Thirteen Days (2000)

1. Unh.

2. - Hey. What the...? Heh.

3. What—? Who's that?

4. You're dead. Who grabbed me?

5. Watch out. - Who grabbed me?

6. Who grabbed me?

7. Honey, you're gonna be late. What'd you grab me for?

8. Mom, I can't find my shoes for school.

9. They're under the couch.

10. Sit down. Yeah.

11. Dad, will you sign my permission slip?

12. - Give it to your mother. - Your mother's arms are full.

13. - You got time for pancakes? Nope.

14. Give us another one, Dad.

15. - Secretary of defense? - Dean Rusk.

16. Wrong. And you get to wax my car.

17. Rusk is state, moron. It's Robert McNamara.

18. - Attorney general? Too easy.

19. It's Bobby Kennedy. Bobby Kennedy.

20. All right, wise guys.

21. Uh, assistant secretary of state for Latin America?

22. That's too hard.

23. Wait a minute.

24. What—? This isn't a permission slip.

25. This is your report card.

26. Have you seen these grades?

27. No.

28. All right. Gotta go. Be good.

29. You.

30. I'm talking to you later.

31. - Morning, Evelyn. - Hi, Ken.

32. - Ooh. Those candies are for the kids. - Mm-hm.

33. - Morning, Floyd. - Good morning, Mr. O'Donnell.

34. - Morning, Jackie. - Hi, Kenny.

35. - Want a schedule? - No.

36. Why'd you cross all my people off the list?

37. Because you don't have anybody on it who means anything.

38. - No votes there. There's no money. - It's a party, Kenny.

39. The one thing we both can be sure of is that you don't know how to have a party.

40. Well, party to you, politics to me.

41. So who do you want? For real?

42. Everyone on my list.

43. I don't wanna spend an evening pretending that your votes...

44. are more interesting than they really are.

45. I want my kids to stop eating the candy in the Oval Office.

46. - That's not me. - Then who is it?

47. I don't rat on my friends.

48. Well, I'm going to take this whole list thing up with your friend.

49. Are you trying to go around me?

50. Go around you, over you, through you, whatever it takes.

51. - You're starting to bug me. - Heh, good.

52. I'll get back to you.

53. - Top of the morning, Mr. President. Morning, Kenny.

54. Just ran into your wife.

55. - Wanna talk about this party? - No.

56. - You see, uh, Homer Capehart's tirade today? - I did.

57. I don't see why he needs to invent an issue. He's got his election sewn up.

58. Even so, we should still go out for Bobby.

59. It's good groundwork for us in '64.

60. Look into that, uh...

61. That Vietnam thing.

62. - What, the two planes that went down? - Yeah.

63. It didn't make it before press time.

64. I haven't taken a look at the papers yet, but I doubt we'll see anything till tomorrow.

65. I was eating that.

66. - No, you weren't. - I was.

67. I was, you bastard.

68. - So, what do we got today? - Today.

69. That's it. That's the one we're looking for.

70. - I need to see the president, Kenny. - All right.

71. Two thirty to 2:45 or 4:30 to 5. Take your pick.

72. No, I need to see him now, Ken.

73. You can go on up. I'll let him know you're coming.

74. - Coffee? - Yeah.

75. That's not what you said.

76. Tell me what I said.

77. That's not what—

78. Listen to me, you worthless piece of shit.

79. Now, you will put Daley's man on the circuit, and you'll do it today.

80. You owe your goddamn job to this administration.

81. So I'm ungrateful. Is that what you think?

82. Yeah, I can, uh, hear how grateful you are. There's a word you need to learn.

83. - It's the only word in politics. What?

84. - It's called loyalty. Loyalty! Wait a minute...

85. Now, any part of this you don't understand?

86. Good.

87. What?

88. This isn't the blessed order of St. Mary the Meek.

89. Look, you better come in here.

90. What was it you were saying to me the other day about Cuba? It wasn't important?

91. - Not as far as the election goes. - Mac, let's...

92. Can I see that for a second?

93. Ken, you used to look down a bombsight for a living.

94. Uh, just ignore the labels. What does that look like to you?

95. I don't know.

96. - What is it? - On Sunday morning...

97. one of our U-2s took these pictures.

98. Soviets are putting medium-range ballistic missiles into Cuba.

99. They appear to be the SS-4.

100. Range of a thousand miles, three megaton nuclear warheads.

101. Seen here in this year's May Day Parade in Red Square.

102. Jesus Christ in heaven.

103. White House operator. White House operator.

104. Yeah, Mr. O'Donnell, please...

105. - ... for Secretary McNamara. - Please hold.

106. - Go ahead, please. - You have a call.

107. - Yup. White House operator. - White House operator.

108. I've got the president for the attorney general. Go ahead.

109. What the crap is going on?

110. That's right. That's right. The principals are assembling in an hour.

111. We'll see you then.

112. Where's Bobby?

113. - He should be here any minute. - Well, good.

114. Good.

115. Where the hell are you?

116. We're in here.

117. Jesus Christ, guys. What the hell is Khrushchev thinking?

118. Do you have any indication of this from your KGB pal Bolshakov?

119. Any possible warning, sense of motivation?

120. Complete snow job.

121. Then we went out and told the country they weren't putting missiles into Cuba.

122. Jesus, l...

123. I feel like we caught the Jap carrier steaming for Pearl Harbor.

124. - Good morning, gentlemen. Good morning, Mr. President.

125. - Mr. Secretary. Mr. President.

126. Bob, I'll bet you had a late night.

127. - Sleep is for the weak, Mr. President. Max.

128. Mr. President, ClA's been notified.

129. McCone's on his way back from the West Coast. He's been burying his stepson.

130. General Carter is here, though.

131. - Ted. - Kenny.

132. Okay.

133. Let's have it.

134. Arthur?

135. Uh, gentlemen, as most of you now know...

136. a U-2 over Cuba Sunday morning took a series of disturbing photographs.

137. Our analysis at NPIC indicates that the Soviet Union...

138. has followed up its conventional weapons buildup in Cuba...

139. with the introduction of surface-to-surface...

140. medium-range ballistic missiles or MRBMs.

141. Our official estimate at this time...

142. is that this missile system is the SS-4 Sandal.

143. Uh, we do not believe that the missiles are as yet operational.

144. Ironbark reports that the SS-4...

145. can deliver a three-megaton nuclear weapon 1000 miles.

146. So far, we've identified 32 missiles serviced by about 3400 men...

147. undoubtedly all Soviet personnel.

148. Our cities and military installations...

149. in the southeast as far north as Washington, D.C...

150. are in range of these weapons...

151. and in the event of a launch would have only five minutes of warning.

152. Five minutes, gentlemen.

153. In those five minutes, they could kill 80 million Americans...

154. and destroy a significant percentage of our bomber bases...

155. degrading our retaliatory options.

156. The Joint Chiefs' consensus, Mr. President...

157. is that this signals a major doctrinal shift in Soviet thinking...

158. to a first-strike policy.

159. It is a massively destabilizing move.

160. - How long until they're operational? - General Taylor can answer that question.

161. GMAC, Guided Missiles lntelligence Committee...

162. estimates 10 to 14 days.

163. A crash program could limit that time.

164. However, I must stress that, uh, there may be more missiles...

165. that we don't know about.

166. - We need more U-2 coverage. I want first reactions here.

167. Assuming that Khrushchev has not gone off the deep end...

168. and intends to start World War lll, what are we looking at?

169. Mr. President, uh, I believe my team is in agreement.

170. If we permit the introduction of missiles...

171. to a Soviet satellite nation in our hemisphere...

172. the diplomatic consequences will be too terrible to contemplate.

173. Russians are trying to show they can do whatever they want, and we're powerless.

174. - If they succeed— - It'll be Munich all over again.

175. Yes. Appeasement only makes the aggressor more aggressive.

176. And the Soviets will be emboldened to push us even harder.

177. Now, we must remove the missiles one way or another.

178. It seems to me the options are either some combination of international pressure...

179. and action on our part till they give in.

180. Or...

181. we hit them.

182. An air strike.

183. Bob?

184. We worked up several military scenarios.

185. Before I ask General Taylor to take us through the options...

186. I'd like for us to adopt a rule.

187. If we decide to strike, we must agree now to do it...

188. before the missiles become operational.

189. Because once they are, I don't think we can guarantee getting them all before at least...

190. At least some of them are launched.

191. Well, it's clear we cannot permit Soviet nuclear missiles in Cuba.

192. We have to get those missiles out.

193. You know, I don't think it's gonna matter what Khrushchev's intentions are.

194. I can tell you right now...

195. I don't see any way around hitting them.

196. If we hit them, kill a lot of Russians, they'll move against Berlin.

197. All right, they attack Berlin, that's NATO, and we're at war.

198. We're damned if we do, but if we don't...

199. we're in a war somewhere else in six months.

200. Well, if there are alternatives, and I'm not saying that there are...

201. - ... we need them fast. - All right, what about Congress?

202. I think we may need to start letting key people know.

203. - And they're all scattered for the campaign. - We can get Congress back.

204. We're gonna need to get the U.N. staff in and warmed up.

205. - The allies? - We can't start worrying about everything.

206. Right now we got to figure out what we're gonna do before we worry.

207. Well, we've got a bunch smart guys. We lock them in a room...

208. and kick them in the ass until they come up with some solutions.

209. I'll do it.

210. It's too politicized with you in there. They need to be able to stick their necks out.

211. Yeah, it'll be the principals, a couple of the key guys from each department.

212. The executive committee of the National Security Council.

213. Call it EXCOM.

214. Okay.

215. So I'm only gonna show for the meetings that you call me into.

216. And impress us.

217. Do it fast.

218. Kenny, you're gonna be in charge of keeping this quiet.

219. If word gets out before we know what we're gonna do, there's gonna be panic.

220. It's gonna ruin any chance we might have at surprise if we decide to hit them.

221. We're gonna need to do a few things right away.

222. No Pierre.

223. He knows, the press knows.

224. And you have to keep up your schedule. Your movements are followed too closely.

225. George Ball's got a conference room at state.

226. Good. You meet over there this afternoon.

227. We'll figure out some way to sneak you back in here tonight.

228. I think we should bring in Dean Acheson.

229. Kenny, he was fighting Soviets while we were still playing ball together at school.

230. Find him, Kenny.

231. We're gonna need all the help we can get.

232. Whoa, there.

233. Screw secrecy.

234. Try having that fat ass sit on your lap all the way from Foggy Bottom.

235. You were excited. I say no more.

236. Everybody agrees the diplomatic route won't work.

237. It's too slow and they'll have the missiles finished while we're still talking.

238. I hear old Warren Harding used to get his girls in through here.

239. We have 850 planes...

240. assembling at Homestead, Eglin, Opa-Locka...

