade. President Kennedy’s most compelling objection to military action “was that a surprise attack would erode if not destroy the moral position of the United States throughout the world” (39). Although a blockade was chosen, military preparations were undertaken immediately. Troops were mobilized, ships were sent to the Caribbean, and the bomber force was airborne with nuclear weapons.
The critical diplomatic process of informing American allies and gaining their support began. As more people in Washington learned of the situation, the press became aware of critical developments. President Kennedy persuaded the media to limit their reports to announcing his speech to address a “serious crisis” (40).
The President then held meetings to inform Congressional leaders of the crisis. Many Congressional leaders were strenuously opposed to the blockade and advocated for a military show of force instead. President Kennedy explained the risks of provoking a Soviet nuclear attack in response to American military action, assuring Congressional leaders that the military were being readied for action if required, and pledged to “take whatever steps were necessary to protect the security of the United States” (42).
The President gave a televised speech that night to inform the country of the events in Cuba and the reasons for the American blockade. President Kennedy stressed that this was a first step and that America was prepared to take military action as needed. Robert Kennedy reported that after the speech, “no one could predict what was in store in the days ahead, but we all felt that the President, because of his own wisdom and personal dignity, would have the support of a unified country” (44).
Chapter Summary: “The important meeting of the OAS…”
The committee began their meeting the next morning in notably-improved moods, which Robert Kennedy attributed to having moved forward and survived. They delineated military procedures and consequences in the event that a U-2 plane was shot down over Cuba and only a few minutes into the meeting, “the relaxed, lighter moods had completely disappeared” (46). There was meticulous planning for any foreseeable eventuality that might be encountered in the blockade. After the Organization of American States voted to support the U.S., President Kennedy wrote the declaration authorizing the blockade to begin the following morning.
It was reported in the evening meeting “that an extraordinary number of coded messages had been sent to all the Russian ships on their way to Cuba” (48). The content was not known, but the ships were heading toward Cuba. President Kennedy wrote to Khrushchev “asking him to observe the quarantine legally established by a vote of the OAS” (48). The President communicated that he did not want to attack any ships, ending with “I am concerned that we both show prudence and do nothing to allow events to make the situation more difficult to control than it is”(48).
The committee devised specific procedures, designed to avoid military escalation, for the Navy to follow, should a Russian commercial vessel approach the blockade line. How to manage commercial, non-military vessels was a complicated issue. Intercepting military supplies was acceptable to the group, but as President Kennedy asked, “what would you do then…if we go through all of this effort and then find out there’s baby food on it?” (48). Then the group learned that Russian submarines were moving in the direction of Cuba, prompting the President to direct the Navy to track them and heighten protective measures for American naval ships.
After the meeting, the President shared with his close aides that “the great danger and risk in all of this…is a miscalculation, a mistake in judgment.” (49). President Kennedy had recently read The Guns of August, Barbara Tuchman’s historical analysis of the causes of World War One, and drew parallels between pre-war Europe and the Cuban missile crisis. The President was determined to avoid an inadvertent escalation with the Soviets that would plunge the world into war. The President noted that the European powers “somehow seemed to tumble into war…through stupidity, individual idiosyncrasies, misunderstandings, and personal complexes of inferiority and grandeur” (49).He wanted to ensure that that the U.S. did everything in its power to prevent war.
Chapter Summary: “I met with Dobrynin…”
On Tuesday night, the President asked Robert Kennedy to meet with the Soviet Ambassador, who insisted that, according to Khrushchev, there were no missiles in Cuba. The Ambassador also informed him that Russian ships were still heading towards Cuba. Robert Kennedy returned to the White House, where the President was meeting with the British Ambassador. The ambassador suggested that the U.S. retract the blockade line around Cuba, which would delay the first U.S. interception, affording the Soviets “more time to analyze their position”(52). The President ordered the line reduced by three hundred miles.
The next morning, in a private conversation, Robert Kennedy and President Kennedy agreed that the President would have been impeached if he had not acted in response to the crisis. The meeting that followed was one of “the most trying, the most difficult, and the most filled with tension” (52). Film from surveillance planes revealed continuing progress on the construction of missile sites, some of which appeared to be only days away from being operational. Russian vessels were continuing towards Cuba, and the U.S. would either have to intercept them or end the blockade: “this was the moment we had prepared for, which we hoped would never come” (53).
Secretary McNamara reported that two Soviet vessels were approaching the blockade perimeter and that contact with the US Navy was anticipated shortly. Tensions were further escalated when it was learned that a Russian submarine accompanied the ships. Robert Kennedy believed “these few minutes were the time of gravest concern for the President” (53). The President was visibly distressed, prompting Robert Kennedy to briefly lose track of the meeting in a reverie of personal memories of difficult times shared with his brother. After President Kennedy expressed alarm at the prospect of encountering a submarine in the first interception, and Secretary McNamara replied there was no other choice, Robert Kennedy “felt we were on the edge of a precipice with no way off” (54).
At 10:25, John McCone received a preliminary report that the Russian ships had stopped advancing. The report that the twenty Soviet ships closest to the blockade perimeter had either stopped or turned back was verified. The Navy was ordered to allow the Soviets to stop or turn around without hindrance, and “then we were back to the details,” as the meeting continued (55).
Pages 37-55 Analysis
The action of the book shifts from planning a response to implementing a blockade, while simultaneously preparing for possible military engagement. Under enormous pressure, the committee prepares to confront the consequences of their decisions, specifically how the Russians will respond to the blockade. The threat of a nuclear holocaust hangs over the meeting as the Russian ships approach the blockade line and the moment of confrontation is imminent. Tensions subside temporarily as the Russian ships stop or turn back before an encounter.
The President continues to work to give the Russians more time to develop a peaceful solution as he directs the Navy to retract the blockade line to postpone the initial interception. However diplomatic efforts such as sending Robert Kennedy to meet with the Soviet Ambassador, and writing to Khrushchev, apparently have little effect, as the Soviets continue to develop the missile sites while concurrently denying their existence.
In one of the few references to political consequences, Robert Kennedy and the President discuss the public perceptions of the President’s crisis management, and both agree that he would have been impeached if he had not acted. In the beginning of the book, Robert Kennedy also refers to the approaching mid-term elections, in which Republican leaders were criticizing the President for not working to do more to protect America from foreign threats.
Robert Kennedy makes an unusually personal comment during an extremely tense meeting. Noticing the strain on his brother’s face, Robert Kennedy meets the President’s gaze and “for a few fleeting seconds, it was almost as though no one else was there and he was no longer the President” (54). Robert Kennedy temporarily loses track of the meeting as he recalls painful memories shared with his brother. Although he recounts many private conversations with the President, those are all professional in nature and always refer specifically to the President or President Kennedy. This is the only reference to the President as his brother.
In a conversation with close aides, President Kennedy reveals the influence of history on his thought processes as he compares the missile crisis to the series of events that precipitated World War One, sharing his fear that the United States and the Soviet Union could inadvertently escalate the situation into a war no one intended. He is determined to do everything in his power to avoid starting a war.
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