The fallout of President Kennedy's decisions during the Cuban Missile Crisis have been lauded for decades as the pinnacle of presidential leadership--though for Kennedy, those thirteen days in October seemed anything but.
Pressured by the majority of his advisors--including Generals Maxwell Taylor, Curtis LeMay, and National Security Advisor McGeorge Bundy--to use airstrikes and a full-scale invasion of Cuba, President Kennedy kept a level head at the brink of nuclear war to suggest a "quarantine"--a move that his top advisors saw as "appeasement" and following the shortcomings of his father's efforts at the Munich Agreement.
After the institution of the quarantine, and through some tough diplomatic actions, the Soviet Union agreed to take its missiles out of Cuba in exchange for the US removal of missiles in Turkey.
We now know that if President Kennedy had not been a strong leader and had given in to the invasion group, the Soviet Union was prepared to use strategic and tactical nuclear missiles in Cuba's defense. Few presidential actions have ever had such profound impact.
What can we learn?
-Stand up for what you know is right. Even in the face of incredible odds, you never know who is counting on you to make that decision.
-Don't let pressure control your decision-making. Always keep a level head, no matter how harrowing the situation gets.
"The cost of freedom is always high--but Americans have always paid it. And one path we shall never choose--and that is the path of surrender and submission."
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