241. MacDill, Patrick, Pensacola, and Key West.

242. Due to the tropical foliage, the OPLAN calls for high explosive...

243. and napalm load-outs for our ground-attack sorties.

244. I still think there are diplomatic approaches we haven't considered yet.

245. Jesus, Adlai, peace at any price?

246. We have a gun to our head.

247. We have high confidence...

248. in the expanded air strike option, Mr. President.

249. The problem is, sir, is that it's a short-term solution.

250. Khrushchev can send in more missiles next month.

251. The chiefs and I believe...

252. we should follow up the air strikes with a full version of OPLAN-316.

253. - An invasion? Yes, sir.

254. We can be sure we get all the missiles and we remove Castro...

255. so this can never happen again.

256. Is this the Joint Chiefs' recommendation?

257. Yes, sir. Our best option, as Bob pointed out this morning...

258. would be to commence the strikes before the missiles become operational.

259. The invasion happens eight days later.

260. Dean, uh, what do you think?

261. Gentlemen, for the last 15 years...

262. I have fought here at this table alongside your predecessors...

263. in the struggle against the Soviet.

264. Now, I do not wish to seem melodramatic, but I do wish to impress upon you...

265. a lesson I learned with bitter tears and great sacrifice.

266. The Soviet understands only one language: action.

267. Respects only one word: force.

268. I concur with General Taylor.

269. I recommend, sir, air strikes followed by invasion.

270. Perhaps preceded by an ultimatum to dismantle the missiles...

271. if that is militarily viable.

272. So it appears we have— We have three options.

273. Number one, a surgical air strike against the missiles themselves.

274. Two, a much larger air strike...

275. against their air defenses along with the missiles.

276. And three...

277. invasion.

278. So we're certainly gonna do number one.

279. We're gonna take these missiles out. It seems to me we can't wait very long.

280. We should be making those preparations.

281. We're preparing to implement all three options.

282. Though I must stress again, sir, there are risks to the strikes...

283. without the follow-on invasion.

284. You wanna be clear, Mr. President, that we've decided against a political track.

285. Dean, uh...

286. How does this—? How does this all play out?

287. Your first step will be to demand that the Soviet withdraw the missiles...

288. within 12 to 24 hours.

289. They will refuse.

290. When they do, you will order the strikes, followed by the invasion.

291. They will resist and be overrun.

292. They will retaliate against another target...

293. somewhere else in the world, most likely Berlin.

294. We will honor our treaty commitments...

295. and resist them there, defeating them per our plans.

296. Those plans call for the use of nuclear weapons.

297. So, what is the...? What is the next step?

298. Hopefully cooler heads will prevail before we reach the next step.

299. Thank you, gentlemen.

300. What happened in there? I thought he was gonna give us his decision.

301. Look, I know them. They just need to make sure there's no other way.

302. Kennedy's father was one of the architects of Munich.

303. There's only one responsible choice here.

304. So let's hope appeasement doesn't run in families.

305. I fear weakness does.

306. Jesus Christ.

307. Call me Irish, but I don't believe in cooler heads prevailing.

308. - They think I froze in there. You didn't freeze.

309. You did what you should've done. You stayed out of the corner. You didn't decide.

310. Well, Acheson's scenario is just...

311. It's unacceptable. He's got more experience than us.

312. There is no expert on the subject. I mean, there is no wise old man. There's...

313. Shit, there's just us.

314. The thing is that Acheson's right. Talk alone is not gonna accomplish anything.

315. Let's bomb the shit out of them.

316. Everybody wants to. I mean, even you, heh.

317. I mean, even me.

318. Right? It sure would feel good.

319. And, Jack, I'm as conniving as they come, but a sneak attack is just wrong.

320. Things are happening too fast.

321. This is starting to smell like the Bay of Pigs again.

322. Well, tonight, listening to Taylor and Acheson...

323. I kept seeing Lemnitzer and Dulles telling me to sign on the dotted line...

324. and the invasion would succeed, and Castro—

325. And Castro would be gone and...

326. Just...

327. Easy just like that.

328. You know, there's something...

329. immoral about abandoning your own judgment.

330. We just can't let this get out of hand.

331. And we're gonna do whatever we have to do and make this come out right.

332. - I'm gonna stay here tomorrow. No, you can't.

333. Remember, we talked about this, your schedule.

334. The best thing you can do tomorrow is go to Connecticut.

335. He's right.

336. Yeah.

337. Jesus.

338. Hi there!

339. - JFK all the way! Welcome to Connecticut!

340. Over here! Mr. President!

341. Doesn't anybody in Connecticut have to work today?

342. We love you, JFK!

343. The full spectrum of air strikes...

344. is the response the Joint Chiefs will accept.

345. No, no, no.

346. Now, there is more than one option here.

347. And if one isn't occurring to us, we haven't thought hard enough.

348. Bobby, sometimes there is only one right choice...

349. and you thank God when it's so clear.

350. You're talking about a sneak attack.

351. How will that make us look?

352. A big country blasting a little one into the Stone Age.

353. - Oh, we'll be everyone's favorite. Come on, Bobby, that's naive.

354. This is the real world. You know that better than anybody.

355. And you weren't so particular...

356. when we were talking about options for removing Castro over at CIA.

357. Bob...

358. if we go ahead with these air strikes...

359. you know what it will come to in the end.

360. There has got to be something else. Give it to me.

361. Now, I don't— I don't care how crazy, inadequate or stupid it sounds.

362. Give it to me.

363. Six months ago, we gamed out a scenario.

364. It's slow, it doesn't get rid of the missiles.

365. It's got a lot of drawbacks.

366. The scenario calls for a blockade of Cuba.

367. All right.

368. Situation is worse than we thought.

369. We now count 40 missiles. Forty missiles.

370. Longer range IRBMs.

371. They can hit every place in the country, except Seattle.

372. Mr. President, you give me the order right now...

373. my planes will be ready to carry out air strikes in three days.

374. All you gotta do is say go.

375. My boys will get those red bastards.

376. General, how long until the Army's ready?

377. We've just begun the mobilization under cover of a pre-arranged exercise, sir.

378. We're looking at another week and a half.

379. But you can order the strikes now.

380. Plans call for an eight-day air campaign.

381. It'll light a fire under the Army's ass to get in place.

382. General LeMay, do you believe that's our best course of action?

383. Mr. President, I believe it is the only course of action.

384. America is in danger.

385. Those missiles are a threat to our bomber bases and our nuclear deterrent.

386. Without our deterrent...

387. there's nothing to keep the enemy from choosing general nuclear war.

388. It's our duty, sir.

389. Our responsibility to the American people to take out those missiles...

390. and return stability to the strategic situation.

391. The big red dog, is digging in our backyard and we are justified in shooting him.

392. Sir, we have a rapidly closing window of opportunity...

393. where we can prevent those missiles from ever becoming operational.

394. The other options do not guarantee the end result...

395. that we can guarantee.

396. However, as more time goes by...

397. the less reliable the choice we can offer you becomes.

398. Mr. President...

399. the motto I chose for SAC is "Peace is our profession."

400. Now, God forbid, we find ourselves in a nuclear exchange...

401. but if launched, those missiles from Cuba would kill a lot of Americans.

402. The very presence of those missiles gives the Soviets first-strike capability.

403. Those missiles make a nuclear exchange more likely...

404. and that is why I'm being such a pain in the ass...

405. about destroying them and destroying them immediately.

406. Hell, even Mac agrees.

407. And, sir, given your own statements about Cuba...

408. I think a blockade or a bunch of political talk...

409. would be considered by friends and neutrals...

410. as a pretty weak response.

411. I suspect that many of our own citizens might feel the same way.

412. You're in a pretty bad fix, Mr. President.

413. What did you say?

414. You're in a pretty bad fix.

415. Well, maybe you haven't noticed you're in it with me.

416. Now, general, what are the, uh, Soviets gonna do when we attack?

417. Nothing.

418. - Nothing? - Nothing.

419. Because the only alternative open to them...

420. is one they can't choose.

421. You know, they're, ugh, not just missiles we're gonna be destroying, general.

422. If we kill Soviet soldiers, they're gonna respond.

423. I mean, how would we respond if they killed ours?

424. No, they're gonna do something, general. I can promise you that.

425. Those goddamn Kennedys are gonna destroy this country...

426. if we don't do something about this.

427. We're headed out to the backyard to take a look for that big red dog.

428. Thanks, Bob.

429. I was hoping LeMay pushed you. I was ready to knock that son of a bitch...

430. - ... across the room. - We knew it was coming.

431. Those brass heads have one big advantage.

432. If we do what they want...

433. none of us are gonna be left alive to tell them they were wrong.

434. Mr. President, we need to go over what you're going to say.

435. Gromyko should be on his way by now.

436. There's no sign they know we know about the missiles.

437. Well, we're gonna keep it that way.

438. Move out! Move out!

439. Kenny?

440. I'll be right there.

441. I'm getting funny questions from the guys.

442. Yeah? What sort of questions?

443. About some sort of military exercises?

444. Want me to do my job handling the press, I need to know what's going on.

445. - Military exercises? - Yeah, military exercises.

446. I haven't heard anything about it.

447. - Ask Bundy. - I did. He said to ask you.

448. Mr. Gromyko, this way, please.

449. Mr. Dobrinyn, what are your hopes for the meeting?

450. Mr. Gromyko, can you give us a statement, please?

451. Yeah. - Robert.

452. Hey.

453. - Hugh, how are you? Good.

454. I know.

455. Excuse me, Joan.

456. So tell me about this military exercise that's going on down in Puerto Rico.

457. - What? - It's called, uh, Ortsac, I believe.

458. Castro spelled backwards.

459. Ortsac? I...

460. - I don't know what you're talking about. - Me either. Why?

461. Oh, because the president and Gromyko are gonna talk about it.

462. If you're trying to drum something up, Johnny, forget it.

463. This meeting's been on the books for months.

464. Far as I know, it's just a friendly talk on U.S.-Soviet relations.

465. Mr. President. Mr. President. Yeah.

466. Mr. President. Mr. President.

467. All right, hold it, guys. Hold it.

468. You'll get your pictures.

469. - Does it? Mm-hm.

470. I'll be damned.

471. Kind of simple for the Pentagon.

472. This way, sir.

473. - This way, sir. Ambassador?

474. Mr. Ambassador, please—

475. Any comments on what this meeting's about?

476. Any comments, sir?

477. Are you able to? Sir!

478. Mr. Gromyko, thank you for coming.

479. Hold on, guys. One minute.

480. Gentlemen, would you mind shaking hands?

481. So that there should be no misunderstanding...

482. the position of the United States, which has been made clear...

