Essay on Rfk's 13 Days

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Thirteen Days is an autobiography written by Robert F. Kennedy. It is based upon the memories of RFK during the Cuban missile crisis. He vividly recalls the thirteen days between October 16 and October 28, 1962. Within these thirteen days, havoc and stress faced the White House, especially to Senator RFK and his brother, President John F. Kennedy. The story is about the handling of the crisis by one brother and the personal account of the other. The two worked together to keep America and the world safe.
The story focuses on the conflict between the two giant atomic nations, the United States and the Soviet Union. On October 16, 1962, the U.S. had suspicion that Russia was placing missiles and atomic weapons in Cuba. It also seemed as if the Russian's were constructing a large naval shipyard and a base for submarines. The two Kennedy's at first thought it was just a football field, but when U-2 planes got more detailed pictures the two were outraged! The photos indicated that the missiles were being directed at certain American cities. It was estimated that within five minutes of them being fired, eighty million Americans would be dead! RFK later finds out that Russia sent these weapons to Cuba because they thought the U.S. was interested in overthrowing the Cuban government. In response to this rumor, the Soviets wished to help Cuba protect itself.
Soviet chairman, Nikita Khrushchev, guaranteed President Kennedy that there was nothing going on in Cuba. The U.S. was not fooled with Khrushchev's act and began to discuss the ideas of a quarantine or a military attack. RFK and Secretary of Defense, Robert McNamara, became the blockade's strongest advocates. They did not accept the idea of the U.S. raining bom...

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...roposed that if the U.S. removed its missiles from Turkey then Russia would remove its missiles from Cuba. Robert Kennedy wanted Soviet missiles and offensive weapons removed from Cuba under UN inspection. Later that same day, a U.S. U-2 was shot down over Cuba. Bombardment of Cuba was the initial reaction, but JFK calmed everyone down. The next day on October 28, Russia agreed to withdraw their missiles from Cuba. If they had not, war may have begun.
We are lucky to have such a comprehensive account of this very tense time in U.S. history. Robert Kennedy did a remarkable job recording these thirteen days of what seemed like hell. RFK made the book very suspenseful. We were very lucky to have Robert and John Kennedy handle the Cuban missile situation. Without them, we might not even be here today. The world has lost a lot by the death of these two brothers.

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