Document B: Letter from President Kennedy to Chairman Khrushchev
(Modified)
Washington, October 27, 1962
Dear Mr. Chairman:
I have read your letter of Oct. 26th with great care and welcomed the
statement of your desire to seek a prompt solution to the problem. As I read your
letter, the key elements of your proposals…are as follows:
1) You would agree to remove these weapons from Cuba under
appropriate United Nations observation and supervision; and halt the further
introduction of such weapons systems into Cuba.
2) We, on our part, would agree…a) to remove promptly the [blockade]
now in effect and (b) to give assurances against an invasion of Cuba, I am
confident that other nations of the Western Hemisphere would be prepared to do
likewise.
There is no reason why we should not be able to complete these arrangements
and announce them to the world within a couple of days. The effect of such a
settlement on easing world tensions would enable us to work toward a more
general arrangement regarding "other armaments", as proposed in your letter.
But the first step, let me emphasize, is the cessation (end) of work on missile
sites in Cuba . . . . The continuation of this threat by linking these problems to the
broader questions of European and world security, would surely [be] a grave risk
to the peace of the world. For this reason I hope we can quickly agree along the
lines outlined in this letter and in your letter of October 26.
John F. Kennedy
Source: Letter from President Kennedy to Chairman Kruschev
Document C: Russian Ambassador Cable to Soviet Foreign Ministry
Dobrynin’s (Russia’s Ambassador to the United States) cable to the Soviet
Foreign Ministry, October 27, 1962.
Late tonight Robert Kennedy (President Kennedy’s Attorney General) invited me
to come see him. We talked alone.
Kennedy stated that, “The US government is determined to get rid of those bases
[in Cuba]—up to, in the extreme case, of bombing them, since, I repeat, they
pose a great threat to the security of the USA. In response I am sure the Soviets
will respond and a real war will begin, in which millions of Americans and
Russians will die. We want to avoid that in any way we can, I’m sure that the
government of the USSR has the same wish.”
“The most important thing for us is to get an agreement as soon as possible with
the Soviet government to halt further work on the construction of the missile
bases in Cuba and take measures under international control that would make it
impossible to use these weapons.”
“And what about Turkey?” I asked R. Kennedy
“If that is the only obstacle to achieving the rules I mentioned earlier, then the
president doesn’t see any difficulties in resolving this issue” replied R. Kennedy.
“The greatest difficulty for the president is the public discussion of the issue of
Turkey. The deployment of missile bases in Turkey was officially done by special
decision of the NATO Council. To announce now a unilateral (one-sided)
decision by the president of the USA to withdraw missile bases from Turkey—this
would damage the entire structure of NATO and the US position as the leader of
NATO. However, President Kennedy is ready to come to agreement on that
question with Khrushchev. I think that in order to withdraw these bases from
Turkey we need 4-5 months. However, the president can’t say anything public in
this regard about Turkey.”
R. Kennedy then warned that his comments about Turkey are extremely
confidential; besides him and his brother, only 2-3 people know about it in
Washington.
“The president also asked Khrushchev to give him an answer within the next
day,” Kennedy said in conclusion.
QUESTIONS FOR EACH DOCUMENTS:
Document B: Letter from President Kennedy to Chairman Khrushchev
4. In this letter Kennedy restates Khrushchev’s proposals. Does Kennedy include
everything Khrushchev proposed? If not, why might have he left something out?
5. What is the tone of this letter? Provide a quote to support your claim.
6. Do you think Kennedy has the upper hand? Why or why not?
Document C: Russian Ambassador Cable to Soviet Foreign Ministry
7. What new information do you learn from Robert Kennedy?
8. Why do you think this exchange happened in a private meeting (rather than in an
official letter)? [Remember, Document B was published in the New York Times].
9. How do you think Robert Kennedy felt during this meeting? Provide evidence.
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