483. by the attorney general to Ambassador Dobrinyn...

484. I shall read from my statement to the press dated September 13th.

485. "Should missiles or offensive weapons be placed in Cuba...

486. it would present the gravest threat to U.S. national security."

487. Mr. President...

488. as Premier Khrushchev's own statement of September 13th assured you...

489. our military assistance to Cuba is of a defensive nature only.

490. So I do not misunderstand you...

491. there are no offensive weapons in Cuba?

492. Premier Khrushchev's statement of September 13th...

493. remains the position of the Soviet government.

494. To that, I have nothing to add.

495. Well, that's good enough for me.

496. - Thanks so much. Thank you.

497. Gentlemen, if you'll come with me. Mr. President.

498. - A most constructive meeting. It was a pleasure.

499. Sir.

500. - What happened? - Lying bastard.

501. - He lied right to my face. - We're split down middle.

502. If I held a vote, I think air strike would beat blockade.

503. I want a consensus. Air strike or blockade, but something everyone's gonna stand by...

504. even if they don't like it.

505. I need it by Saturday.

506. So make it happen.

507. What if I can't?

508. We go into this split, the Russians will know it.

509. They'll know it and they'll use it against us.

510. Have you canceled Chicago and the weekend?

511. You don't show for Chicago, everyone will know there's something going on.

512. - I don't care. Just cancel it. - Forget it.

513. I'm not calling and canceling on Daley.

514. You call and cancel on Daley.

515. You're scared to cancel on Daley?

516. You're damn right, I'm scared.

517. - Well, I'm not. - Oh.

518. Watch this.

519. - Welcome to Chicago. - I wouldn't miss this event for the world.

520. Mr. President, over here! Mayor Daley!

521. - Over here, sir, please. - Let's go.

522. - You're going to experience true Midwest... - Kenny, what's going on?

523. Now the guys are hounding me about some troop movements in Florida?

524. - What are you telling them? - Truth, I don't know.

525. - Am I out of the loop on something? - No. You...

526. Tell them you've looked into it and all it is is an exercise.

527. Oh, and, Pierre.

528. - Tomorrow, the president may have a cold. - A what?

529. - A cold. Mr. O'Donnell.

530. Kenny, do I get any input around here?

531. Uh, yeah. Um...

532. How bad it is is up to you.

533. There are major rail disruptions in the South.

534. Two airborne divisions are on alert.

535. Sounds to me like that exercise is an invasion.

536. Well, you know how Bobby has it in for Mississippi.

537. We're invading Cuba.

538. Damn it, we are not invading Cuba.

539. Are you crazy?

540. Nobody gives a rat's ass about Cuba.

541. Not now, not ever.

542. Print something like that, you're gonna inflame the situation.

543. Nobody talks to assholes who inflame situations.

544. Assholes like that can find themselves cut out of the loop.

545. That's the first time you've ever threatened me.

546. All right, I won't print anything until I have another source.

547. But I promise you, I'll get one.

548. Bobby.

549. We've got a consensus for a blockade.

550. But it won't last past tomorrow, Kenny. You have to bring him back.

551. Oh, by the way, China invaded lndia today.

552. You're kidding, aren't you?

553. Heh, yeah, I wish I were. Galbraith's handling it in New Delhi.

554. Makes you wonder what's coming next.

555. Jesus, what is it about the free world that pisses the rest of the world off?

556. I don't know. We have Tupperware parties?

557. Maybe.

558. - I'll see you tomorrow. Okay.

559. President has a cold. He's canceling the remainder of this trip...

560. and returning to Washington on the advice of his doctor.

561. Sir!

562. President Kennedy!

563. - How do you feel, Mr. President? - Kenny.

564. - Mr. President. Mr. President!

565. What's the next step going to be, Mr. President?

566. Mr. President.

567. Mr. President, our deliberations have led us to the conclusion...

568. that a blockade of offensive weapons to Cuba is our best option.

569. A strong showing of support...

570. from the Organization of American States would give us an umbrella of legitimacy.

571. A blockade is technically an act of war.

572. Therefore, we recommend calling the action a quarantine.

573. Let's hope that translates into Russian the way we want it to.

574. There are between 20 and 30 Soviet ships underway to Cuba at this time.

575. Eight hundred miles out, the Navy will stop them, board...

576. and any vessels containing weapons will be turned back.

577. A quarantine prevents any more missiles from reaching Cuba...

578. but it doesn't remove missiles already there.

579. It gives the Soviets a chance to pull back without a war.

580. If they refuse to remove the missiles, we retain the option to strike and invade.

581. A sneak attack would be counter to what the United States stands for.

582. It leaves us no room to maneuver...

583. and the inevitable Soviet response would force us into a war.

584. There are still those of us who believe we should proceed with the strikes.

585. Sir, with a blockade, we lose strategic surprise.

586. We run the risk of the Soviets launching a strike...

587. against us if they decide they have to use the missiles or lose them.

588. So quarantine or air strike.

589. Ahem. There is a third option.

590. With either course...

591. we undertake the risk of nuclear war.

592. So it seems to me that maybe one of us in this room should be a coward.

593. So I guess I'll be.

594. A third course is to strike a deal.

595. We trade Guantanamo and our missiles in Turkey...

596. get them to pull their missiles out.

597. We employ a back channel. We attribute the idea to U Thant.

598. U Thant then raises it at the U.N.

599. I don't think that's possible, Adlai.

600. I've not yet made my final decision.

601. Uh, I'll be asking the networks for airtime on Monday night.

602. We'll announce our course of action then.

603. Ted, I want you to get working on the speeches for both quarantine and air strike.

604. Well, thank you for all your advice, gentlemen.

605. I did hear Adlai.

606. You'd think nobody learned anything from World War Il.

607. Somebody had to say it. I respect Adlai for having the guts...

608. - ... to risk looking like an appeaser. - We have to pull him.

609. He is not going to be able to handle the Soviets. Zorin will eat him alive.

610. We've got bigger problems right now.

611. Ladies?

612. - Oh, no, thank you. - Pardon me, lieutenant.

613. Honey, I'll be right back.

614. - Adlai? - Ah.

615. I just can't seem to get away from you guys.

616. Escaping for a night on the town, eh?

617. As D.C.'s most popular playboy...

618. the president felt my, uh, presence would be sorely missed...

619. so in the interest of national security, here I am.

620. Yes, gotta keep up appearances.

621. Of course, I don't anymore.

622. I'm a political dead man.

623. Did you ever see anyone cut his own throat like I did today?

624. No, no.

625. It's all right.

626. And by the way, I spoke to a friend.

627. Reston and Frankel have the story.

628. Times is going to run it tomorrow.

629. - We're not gonna make it to Monday. - Shit.

630. We can get Sorensen to lean on Reston, but you're gonna have to call Orville Dryfoos.

631. This is the sort of decision a publisher makes himself.

632. All right. Thanks, Kenny.

633. Yes, sir, I understand, but we held on the Bay of Pigs.

634. It was the biggest mistake of my life. What makes this different?

635. I'm asking you to hold the story until I can present our course of action...

636. on Monday night.

637. I'm gonna need a reason to give my boys. They're gonna be screaming for my head.

638. Listen, Orville, you tell them this:

639. That they'll be saving lives...

640. including their own.

641. Yes, Mr. President.

642. How many congressmen have not responded yet?

643. - Fourteen. - Fourteen.

644. - Boggs is in the gulf fishing? Yes, sir.

645. I thought he was supposed to be campaigning.

646. - Well, he's not gone for long. - Jesus.

647. - Get a plane out there and get him back. - Right away.

648. He wants to talk to LeMay again. He's still considering air strikes.

649. None of this works tomorrow. Figure out how to cancel it.

650. Yes, sir.

651. We're on the phones.

652. Can you guarantee me you'll get all the missiles?

653. I guarantee we'll get the missiles we know about.

654. Mr. President, we can get better than 90 percent of them.

655. I'll brief the congressional leadership tomorrow evening at 5.

656. At 7:00, all United States Armed Forces worldwide...

657. will stand up to DEFCON 3.

658. I have a brief statement to make. President Kennedy will address the nation tonight...

659. on radio and television on a subject of the highest national urgency.

660. He has requested airtime on all three networks for 7 p.m.

661. Thank you very much.

662. I am not willing to support anything but the toughest possible—

663. Congress cannot give you the support you're looking for.

664. Mr. President. Man 3: Sir?

665. If they want this goddamn job, they can have it.

666. - It's no great joy to me. - Here's the speech.

667. - I made those changes. - I need a minute.

668. - Kenny, no. - A minute.

669. I don't want a goddamn pep talk.

670. You're not the Harvard quarterback anymore.

671. We're on the brink here.

672. They're trying to second-guess me into World War lll. Not gonna happen.

673. What did you think Congress was gonna do?

674. - Well, I— You know— - Offer you unconditional support?

675. Kiss your Catholic ass?

676. They don't think we even deserve to be here.

677. - Well, what the hell do you think? - I think we haven't been impressive today.

678. They have good reason to question our judgment.

679. What do you want, Kenny?

680. - I want you to sit down. - Well, I'm not gonna sit down.

681. I want you to sit down, loosen your tie, take a minute—

682. - I haven't got a minute. - You're the president of the United States.

683. They can wait for you.

684. Why not? Heh.

685. - Things can't get worse. - Oh, I don't know.

686. We could have to go down to Lyndon's ranch again...

687. dressed up as cowboys.

688. Shoot...

689. Shoot deer out of the back of his convertible.

690. That was a bad day.

691. You know, I thought there'd be more good days.

692. You know, back when we were in the wards...

693. that day Bobby made me come down to meet you?

694. I didn't get you at first.

695. I thought you were lucky.

696. Your father had a lot of money.

697. You were skinny.

698. Girls loved you.

699. I thought I could beat you and Bobby up together.

700. But he, uh, just kept going on and on about you.

701. I thought it was because he was your brother.

702. But I was wrong.

703. I was wrong.

704. You sleeping?

705. No, not much.

706. But I slept last night, though, you know, and...

707. Jeez, l, heh...

708. When I woke up, I just, uh...

709. Somehow I'd forgotten that all this had happened, you know...

710. and then, of course, I remembered...

711. and I just wished for a second somebody else was president.

712. You mean that?

713. I said for a second.

714. Boy, there is a lot of noise out there, Kenny.

715. You know what you're doing, Mr. President.

716. You're gonna make the best call and you know they're gonna second-guess you.

717. So what?

718. We're just gonna have to take our beatings as we go.

719. So, what are we gonna do now?

720. I'm going on TV.

721. You know, maybe the American people will go with me.

722. Even if their...

723. elected representatives won't.

