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Eyeball to Eyeball
 Day 9: Tuesday, October 23
On the 23rd Kennedy ordered six Crusader jets to fly a low-level reconnaissance mission. The mission, flown at 350 feet and at 350 knots, brought back stunning close-up pictures of the missile sites and also showed that the Soviets were testing the missiles for launch. One of the pilots, William Ecker, commented that, "When you can almost see the writing on the side of the missiles then you really know what you've got."
Media- QuickTime Movie
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You can get a brief video clip of the F-8's over Cuba:
- Download: crusaders.mov A QuickTime movie for both PCs and Macs: 1.4 MB.
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On the same day, the Organization of American States (OAS) unanimously approved of the quarantine against Cuba. These countries realized that they were also threatened by the missiles in Cuba. With the backing of the Western Hemisphere, Kennedy signed the actual Proclamation of Interdiction in the early evening. The quarantine was to take effect at 10:00 a.m. (EST) on October 24. By the end of the day U.S. ships had taken up position along the quarantine line, 800 miles from Cuba. They were instructed to use force to halt any ship that failed to stop at that line.
Late in the evening, the President sent Robert Kennedy to the Soviet embassy to talk with Ambassador Dobrynin. Well before the crisis, the administration had developed this channel of communication with the U.S.S.R. It allowed both countries to discuss matters privately and quietly. At 9:30 p.m. Robert Kennedy arrived at the embassy and proceeded to chastise the Soviet ambassador for having lied to the United States about placing missiles in Cuba. He responded, that as far as he new, there were no offensive weapons there. As Robert Kennedy left the building, he held out his hand in despair and said, "I do not know how this will end." Shortly afterward, Dobrynin wrote a message summarizing the meeting to be cabled to Khrushchev. Because communications were still at an infant stage then, Dobrynin had to call a Western Union telegraph station in Washington, which sent a bike messenger to pick up the cable. Dobrynin recalls urging the messenger to travel back to the station with the utmost speed.
Back at the White House, the President decided to give Khrushchev more time and pulled the quarantine line back to 500 miles.
Day 10: Wednesday, October 24
On the 24th EX-COMM convened at 10:00 a.m. (EST), the exact time the blockade began. The mood was tense. Soviet ships kept coming closer and closer to the line. American ships were preparing to disable them if they did not stop. The order given to the American ships was to first communicate with the Soviet vessels; then if they did not stop, the American's were to fire across their bow, and, finally, if they still did not stop, American ships were instructed to blow off the rudder in order to stop the ships' forward progress.
Two of the major concerns during the EX-COMM meeting were the Soviet submarines accompanying the vessels and the possibility that Khrushchev had not had enough time to instruct the ship captains on what they should do. At 10:25 EX-COMM received a message that the Soviet ships were turning back. Everyone in the room breathed a sigh of relief -- Khrushchev was not ready to expand the crisis by challenging the blockade. Upon hearing the good news, Secretary of State Dean Rusk turned to McGeorge Bundy and said, "We've been eyeball to eyeball and the other fellow just blinked." This did not mean, however, that the crisis was over.
Also on Wednesday, military alert was raised to DEFCON 2, the highest level ever in U.S. history. The notification, sent round the world from Strategic Air Command headquarters, was purposely left uncoded to let the Soviets know just how serious the Americans were. The message had not been authorized to go out uncoded which disturbed Robert McNamara. The military could, at a moment,s notice, launch an attack on Cuba or the Soviet Union.
That evening, the White House received a second letter from Khrushchev:
You, Mr. President, are not declaring a quarantine, but rather are advancing an ultimatum and threatening that if we do not give in to your demands you will use force.... No Mr. President, I cannot agree to this, and I think that in your own heart you recognize that I am correct. I am convinced that in my place you would act the same way.
Therefore the Soviet Government cannot instruct the captains of Soviet vessels bound for Cuba to observe the orders of the American naval forces blockading that Island.... Naturally we will not simply be bystanders with regard to piratical acts by American ships on the high seas. We will then be forced on our part to take the measures we consider necessary and adequate to protect our rights. We have everything necessary to do so.
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