“The Path We Have Chosen is Full of Hazards” –
President Kennedy Addresses Americans about Potential Imminent Nuclear War
21 October 2024
By Kathleen Starck
On 22 October 1962, the President of the United States of America, John F. Kennedy, informed the American people on radio and television about what came to be known as the Cuban Missile Crisis. Kennedy announced an American naval quarantine of Cuba and other measures taken in response to Soviet nuclear missile shipments to Cuba. So just 90 miles off the coast of the USA a drama was playing out, which brought the world the closest to World War III it had ever been.
The Soviet Union was in the process of establishing missile bases on the doorstep of the U.S., potentially preparing a nuclear strike. This, in return, was a reaction to the American attempt to overthrow the Communist Cuban Castro government (Bay of Pigs Invasion). A nuclear confrontation would have ensued the allied countries of the Western (led by the U.S.) and Eastern (lead by the Soviet Union) blocs getting involved – potentially starting World War III.
Kennedy was given contradictory advice from different sides: strike the bases and invade Cuba or ”just issue stern warnings to Cuba and the Soviet Union”. Over days, official and not so official messages were sent back and forth between the Soviet leader Khrushchev and the American president as well as between other diplomats and even media outlets – eventually resolving the crisis. In the end, Soviet missiles were withdrawn from Cuba and American missiles were withdrawn from Turkey.
So in this stand-off between the two Cold War super powers, bringing the world back from the brink of nuclear war was down to: communication.
As a result, the so-called “Hotline” was established, a direct telephone link between the White House and the Kremlin and some cautious first steps towards nuclear disarmament were taken.
Listen to Kennedy’s Speech:
https://www.jfklibrary.org/learn/about-jfk/historic-speeches/address-during-the-cuban-missile-crisis
Watch the Footage of the Speech
The U.S. Government’s Take on Events:
https://history.state.gov/milestones/1961-1968/cuban-missile-crisis
JFK Library on the Events
https://www.jfklibrary.org/learn/about-jfk/jfk-in-history/cuban-missile-crisis
Bay of Pigs Invasion
https://www.britannica.com/event/Bay-of-Pigs-invasion
U.S. National Archives
https://www.archives.gov/news/topics/cuban-missile-crisis
Bitesize Information by the BBC