724. You wear something nice for the TV. Make sure Jackie picks it.

725. Excuse me.

726. Oh, right. Yeah, thanks.

727. - Thanks. I just— - Okay, everybody, I think we're ready.

728. No, I'm fine. I'm fine. Thank you.

729. Mr. President, in five, four, three, two...

730. Good evening, my fellow citizens.

731. This government, as promised...

732. has maintained the closest surveillance...

733. of the Soviet military build-up on the island of Cuba.

734. Within the past week...

735. unmistakable evidence has established the fact...

736. that a series of offensive missile sites is now in preparation...

737. on that imprisoned island.

738. The purpose of these bases can be none other...

739. than to provide a nuclear strike capability against the western hemisphere.

740. Acting therefore in the defense of our own security...

741. and under the authority entrusted to me by the constitution...

742. I have directed that the following initial steps be taken immediately.

743. First, to halt this offensive build-up, a strict quarantine...

744. on all offensive military equipment under shipment to Cuba is being initiated.

745. All ships of any kind, bound for Cuba...

746. from whatever nation or port will, if found to contain cargos...

747. of offensive weapons, be turned back.

748. Second, I have directed the continued...

749. and increased close surveillance of Cuba and its military build-up.

750. And should these military preparations continue...

751. further action will be justified.

752. I have directed the Armed Forces to prepare for any eventualities.

753. And third, it shall be the policy of this nation...

754. to regard any nuclear missile launched from Cuba...

755. against any nation in the Western hemisphere...

756. as an attack by the Soviet Union on the United States...

757. requiring a full retaliatory response upon the Soviet Union.

758. Good speech, Teddy.

759. Yeah, well, I guess I get to keep my job.

760. No.

761. It was a really good speech.

762. I can't imagine what you did with the air strikes version.

763. I wasn't able to write it, Kenny.

764. It's kind of hard to write the unthinkable.

765. I tried.

766. I just...

767. I couldn't.

768. We're getting the Soviet response.

769. It's coming in on the teletype.

770. "The community of nations recognizes the right of freedom of the seas..."

771. It's horseshit.

772. I agree.

773. They don't know how to respond yet.

774. So now you're Khrushchev.

775. What do you do?

776. You run the blockade.

777. They'll run the blockade.

778. Which is exactly what they appear to be preparing to do, Mr. President.

779. We're tracking 26 ships inbound for Cuba.

780. They show no sign of changing course.

781. The closest ships, the Gagarin and the Kimovsk...

782. will make the quarantine line by this time tomorrow.

783. Admiral Anderson, uh, if the ships do not stop...

784. exactly what are our rules of engagement?

785. Well, Russian-speaking personnel have been transferred to all our ships.

786. When the quarantine takes place, our ships will attempt...

787. to make radio contact with the approaching vessels.

788. They'll be ordered to reduce speed and stand by for inspection.

789. An inspection team will then board and search the vessel.

790. If weapons are found, the ship will be ordered out of the quarantine area.

791. If they refuse, they'll be towed into the port.

792. What happens if the ship doesn't stop for inspection or wanna be towed?

793. Fire a warning shot across their bow.

794. And what happens if the ship ignores the warning shot?

795. We then fire at its rudder, disable it, and carry on our inspection.

796. There will be no shooting without my explicit orders.

797. - Is that understood? - Yes, sir.

798. Admiral, looks like it's up to the Navy.

799. - Navy won't let you down, sir. - There's one other thing, Mr. President.

800. Uh, we're commencing low-level photography runs over Cuba this morning.

801. It'll be more detailed than the U-2 photography.

802. We'll be able to firm up estimates of the missiles' readiness...

803. develop target packages for strikes, if you should order them, sir.

804. To protect our pilots, we're prepared to retaliate against any SAM site...

805. or anti-aircraft battery that may open fire.

806. We have a flight of Thunderchiefs able to respond within minutes...

807. to any attacks on our planes.

808. - I got a bad feeling about what's going on. - In the morning, I'm taking charge...

809. - ... of the blockade. - Good.

810. And McNamara is gonna set up shop in the flag plot at the Pentagon.

811. You'll get armed boarders climbing onto Soviet ships...

812. - ... with shots being fired— - I know.

813. What about these low-level flights?

814. - We need the flights. - They're starting in what? An hour.

815. You realize what you're letting yourself in for?

816. We need the flights. That missile becomes operational, we gotta destroy it.

817. Fair enough. But Castro's on alert...

818. and we're flying attack planes over their sites on the deck.

819. There's no way for them to know we're carrying cameras.

820. - Goddamn it. - We're going to be shot at...

821. plain and simple.

822. I'm your political advisor.

823. I'm giving you a political analysis here. This...

824. This is a setup.

825. The chiefs wanna go in.

826. They need to redeem themselves for the Bay of Pigs.

827. They gotta go in this time, gotta do it right.

828. I'm gonna protect those pilots.

829. They're boxing us in with these rules of engagement.

830. If you agree, one of our planes knocked down...

831. or one won't stop for inspection, the chiefs will have us by the balls...

832. and will force us to start shooting.

833. They want a war, Jack, and they're arranging things to get one.

834. How does a man get to a place where he can say: "Throw those lives away" easily?

835. Maybe it's harder to say than they let on...

836. but at the very least, they believe it's in our best interest.

837. And you know what?

838. At the end of the day, they may well end up being right.

839. Well, we're gonna have to triple-check...

840. everything the chiefs say with the guys that have to do it.

841. Nobody's to know about this, because l— But Bobby.

842. I need redundant control over what happens.

843. If things aren't as advertised, then you're going to make sure...

844. - ... they come out the way I want. - That's—

845. Starting with this low-level flight thing.

846. That's gonna be tough.

847. You know how these guys are about their chains of command.

848. Listen, you tell them those chains of command end at one place: me.

849. - Go ahead, sir. - Yes?

850. Speak up, lady. I cannot hear you.

851. I got a train to catch, and I'd like to be home by Christmas.

852. - That's the one. - Mr. O'Donnell.

853. - What's her name? - Margaret.

854. - Margaret. Give me a break.

855. I'm doing the best I can.

856. Yes. I understand exactly what you're talking about.

857. - I speak the language too. What? - Margaret...

858. would you mind helping me with something?

859. What do you need, honey?

860. That tone of voice specifically.

861. What tone of voice? What is he talking about?

862. I told you, sir— I'm sorry. You're out of here.

863. Ready room.

864. Skipper, what are you doing?

865. - Looking out. I'll get him for you.

866. - For what? - Cuba.

867. Skipper.

868. Telephone.

869. Commander Ecker.

870. Commander Ecker? This is the White House operator.

871. - Please hold. - Shit.

872. - Honey, you don't know what shit is. - Good morning. White House.

873. Commander, my name's Ken O'Donnell, special assistant to the president.

874. Yes, sir.

875. The president's instructed me to pass along an order to you.

876. You are not to get shot down.

877. Uh, we'll do our best, sir.

878. I don't think you understand me.

879. You're not to get shot down under any circumstances.

880. Whatever happens up there, you were not shot at.

881. Mechanical failures are fine.

882. Crashing into mountains, fine.

883. But you and your men are not to be shot at...

884. fired at, or launched upon.

885. Excuse me, sir.

886. What the hell is going on here?

887. If you are fired upon, the president will be forced to attack the sites that fire on you.

888. He doesn't wanna have to do that. It's very important...

889. that he doesn't or things could go very badly out of control.

890. What about my men?

891. If we don't have anybody to protect us, I'm gonna be writing to parents.

892. If the president protects you, commander, he may have to do it with a bomb.

893. Now, I've known the man for 15 years. The problem is, he will protect you.

894. So I'm asking, don't make him protect you.

895. Don't get shot at.

896. Okay, Mr. O'Donnell, we'll do what we can.

897. I know you will.

898. - Good luck. - Find your way back.

899. Good luck, guys.

900. Stay close.

901. Hey, Joey.

902. - See you, Joey. - Thanks, Joey.

903. Ready to go, Jeremy?

904. - Hey, Bruce. Skipper?

905. Never mind. Just do what I do. Hand signs only?

906. Gotcha.

907. You are clear and ready to go, sir!

908. Good luck, skipper.

909. Go ahead, let's go!

910. Oh, man, heh. Shit. Did you see it?

911. Gentlemen, let's get in this now. - Woo-hoo!

912. Prepare to lift off. - Man, you were lucky, skipper.

913. - Damn sparrows. Must have been migrating. - Sparrows?

914. Probably hit a hundred. How many did you hit, Bruce?

915. Sparrows?

916. A few, I guess.

917. These, uh, 20-millimeter or 40-millimeter sparrows, sir?

918. Those are bird strikes.

919. - Sparrows, to be precise. All the bags now. Pull them out.

920. It's the way it is, guys.

921. Get that film packed up.

922. Good.

923. - Commander Ecker. - Hello.

924. Sir. - Commander.

925. Mr. O'Donnell, I've been ordered to deliver the film to the Pentagon personally.

926. - What's going on here? - The chiefs must wanna talk to you.

927. They're gonna wanna know if you were fired on. Were you?

928. You could say that, sir.

929. Commander, listen to me.

930. Now, I know this must fly in the face of everything you've come to serve...

931. but I'm asking you to look through this to the other side.

932. Commander Ecker reporting as ordered.

933. - Commander. - Sir.

934. Put your gear down over here.

935. - Ahem, you like a glass of water or anything? - No, thank you, sir.

936. - Sir. - Commander.

937. - Sir. - Have a seat.

938. Now, commander, I assume you know why you're here.

939. Son, I wanna know just one thing.

940. Those bastards shoot so much as a BB gun at you?

941. It was a cakewalk, sir.

942. Mr. President, the OAS meeting starts in less than an hour.

943. Well, good. I think we need this one, Dean.

944. We can't expect miracles.

945. Listen, the quarantine is legal if we get a mandate.

946. Otherwise, it's an act of war in the eyes of the world.

947. So you gotta get me the vote, and, you know, make it unanimous.

948. The Organization of American States hasn't had a unanimous vote—

949. Unanimous, Dean.

950. In accordance with this afternoon's vote at the Organization of American States...

951. the quarantine will hereby be effective as of 10:00 tomorrow morning.

952. At 8 a.m. This morning...

953. the United States detonated a hydrogen bomb...

954. above Johnston lsland in the South Pacific.

955. The blast was quickly condemned by the Soviet Union...

956. who called upon all nations to denounce the United States...

957. - ... for bringing the world to the brink— Who the hell authorized this test?

958. - What is this gonna say to the Russians? - They look warlike?

