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Day 6: Saturday, October 20
On Saturday, with Kennedy still gone on the campaign trip, EX-COMM met to discuss the two speeches being prepared. They approved them with a few minor changes and then Robert Kennedy called the President to say that he had to come back to Washington. The President was reluctant to do so but he and Robert felt there should be a final consensus. It was necessary then, that he return and discuss with EX-COMM the two options: a "surgical" air strike or a quarantine. The President finally agreed. Canceling his trip by saying that he had an "upper respiratory infection," he returned to Washington.
Between 1:30 and 2:30 p.m. he met with EX-COMM. Roswell Gilpatric, Deputy Secretary of Defense, summed up Kennedy's choices: "Essentially, Mr. President, this is a choice between limited action and unlimited action -- and most of us think it is better to start with limited action." The President liked the idea of a blockade because it allowed the U.S. to start with minimal action and increase the pressure on the Soviets as needed. Kennedy would not, however, finalize his decision until the next day.
On the 21st, Kennedy met with his top advisors to further discuss the missiles in Cuba. He asked General Walter Sweeney, the head of Strategic Air Command (SAC), if an air strike could destroy all the missiles. The General replied that they could take out all the missiles they knew about. Sweeney could not predict 100 percent success. Next, Kennedy asked the general how many casualties, civilian and military, would occur. The general responded, 10,000 to 20,000. The only reasonable option left was a blockade against Cuba.
In the speech Kennedy would give the nation, he would use the word "quarantine" instead of "blockade." This suggestion, made by George Ball, Under Secretary of State, was an important one. A blockade, as defined under international treaties is an act of war. A quarantine, on the other hand, is merely an attempt to keep something unwanted out of a particular area. In sum, the U.S. could have its blockade but the international community would not consider it an act of war.
Later in the day, the press contacted Kennedy wanting to know about the situation in Cuba. The press knew that there were offensive weapons in Cuba and that Kennedy was preparing a plan to deal with the threat. Kennedy asked the reporters to remain quiet. He even personally telephoned The Washington Post and the New York Times to ask them to tone down their coverage of Cuba. He went on to warn that if he was denied the element of surprise, "I don't know what the Soviets will do."
Another U-2 flight that day revealed bombers and Migs being rapidly assembled and cruise missile sites being built on Cuba's northern shore.
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