By: Courtney Little
“This proved to be one of the hardest decisions I was forced to make as president,” says John F. Kennedy. During the Cold War, Kennedy was forced to make quick and difficult decisions in keeping America safe from nuclear war. We asked him what he found to be the most difficult decision and his answer was, “The decision was whether or not to allow the Cuban exiles, which our CIA trained, to be sent into the Bay of Pigs to take over Castro.” He wasn’t aware they had this covert mission, so right when he became president, the choice was his. He said yes, but obviously this didn’t go very well. Another question we asked President Kennedy was if there were any times when they were close to a nuclear war. The answer was yes. “One time we were extremely close to starting a nuclear war.” He was referring to the time when they created a blockade, but submarines kept coming. He said to launch at them and get them to surface. Right as this command was given, the subs starting retreating. He quickly called off the subs and saved America from a major war. Kennedy told us that he did his best in keeping the nuclear war from starting; he did very good considering the circumstances of this war.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cuban_Missle_Crisis
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_F._Kennedy
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