959. Jesus, we're lighting off nuclear weapons like it's our own private Fourth of July.

960. We should've brought in guys from the Atomic Energy Commission...

961. and talked this through.

962. You know, looked at these tests a little harder before, uh...

963. just giving the go-ahead.

964. You know, last summer, I read a book, The Guns ofAugust.

965. Hmm.

966. I wish every man on that blockade line had read that book.

967. It's World War l. It's 13 million killed.

968. It's all because the militaries of both alliances...

969. believed they were so attuned to one another's movements and dispositions...

970. they could predict one another's intentions.

971. But all the theories were based on the last war.

972. And the world and technology had changed...

973. and those lessons were no longer valid...

974. but it was all they knew, so the orders went out...

975. couldn't be rescinded.

976. Man in the field, his family...

977. they couldn't tell you the reasons why their lives were being destroyed.

978. But why couldn't they stop it?

979. What could they have done?

980. Here we are 50 years later.

981. If one of their ships resists the inspection...

982. and we shoot out its rudder and board...

983. they shoot down one of our planes in response.

984. So we bomb their antiaircraft sites. In response to that, they attack Berlin.

985. So we invade Cuba.

986. And they fire their missiles.

987. And we fire ours.

988. Helen, I want you to keep the kids close tomorrow.

989. I want you to leave the TV on.

990. I want you to sleep with it on in the bedroom until I call you...

991. and tell you you can turn it off.

992. What's happened?

993. Nothing. Nothing you don't already know about.

994. Just have the car ready to go in case I call...

995. or the civil defense warning comes on.

996. What happens to you?

997. I'm not leaving without you.

998. I'll be evacuated with the president.

999. Great.

1000. And while you're under a rock somewhere with the president...

1001. what am I supposed to do with our five children, Kenny?

1002. Honey, we're not gonna let it come to that. I promise.

1003. Hmm, mm.

1004. Jack and Bobby, they're...

1005. They're smart guys.

1006. You're smart too.

1007. Not like them.

1008. Oh, hi, Ken.

1009. Helen just asked me what sort of arrangements we have for the families.

1010. Yeah, I just checked that myself.

1011. They're being issued identity cards.

1012. When the call comes, evacuation officers meet them...

1013. at prearranged departure areas.

1014. They go by helicopter to Mount Weather. We meet them there.

1015. Of course, that's for morale.

1016. Missiles only take five minutes to get here.

1017. The president has asked Jackie and the children to come back from the country...

1018. and be with him.

1019. You know the pictures upstairs?

1020. Pictures of Lincoln?

1021. He looked so old near the end.

1022. When we got here, I said, "It's not gonna happen to us."

1023. We were too young, heh.

1024. Why don't you go home tonight, hmm?

1025. Go on home.

1026. No, it's too much trouble to get the car.

1027. Ken, we can get your car in 15 minutes.

1028. - No. - Go ahead.

1029. No, I'll let her sleep.

1030. I'll let them sleep.

1031. It almost seemed today as if time stood still.

1032. The shooting hadn't started yet...

1033. but there weren't any really encouraging signs that it could be avoided.

1034. But worried, alarmed, afraid perhaps even...

1035. the American public nonetheless appeared determined and resolved.

1036. This is Walter Cronkite. Good night.

1037. Paper?

1038. Yeah, thanks.

1039. Here you go, sir.

1040. Gentlemen, can you hear me?

1041. - Yeah. - Yes, we hear you fine.

1042. I've got one minute till 10 here.

1043. The quarantine commences in one minute.

1044. And no sign of them stopping.

1045. Sir.

1046. Quarantine is now in effect.

1047. And it looks like our first customers are the Gagarin and Kimovsk.

1048. Chief, I've got something at 030.

1049. XO, take a look at this.

1050. New contact, skipper.

1051. - What do we got? - A Russian sub.

1052. General quarters, general quarters, all hands, man your battle stations!

1053. General quarters, all hands, man your battle stations!

1054. General quarters, general quarters, all hands, man your battle stations!

1055. Bracket 231 correlates to our submarine at 9000 yards.

1056. It's protecting the freighters.

1057. Bob, is there any way we can avoid stopping a submarine first?

1058. I'm afraid not, Mr. President.

1059. Sub has positioned itself between the Pierce and Soviet ships.

1060. Admiral Anderson insists it's a risk to proceed with stopping the freighters.

1061. The Pierce would be a sitting duck for the sub.

1062. - Put me through to the Pierce. - Yes, sir.

1063. Admiral Anderson...

1064. the President wishes to speak directly to the captain of the Pierce.

1065. - Is that a problem? - No, it isn't, sir.

1066. He's putting you through, sir.

1067. Sir, I'm patching you through to the bridge now.

1068. - This is the captain of the Pierce. - Captain, this is the president speaking.

1069. - Mr. President. - Is there any way you can force that sub...

1070. to the surface without damaging it or yourself?

1071. I can bring it up, Mr. President...

1072. but whether it's damaged or not is up to the sub.

1073. Even if they do force it up...

1074. that sub will be inspected over the crew's dead bodies.

1075. They'd be executed for allowing it when they got home.

1076. - Captain, force the sub to the surface. Yes, Mr. President.

1077. - Prepare to fire torpedoes. - Prepare to fire torpedoes. Aye.

1078. - Prepare to launch ASROC. - Prepare to launch ASROC. Aye, sir.

1079. Move! Get ready.

1080. Quicker! Yeah!

1081. Yeah! Turn it around!

1082. Watch your fingers!

1083. - Watch your fingers. - Launch it.

1084. What are they up to?

1085. They're slowing down.

1086. One five, one five.

1087. Mr. Secretary, we're receiving reports...

1088. the Russian ships appear to be stopping.

1089. Mr. President, reports are coming...

1090. in to the Pentagon that the ships appear to be stopping.

1091. - Captain, belay that order. Belay that order. - Hold your fire!

1092. - Where's that coming from? - One second.

1093. Somebody find out what's going on.

1094. Those ships are definitely stopping.

1095. Some are turning around.

1096. - Stopping? - I don't know what they're doing.

1097. Admiral.

1098. Admiral, what's happening?

1099. Yes, sir, they are stopping.

1100. Mr. President, reports are coming in from all around.

1101. The ships are stopping.

1102. Some are turning around.

1103. We were eyeball-to-eyeball and I think the other fella just blinked.

1104. Yes, sir. Yes, sir, we have that information.

1105. Mr. President.

1106. Mr. President, sir.

1107. We have the tally from NSA.

1108. We have 20 ships stopping and-or turning around.

1109. Six however appear to be continuing for the line.

1110. Well, it's a, uh, mistake.

1111. They must not have gotten their orders yet. I'd let them go.

1112. No, that's unlikely, Bobby.

1113. We've been monitoring radio transmissions from the Gagarin and the Kimovsk.

1114. Their radios are working just fine, Mr. President.

1115. One ship, an accident maybe.

1116. Six, Mr. President, this is intentional.

1117. Mr. President, let them go. - Oh, you're still here, Bob.

1118. Four of the six continuing ships are still a day away from the line.

1119. They've stopped the ones we suspect have weapons aboard.

1120. We'd look pretty bad shooting up a freighter full of baby food.

1121. We sure as shit would.

1122. I want you to maintain contact with those ships...

1123. and do nothing until I order otherwise. Is that clear?

1124. Yes, Mr. President. Contact only.

1125. At its beginning, this day looked as though it might be one of armed conflict...

1126. between Soviet vessels and American warships...

1127. on the sea lanes leading to Cuba.

1128. Find out how close our exercises are coming to their anti-ship missiles.

1129. Goddamn it. How the goddamn hell did this happen?

1130. I'm gonna have Power's head on a platter...

1131. next to LeMay's.

1132. Kenny, you hear me give the order to go to DEFCON 2?

1133. I remember giving the order to go to DEFCON 3, but, uh...

1134. You know, I must be suffering from amnesia.

1135. I've just been informed our nuclear forces are at DEFCON 2.

1136. They were limited, Mr. President.

1137. The orders were limited to our strategic forces...

1138. - Max. - ... in the continental United States.

1139. General LeMay is correct. Technically, SAC has the statutory authority—

1140. I have the authority!

1141. I am the commander in chief of the United States and I say when we go to war.

1142. We're not at war, sir. Not until DEFCON 1.

1143. General, the Joint Chiefs have just signaled our intent...

1144. to escalate to the Soviets.

1145. You signaled an escalation which I had no wish to signal and which I did not approve.

1146. Just get out of here, Max.

1147. Yes, sir.

1148. Rescind the order, can all the chiefs. Put Nitze, Gilpatric...

1149. - ... and the undersecretaries in charge. - We can't.

1150. - We can. - We can't fire the chiefs.

1151. Our invasion talk would look like a bluff.

1152. Or even worse, that there's been an attempted coup.

1153. Jesus.

1154. Kenny, give me a couple minutes alone with Bobby, would you?

1155. Just try this on for size.

1156. We get a hold of Walter Lippmann.

1157. And we leak the idea of pulling our Jupiter missiles out of Turkey.

1158. If the Soviets pull missiles out of Cuba.

1159. - Act through the U.N.! - K and K must talk!

1160. End the arms race, not the human race!

1161. - Kenny. - Mac.

1162. What did you think of the Lippmann column?

1163. - It's a bad idea. - Look, everybody's furious about it.

1164. We trade away our missiles in Turkey and we're dead politically. Stop it.

1165. It's Jack and Bobby's idea. They leaked it to Lippmann.

1166. - Military guys are going ape— - They should speak up.

1167. - Christ, Ken, it's not that easy. - It is.

1168. They don't trust people who feel this way.

1169. These people are right. The Kennedys are wrong.

1170. We need you to talk to them. They'll listen to you.

1171. Jack and Bobby are good men—

1172. - You mean the president? - They are good men.

1173. And the attorney general?

1174. They are good men but it takes a moral toughness to stand up to the Soviets.

1175. You listen to me.

1176. You're in the White House right now because of the Kennedys.

1177. Now, they may be wrong. They make mistakes.

1178. But they are not weak. The weak are people who can't seem to speak their own minds.

1179. - I don't mean that they're weak. - They lack a moral toughness.

1180. Jesus Christ, Mac.

1181. You—

1182. You think I'll play your Judas for you? You've never understood us, your kind.

1183. We've been fighting with each other our whole lives.

1184. But nobody plays us off each other, and nobody ever...

1185. ever gets between us.

1186. It's a goddamn trial balloon, Kenny.

1187. Well, then somebody better publicly deny it...

1188. because there's only one way the world's gonna read this.

1189. We sell out one of our friends for our own safety.

1190. Fah—

1191. Exactly.

1192. Jesus Christ, they're just killing us.

1193. —and enter into negotiations...

