Thirteen Days in October -1962

            The world came close to blowing itself up during Thirteen Days in October 1962. Thirteen Days captures the urgency, suspense and paralyzing chaos of the Cuban Missile Crisis. Two superpowers over armed with nuclear weapons challenged each other in what could have spiraled so easily into the ultimate catastrophe. Robert Kennedy's Thirteen Day has become a minor classic of one of the most dangerous moment in human history. The United States showed us how well the Cuban Missile Crisis was managed. The USAF U-2 spy planes discovered photos that revealed the Soviet Union was in the process of placing nuclear weapons in Cuba. These weapons had the capability of wiping out most of the United States in minutes, if they became operational. President John F. Kennedy and his advisors had to come up with a plan of action against the Soviets, they had to focus on efficiency of tasks and operations throughout the crisis. Kennedy was determined to show that he was strong enough to stand up to the threat. This potentially dreadful incident brought policy makers on both sides to seriously question their use of diplomacy and military force. Had it not been for the wisdom of the leaders of the two hostile countries, the US and the Soviet Union, no one could have speculated the harm that could have been inflicted on the whole world. However, Luckily Kennedy was successful because he skillfully made use of coercion to achieve a diplomatic breakthrough. He applied his pressure upon Khrushchev forcefully but skillfully. .
             Force, as was judiciously employed by Kennedy, was used as a coercive discreet element to push the Soviets to back down without humiliation. His resolve was clear and unshakable. The missiles had to be taken out of Cuba by any means available. The genius of the policy he adopted resided in his skilful use of toughness with flexibility, and coercion with caution. Kennedy also tried to keep the Cuban Missile Crisis a secret for as long as he could so he still went to visit Chicago and other states even though he was under a lot of pressure, he made sure that the country would not find out.