1194. in order to normalize this confrontation...

1195. and avert the threat of a world war.

1196. What is it that Sun-tzu says?

1197. War's a moral contest, won in the temples before they're ever fought.

1198. —this enormous danger for all mankind...

1199. which exists at this moment...

1200. It's right here. Right here. This is where we turn it around.

1201. Call Adlai, tell him to stick it to this son of a bitch.

1202. —diplomatic resolution.

1203. The U.S. believes that with their economic boycott...

1204. by pressuring other countries to cease trade with Cuba...

1205. we would surrender due to hunger.

1206. How does it feel, Mr. President...

1207. to be this heroic...

1208. and force a country to surrender due...

1209. - Am I still on hold? - They're trying to find him now.

1210. Ken, Adlai's too weak.

1211. - We have to convince Jack to pull him. - Can't take him out this late in the game.

1212. - Zorin will eat him alive. - Then talk to your brother, goddamn it.

1213. The two of you don't need my advice to get into trouble.

1214. What's gotten into you?

1215. - You still sore about this Lippmann thing? - Something your father would've done.

1216. My father?

1217. I'm just trying to make a point.

1218. This idea is that fucking bad.

1219. Adlai can handle Zorin.

1220. - He knows the inning, he knows the score. - He better.

1221. Because nobody believes he's up to this. Nobody.

1222. Yes? - Adlai?

1223. Yes. - It's Ken. How you doing?

1224. I'm busy, Ken. What do you need?

1225. The president told me to pass a word to you. Stick it to them.

1226. —Cuba together...

1227. I hear you. I'm glad it's you calling.

1228. I thought it would be Bobby.

1229. Adlai, the world has to know we're right.

1230. If we're gonna have a chance at a political solution, we need international pressure.

1231. You got to be tough, Adlai.

1232. You need to find it, buddy.

1233. Well, if they're still sticking to their stonewalling strategy...

1234. I'll get them.

1235. I'm an old political cat, Kenny.

1236. But I've got one life left.

1237. I know you do.

1238. See you, Ken.

1239. —we'll be able to find together a proper...

1240. Bobby.

1241. We call upon the world...

1242. to condemn this purely American provocation.

1243. We, the people of Romania, are standing in solidarity...

1244. with the people of the Republic of Cuba...

1245. and the revolution in the face of this American threat to world peace.

1246. - Thank you, Mr. Chairman. - Thank you.

1247. We're very glad that you could join us, uh, Mr. Stevenson.

1248. For the last two hours...

1249. the entire world here is asking only questions.

1250. The United States is pushing the entire world...

1251. to the brink of catastrophe.

1252. People of the whole world want to know why.

1253. We are told again and again...

1254. about some incontrovertible evidence...

1255. of, uh, offensive weapons in Cuba.

1256. But no evidence...

1257. can be shown to us.

1258. Perhaps your spy planes are so secret...

1259. that you are simply incapable to present such evidence.

1260. Some planes.

1261. I make the call. Adlai is out. McCloy goes in.

1262. Let's just hope it doesn't come to that.

1263. —simply don't have such evidence.

1264. Perhaps the United States of America is simply mistaken, huh?

1265. Yes, the United States of America...

1266. does not have any facts in hands, only falsifications.

1267. John, get ready to send your staffer in. He's gonna be coming out.

1268. The chair recognizes the representative from the United States of America.

1269. Well, let me say something to you, Mr. Ambassador.

1270. We do have the evidence.

1271. We do have it, and it is clear and incontrovertible.

1272. And let me say something else.

1273. Those weapons must be taken out of Cuba.

1274. You, the Soviet Union...

1275. - ... have created this new danger... - Come on.

1276. not the United States.

1277. Mr. Zorin, I remind you that the other day...

1278. you did not deny the existence of these weapons...

1279. but today, again, if I have heard you correctly...

1280. you now say they do not exist.

1281. All right, sir, let me ask you one simple question.

1282. Come on, Adlai, don't let him off.

1283. Do you, Ambassador Zorin...

1284. deny that the USSR has placed and is placing...

1285. medium- and intermediate-range missiles in sites in Cuba?

1286. Yes or no?

1287. - Don't wait for the translation. Yes or no? - Yeah.

1288. I am not in the American courtroom...

1289. and I do not wish to respond to questions.

1290. They are questions that a prosecutor would, uh, put to the defendant.

1291. You will get all the answers to your questions...

1292. as this session progresses.

1293. You are in a courtroom of world opinion right now...

1294. and you can answer yes or no.

1295. You have denied they exist...

1296. and I want to know if I have understood you correctly.

1297. Continue. Continue your, uh, statement.

1298. You will get your answers in due course.

1299. Don't worry. Don't worry.

1300. I'm prepared to wait for my answer until hell freezes over...

1301. if that's what is needed.

1302. John, I'll get back to you.

1303. I'm also prepared to present the evidence...

1304. proving that the Soviet Union has lied to the world.

1305. if you have decided not to continue your statement...

1306. the, uh, chair recognizes the representative from Chile.

1307. I yield my time on the floor to the representative of the United States.

1308. Well, then, ladies and gentlemen...

1309. since it appears we're going to be here for a while...

1310. shall we have a look at what the Soviets are doing in Cuba?

1311. May we have the presentation, please?

1312. Now, ladies and gentlemen, if you will observe in photograph A...

1313. Yeah. Yeah.

1314. taken approximately August 25...

1315. Old Adlai had it in him after all.

1316. Zorin must not have gotten instructions. Somebody is blowing it big time.

1317. In photograph B, we have October 14th.

1318. - The photograph taken then. Mr. President.

1319. There are missile sites being constructed. There are bunkers—

1320. The ship is called the Grozny.

1321. We lost track of it yesterday at nightfall.

1322. We thought we gave it plenty of room when we moved the quarantine line back.

1323. We just reacquired it. It crossed the line hours ago.

1324. How the hell do you lose a goddamn tanker?

1325. What the hell is going on over there?

1326. Hail them again.

1327. I want you to try them again.

1328. - We are kidding ourselves. New coordinates for the Pierce.

1329. Pierce coordinates, 25 degrees, 30 minutes north, 78 degrees...

1330. 10 minutes west.

1331. Not responding, chief.

1332. Tell the skipper.

1333. They're not responding, sir.

1334. General quarters, general quarters, man your battle stations!

1335. - All hands, man your battle stations! Hey, come on.

1336. - Close the deck! - Load.

1337. Launch.

1338. - Launch. - Go.

1339. - Very well. Load your guns. - Guns are loaded, sir.

1340. What was that, admiral?

1341. We've been hailing the Grozny for the last hour, Mr. Secretary.

1342. - The Grozny refuses to stop. - What are you doing?

1343. Carrying out our mission, Mr. Secretary. If you don't mind, we're very busy now.

1344. - We need to be able to do our jobs. - Admiral, I asked you a question.

1345. We're going to follow the rules of engagement.

1346. The rules of engagement...

1347. which the president has approved and signed in his order of 23, October.

1348. Yes.

1349. Yes, you may proceed, captain.

1350. - Clear your guns. - What?

1351. Damn it. Stop that firing.

1352. - What? - Stop that firing!

1353. - Cease fire. Cease fire. - God help us.

1354. - The ship was firing star shells. - What?

1355. Star shells— Flares, Mr. Secretary.

1356. Goddamn it, I've got a job to do here.

1357. Now, you've been camped out out there since Monday night.

1358. You're tired, you're exhausted, you're making mistakes.

1359. You interfere with me and you will get my men killed...

1360. and I will not allow that.

1361. Star shells.

1362. Get out of our way, Mr. Secretary.

1363. The Navy's been running blockades since the days of John Paul Jones.

1364. The president made it clear there will be no firing on ships...

1365. without his express permission.

1366. With all due respect, Mr. Secretary, we were not firing on that ship.

1367. - What the hell was that? - Firing on a ship means attacking a ship.

1368. We were not attacking that ship.

1369. We were firing over it.

1370. That was not the president's intention when he gave that order.

1371. What if the Soviets don't see the distinction?

1372. What if they make the same mistake I just made?

1373. There will be no firing anything near any Soviet ships...

1374. without my express permission.

1375. Now, is that understood, admiral?

1376. Is it?

1377. Yes, sir.

1378. And I will only issue such instructions when ordered to by the president.

1379. John Paul Jones!

1380. You don't understand a thing, do you, admiral?

1381. This isn't a blockade.

1382. This is language.

1383. A new vocabulary, the likes of which the world has never seen.

1384. This is President Kennedy...

1385. communicating with Secretary Khrushchev.

1386. Who the hell authorized this missile test?

1387. Who do you think? God knows what this is gonna communicate to the Soviets.

1388. Communicate with the Soviets?

1389. We can't communicate with the Pentagon. And it's just across the goddamn river.

1390. LeMay must think you're afraid of him.

1391. I'm not taking that bait.

1392. The right move here is to move on.

1393. At the United States destroyer Joseph P. Kennedy.

1394. This is the point at which we are concerned...

1395. that there might be shooting among the ships at sea.

1396. The possibility that invasion might have to be undertaken...

1397. to assure that those bases are eliminated.

1398. if invasion is undertaken, the Russians have said...

1399. that they would retaliate with rocket fire.

1400. We have said if there's rocket fire from Cuba, we will retaliate...

1401. and there goes the whole ball game.

1402. Kenny? - What's this?

1403. - Can anyone just walk in here? - I'm not here to do an interview.

1404. If you're looking for sugar, you got the wrong door.

1405. Kenny, we need to see the president. Something's happened.

1406. —the point of the crisis. This is the point at which...

1407. I have lunch with him, maybe once a month.

1408. Way he talks, he acts like he knows Khrushchev personally...

1409. but he's never elaborated.

1410. I've used him as a source in a couple of stories.

1411. The FBI has identified this Alexander Fomin as the Soviet resident...

1412. the KGB equivalent of one of our station chiefs.

1413. He's their highest-ranking spy in this country.

1414. And he knows John's a friend of mine.

1415. All the trademarks of a back-channel overture.

1416. Yeah. Some back channel.

1417. ABC News guy, my goddamn next-door neighbor.

1418. Hmm.

1419. So they'll remove the missiles and we'll pledge not to invade Cuba...

1420. or destabilize Castro...

1421. or assist anyone who plans in doing so.

1422. Ah, I think this may be our first real message from Khrushchev.

1423. The alternative, Mr. President...

1424. - ... is that this could be a trap. Mm-hm.

1425. - And how is that exactly? - Dangle a settlement.

1426. Tie us down in negotiation. We come up short.

1427. Why else would they approach us this way? It's deniable.

1428. The Soviets have done nothing but lie to us. This could just be more of the same.

1429. That may be why Khrushchev's introducing this guy.

1430. We've been burned by his usual players in the formal channels...

1431. so he brings in an honest broker.

1432. That may be what they want us to think.

1433. The truth is, Mr. President, we don't even really know who Fomin speaks for.

1434. It could be Khrushchev. Uh, it could be some faction of the politburo...

1435. or the KGB itself.

1436. We just don't know.

1437. Oh, by the way, Scali, your activities...

1438. now fall under the secrecy codicils of the National Security Act.

1439. - Sorry, John. No Pulitzer. - Heh.

1440. Mr. President, we haven't much time.

1441. I'm scheduled to meet with him again in three and a half hours.

1442. So it seems the question of the day is...

1443. is the offer legitimate?

1444. And if it is— Well, if it is, we can't afford to ignore it.

1445. So, John...

1446. we'll have instructions for you...

1447. in a couple of hours.

1448. Thank you.

1449. Thank you, John.

1450. Sir, we don't have much time to play out back-channel communiqués.

1451. Kenny.

1452. Get over to your old stomping grounds...

1453. and go through everything the FBI has on Fomin.

1454. And I need your best call. Is the guy legit and is he speaking for Khrushchev?

1455. Okay, so what we got here is this guy Alexander Feklisov...

1456. a.k.a. Alexander Fomin, declared counsel to the Soviet embassy...

1457. but in reality, the KGB Papa Spy.

1458. An illustrious tour of duty during the Great Patriotic War...

1459. gets him on the party fast track.

1460. Various tours of duty in KGB.

1461. American postings.

1462. He's an expert on us and that is all that we got on Papa Spy.

1463. How do you become the KGB top spy in the United States?

1464. You gotta know someone.

1465. - So politics is politics. - Phew.

1466. Walter, get me Khrushchev's files.

1467. - Pass me that. I wanna see their career chronology...

1468. side by side.

1469. - We know they're not related, right? Right.

1470. They're not from the same hometown. They, uh, went to different schools.

1471. Right.

1472. So if they were gonna meet, they should have met here.

1473. I think they could have met. - They couldn't have.

1474. He was an engineer stationed outside of Moscow at the end of '41.

1475. That's it.

1476. They know each other. They're war buddies.

1477. - That's pretty thin, Kenny. - Well, real life usually is, Walter.

1478. They know each other, Jack.

1479. Khrushchev and Fomin were war buddies.

1480. - You sure? Don't take it to court.

1481. But we've got good circumstantial evidence.

1482. Well, you're there. What's your instinct? I gotta move on this.

1483. My gut's telling me Khrushchev's turning to a trusted old friend to carry his message.

1484. Okay, we're going.

1485. I've been instructed to tell you the American government...

1486. would respond favorably to an offer along the lines that you have discussed.

1487. If such a solution were raised at the U.N. by Ambassador Zorin...

1488. he would find a favorable reply from Ambassador Stevenson.

1489. So I understand you correctly...

1490. if the missiles in Cuba were dismantled, returned to the Soviet Union...

1491. and a guarantee was made not to reintroduce them...

1492. the United States would be prepared to guarantee...

1493. that it would never invade Cuba?

1494. That is correct.

1495. - This is from the highest authority? - Yes, the highest authority.

1496. There are two conditions.

1497. U.N. must be allowed to inspect the removal of the missiles.

1498. Of course, the U.N. must also be allowed...

1499. to observe the redeployment of forces from the American southeast.

1500. I can't speak to that.

1501. What's the second condition, John?

1502. Time is of the essence.

1503. - How much time? - Forty-eight hours.

1504. In 48 hours, there can be no deals.

1505. Hoo, hoo.

1506. I'll see what I can do.

1507. It's difficult to make a decision from this document.

1508. It looks to me like Fomin's overture was genuine.

1509. That's a big if, Bobby.

1510. It's 10 pages of sentimental fluff, but he's saying it right here.

1511. He'll remove the missiles in return for a no-invasion pledge.

1512. Mm-hm. - Mr. President, our early analysis says...

1513. this probably was written by Khrushchev himself.

1514. It's a first draft. It shows no signs of being polished by the foreign ministry.

1515. It wasn't even approved by the politburo...

1516. as they wouldn't let the emotionalism go by.

1517. The analysts say it was written by someone under considerable stress.

1518. Glad to know we're not alone.

1519. Well, it never was my intention to invade Cuba anyway...

1520. till they put the missiles in there.

1521. Uh, gentlemen, I think, uh, we should seriously consider this deal.

1522. Okay.

1523. Hi. - Hi.

1524. - You look old, O'Donnell. - Heh.

1525. You don't.

1526. It's 2:30 in the morning.

1527. You flirting with me?

1528. We got a back-channel communication from Khrushchev...

1529. this evening, feeling us out about a deal.

1530. He confirmed it just a little while ago in a letter.

1531. Thank God.

1532. Jack kicked us out of his house for the night.

1533. Darn it. For a second there, I thought you'd been fired.

1534. No such luck.

1535. You know, I'm driving home, ah...

1536. there was something I wanted to tell you.

1537. Finish that thought.

1538. - Yes? Kenny, it's Bob.

1539. We're getting another leffer from Khrushchev.

1540. - I have a bad feeling. - Okay, I'll be right there.

1541. You're beautiful.

1542. It looks like Fomin was a ploy after all, and they were just stalling for time.

1543. It gets worse.

1544. Gentlemen, my specialists are in agreement.

1545. This morning's letter is not Khrushchev. Last night's letter was.

1546. The evidence supports only one conclusion.

1547. There's been a coup, and Khrushchev was replaced overnight.

1548. - Dean? - At the very least...

1549. it does suggest he's been co-opted by hard-line elements.

1550. Which at the end, amounts to the same thing.

1551. A puppet Khrushchev and a hard-line Soviet government pulling the strings.

1552. No deal, and the missiles are almost operational.

1553. What if the Soviets have no intention of honoring this second deal?

1554. Tomorrow, they make another condition.

1555. Meanwhile, the quarantine isn't working...

1556. and they're completing work on the missile sites.

1557. Sir, I think we have to issue pre-invasion orders for our forces.

1558. Mr. President, this morning's photography is in.

1559. It appears the Soviets have commenced a crash program to ready their missiles.

1560. The first missiles became operational last night.

1561. We expect they'll all be operational in 36 hours.

1562. Then we're out of time.

1563. - We have to go in. - That may not be as easy as we thought.

1564. We have gotten confirmation the Soviets...

1565. have also deployed nuclear weapons to Cuba.

1566. FROGs, we call them. Short-range tactical nukes.

1567. We don't know whether they've delegated release authority to local commanders...

1568. for use on our invasion troops, but the good news is...

1569. we know where the FROGs are, and we can target them too.

1570. But the longer we wait, the harder it's going to get.

1571. We have no choice.

1572. General, issue orders to our forces...

1573. to be prepared to execute the air strikes Monday morning.

1574. And the follow-on invasion, uh, according to the schedule thereafter.

1575. I'll need the official release orders on, uh, Sunday night.

1576. Understood, sir.

1577. We'll need to step up our over-flights...

1578. finalize our pilots' target folders in order to carry out the strikes.

1579. - Permission granted. - Yes, sir.

1580. Well, gentlemen...

1581. if anybody's got any great ideas, now's the time.

1582. - Major Anderson, a phone call for you. - Thank you.

1583. All right. Give me just a second here, guys.

1584. This is Major Anderson.

1585. Hello? Hello, anyone there?

1586. - Major? Yes, sir.

1587. My name is Kenneth O'Donnell, special assistant to the president.

1588. A few days ago, the president ordered me...

1589. to help him keep control of what's going on out there.

1590. I've been, uh— I've been browbeating pilots, you know, Navy guys left and right...

1591. to make sure you don't get us here in Washington into trouble.

1592. But you know what?

1593. We're pretty good ourselves at getting into trouble...

1594. so instead of riding your ass, I'm just gonna tell you what's going on here...

1595. and let you figure out how best to help us out up here.

1596. Go ahead, sir.

1597. Last night, it, uh, looked like we were going to cut a deal...

1598. to get us all out of this mess.

1599. Today, the Soviets are reneging.

1600. We're gonna try and salvage the situation...

1601. but a lot of things are going wrong today.

1602. It's making everyone nervous.

1603. When things go wrong, people will become more nervous...

1604. and it will be very hard to avoid going to war.

1605. Um, I'm not sure what you're trying to tell me, sir.

1606. Just my standard line...

1607. I've been repeating to guys like you all week.

1608. Don't get shot down.

1609. Heh, beyond that, whatever else you can do to help us, I'd appreciate it.

1610. Heh, sir...

1611. When you're at 72,000 feet...

1612. there's a million things that can go wrong. I mean...

1613. Is your oxygen mix right? Are your cameras gonna freeze up?

1614. Are you leaving a contrail?

1615. Those million things, they're beyond your control mostly, but...

1616. You know, when you realize that, there's a kind of peace.

1617. You know, if you're a good man and if your ground crew are good men...

1618. that is all you can ask for.

1619. With the grace of God, that'll get you through.

1620. Are you a religious man?

1621. Yes, sir, I am.

1622. Good.

1623. The plane is missing, Kenny.

1624. We are presuming the pilot is dead.

1625. It's hard to believe, with the Soviet centralized command structure...

1626. this could've been an accidental launch.

1627. Does this attack on our plane...

1628. represent a definitive intentional escalation on the part of the Soviets?

1629. Mr. President, taken with the events of the past few hours...

1630. I believe this confirms our worst fears.

1631. We're now dealing with a hard-line Soviet government.

1632. With Khrushchev as a puppet head, perhaps not.

1633. - We don't know. - You okay?

1634. Yeah. I'm fine.

1635. Mr. President.

1636. What now?

1637. A U-2 on a routine air-sampling mission...

1638. got lost and penetrated Soviet airspace over Siberia.

1639. Oh, goddamn it!

1640. Soviets scrambled MiGs in pursuit, thinking it was a bomber. Got out okay.

1641. Somebody forgot to cancel the mission.

1642. There's always some son of a bitch...

1643. who doesn't get the word. This is just what we need.

1644. Soviets thinking we're bombing them.

1645. Anybody else?

1646. Mr. President...

1647. our pilots are in danger.

1648. We must order punitive air strikes against the SAM site...

1649. that shot down Major Anderson per our rules of engagement.

1650. No.

1651. I want confirmation it wasn't some accident.

1652. - Mr. President— - I think that's a good idea, Mr. President.

1653. I can wait a day and a half.

1654. Be safer for my boys to get the SAMs on Monday...

1655. when we get the rest of the bastards.

1656. Break.

1657. That's the quarter.

1658. - Hey, Dad. Hey, sport.

1659. - You winning? - Yeah.

1660. Is everything gonna be okay, Dad?

1661. Everything is gonna be fine, Kenny.

1662. I guess you won't be coming home tonight.

1663. I, uh...

1664. l—

1665. Let's go! Second quarter!

1666. It's okay. Go on back to your game.

1667. - All right, I'll see you around, Dad. - Yeah.

1668. First down!

1669. Break!

1670. Damn it.

1671. Jesus, Mary and Joseph.

1672. Take off for two hours, you're gonna miss drama.

1673. I told you how stupid it was to float that article.

1674. - You're gonna do it for real? - Jupiters are obsolete.

1675. - Supposed to have been dismantled— - I know.

1676. That's not the point.

1677. Point is, you trade our missiles in Turkey for theirs in Cuba...

1678. they're gonna force us into trade after trade until a couple of months from now...

1679. they demand something we won't trade, like Berlin.

1680. And we do end up in a war.

1681. Not to mention, long before that happens, this administration will be politically dead.

1682. I don't care if this administration ends up in the toilet!

1683. We don't do a deal, there won't be any administration.

1684. It's the wrong move. It's not just me who thinks that.

1685. Everyone on this so-called EXCOM is telling you exactly the same thing.

1686. Well, whose side are you on now, Ken?

1687. Oh!

1688. Goddamn it.

1689. What if there hasn't been a coup at all?

1690. What if it's you two?

1691. - What is that supposed to mean? - What if it was you two...

1692. who invited that second letter by raising the possibility of a trade?

1693. Mr. President, we have only 30 hours left.

1694. Whatever response we send, it will take several hours for the wire...

1695. to be received by our embassy and delivered to the Kremlin.

1696. We're looking at tomorrow morning at the earliest...

1697. before Khrushchev can respond.

1698. Which one of you is gonna tell me how to explain it if we don't make this trade?

1699. So, what are we gonna say to the Soviets about this offer?

1700. Well, it depends, doesn't it? I mean, do we really believe there's been a coup?

1701. What if Fomin wasn't a ploy?

1702. What if his message was real?

1703. What if what is happening is a series of accidents?

1704. Accidents like them shooting down our U-2?

1705. Yes, accidents like that.

1706. Accidents making the second letter seem more aggressive.

1707. And the whole situation appear worse than it really is.

1708. The Guns of August.

1709. That's right.

1710. So we just reject the second letter?

1711. No. No, no.

1712. We don't reject it.

1713. We accept the first letter and pretend the second letter doesn't exist.

1714. It won't work. It's wishful thinking!

1715. - He made an offer— The same wishful thinking, Bobby...

1716. that blinded us all while the Soviets...

1717. were sneaking missiles in under our noses.

1718. Ignore the second letter, agree to conditions of the first.

1719. No reason the Soviets will let it go.

1720. Max is right. Why will they accept it?

1721. It can work if they believe we're gonna hit them, and hit them hard.

1722. We've got time for one more round of diplomacy, and that's it.

1723. The first air strikes start in 28 hours.

1724. - But we have to make them agree to it. Right.

1725. - So how do we do that? - Give them something.

1726. We tell them we're gonna remove the missiles from Turkey— Hang on.

1727. But we do that six months from now, so it appears there's no linkage.

1728. We also tell them if they go public about it, we'll deny it.

1729. Right, we deny. The deal's off.

1730. We do it under the table, so we disavow knowledge of it.

1731. It's transparent, Kenny. The press will be all over it.

1732. Six months from now, we're not gonna care, are we? We'll deal with it then.

1733. At the least, it'll expose whether Khrushchev has been overthrown.

1734. - We'll know who we're up against. - I've been thinking about Khrushchev.

1735. If this is a move to appease the hard-liners in his government...

1736. uh, it may be the bone he needs to regain control of his own house.

1737. Whoever carries the message has to hit the nail on the head.

1738. Come across as too soft, they'll push us.

1739. Too hard, they'll be cornered, and even more dangerous.

1740. All of you...

1741. All of you do understand that there is an enormous risk in offering this deal.

1742. Because if they turn us down and we've told them we're coming in on Monday—

1743. - They'll strike first. - Yes.

1744. Bobby, you know Dobrinyn best.

1745. Yeah.

1746. Then you're it.

1747. Ted, I want you to start working on the draft. Bobby, go in there.

1748. You gotta make them understand that we have to have an answer tomorrow...

1749. because Monday, we go to war.

1750. What do you want? A goodbye kiss?

1751. Hey, Joe, listen.

1752. I'll take care of him.

1753. Go inside. Grab coffee. We'll be back pretty quick.

1754. Are you sure? Sure.

1755. What's the matter with you?

1756. Forget how to open a car door?

1757. Jesus, heh.

1758. You rich people.

1759. I promised the, uh, girls I'd take them riding tomorrow.

1760. Make sure you keep that date.

1761. We gave up so much to get here.

1762. I don't know. Sometimes I think, what did we do it for?

1763. Well, I don't know about you, but I'm in it for the money.

1764. We knew we could do a better job than everyone else. Remember?

1765. You know, I...

1766. I hate being called the brilliant one, heh.

1767. The ruthless one.

1768. The guy everybody's afraid of.

1769. I hate it.

1770. I'm not so smart, you know?

1771. I'm not so ruthless.

1772. Well, you're right about the smart part.

1773. I don't know if I can do this.

1774. There's nobody else I'd rather have going in there than you.

1775. Nobody else I'd trust Helen and the kids' lives to.

1776. Take a left.

1777. You smell that?

1778. They're burning their documents.

1779. They think we're going to war.

1780. God help us, Ken.

1781. Sir, Ambassador Dobrinyn is already here.

1782. He's waiting in your office.

1783. Here.

1784. I'll whistle up some luck for you.

1785. Mr. Ambassador.

1786. Thank you.

1787. Who are you?

1788. A friend.

1789. My brother, my friends, my countrymen...

1790. and I cannot and will not permit those missiles to become operational.

1791. I promise you that.

1792. Then I fear our two nations will go to war.

1793. And I fear where war will lead us.

1794. If the missiles do not become operational...

1795. if you remove the missiles, then there will be no war.

1796. At this moment, the president is accepting terms...

1797. of Secretary Khrushchev's letter of Friday night.

1798. If the Soviet Union halts construction immediately...

1799. removes the missiles, and submits to U.N. inspection...

1800. the United States will pledge...

1801. to never invade Cuba or aid others in that enterprise.

1802. If your Jupiter missiles in Turkey were removed also...

1803. such an accommodation could be reached.

1804. That's not possible.

1805. The United States cannot agree to such terms under threat.

1806. Any belief to the contrary was in error.

1807. You want war?

1808. However, while there can be no quid pro quo on this issue...

1809. the United States can offer a private assurance.

1810. Now, our Jupiter missiles in Turkey are obsolete...

1811. and have been scheduled for withdrawal for some time.

1812. This withdrawal should take place within, say, six months.

1813. Of course, any public disclosure of this assurance would negate the deal...

1814. and produce the most stringent denials from our government.

1815. This private assurance represents the word of the highest authority?

1816. Yes.

1817. And it can be relayed beyond Comrade Khrushchev's ears...

1818. to the top circles of my government?

1819. Our pledge can be relayed...

1820. to any government officials Secretary Khrushchev sees fit to satisfy...

1821. with the caveat that it is not to be made public...

1822. in any way, shape or form.

1823. And we must have an answer tomorrow, at the latest.

1824. I cannot stress this point enough.

1825. Tomorrow?

1826. Tomorrow.

1827. Then you must excuse me and permit me...

1828. to relay the substance of our discussion to my superiors.

1829. Of course.

1830. We have heard stories that some of your military men wish for war.

1831. You're a good man.

1832. Your brother is a good man.

1833. I assure you there are other good men. Let us hope the will of good men...

1834. is enough to counter the terrible strength of this thing that was put in motion.

1835. What's gonna happen?

1836. If the sun comes up tomorrow...

1837. it is only because of men of good will.

1838. And that's...

1839. That's all there is between us and the devil.

1840. This is Radio Moscow.

1841. Premier Khrushchev has sent a message to President Kennedy today.

1842. The Soviet prime minister reemphasizes the need for urgent measures...

1843. to prevent a fatal turn of events and to preserve world peace.

1844. In addition to instructions earlier transmitted...

1845. to stop construction work on installations in Cuba...

1846. the Soviet government has ordered the dismantling of weapons in Cuba...

1847. as well as their crating and return to the Soviet Union.

1848. Is everybody ready for church?

1849. It's a beautiful morning.

1850. Pass the butter up to Dad.

1851. Dad, do you want your paper?

1852. Dad, what's wrong?

1853. The sun came up.

1854. Every day the sun comes up says something about us.

1855. What does it say, Dad?

1856. What's wrong with Daddy?

1857. This is the foreign policy trophy we were hoping for.

1858. Mr. President, sir.

1859. Thank you, Mr. President. Well done.

1860. Mr. President, great job.

1861. Hold it, hold it.

1862. Well, Mr. President...

1863. I think I can speak for everyone here when I say...

1864. bring on those midterms.

1865. There's no stopping us now.

1866. Four more years. - All right.

1867. You know, it's been, uh— It's been a long two weeks and, uh...

1868. Or whatever, heh, but I'd like to thank you all.

1869. I think you all did a great job, and I just think, uh...

1870. I don't think we should be gloating too much.

1871. It was just as much a victory for them as it was for us.

1872. Hear, hear.

1873. - Enjoy your morning. - Thank you, Mr. President.

1874. Get some rest, Mr. President.

1875. - We've got a lot of new clout right now. - Oh.

1876. And we can run the table on Khrushchev, Middle East and Southeast Asia.

1877. Right. You're right.

1878. Dear Mr. And Mrs. Anderson.

1879. I was deeply shocked when advised your son was lost...

1880. in an operational mission on Saturday...

1881. October 27th, 1962.

1882. Your son rendered distinguished...

1883. and dedicated service to his country throughout his career.

1884. He was admired and respected for his courage...

1885. and his professional skill by all with whom he served.

1886. His tragic loss will be deeply felt...

1887. and a grateful nation will be forever in his debt.

1888. Ken, we're out here.

1889. Hey.

1890. What kind of a peace do we seek?

1891. I am talking about genuine peace.

1892. The kind of peace that makes life on Earth worth living.

1893. Not merely peace in our time. Peace in all time.

1894. Our problems are man-made, therefore, they can be solved by man.

1895. For in the final analysis, our most basic common link...

1896. is that we all inhabit this small planet...

1897. we all breathe the same air...

1898. we all cherish our children's future...

1899. and we are all mortal.