:15:00
we reveal the new situation in Cuba,
:15:02
like the farmer he will grow used to it.
:15:05
He will not like it,
:15:07
but he will grow used to the smell
of Soviet rockets,
:15:09
Soviet missiles, Soviet strength,
Soviet presence in Cuba.
:15:14
What do you think, Bobby?
:15:16
Well, I think there has to be
an alternative
:15:17
between doing nothing and
launching a sneak attack.
:15:19
I'm looking forward to hearing one.
:15:21
And is surprising how inhibited
they still are around you.
:15:23
Even McNamara and Bundy
are still inhibited
:15:25
in the presidential presence.
:15:27
What would you suggest?
:15:28
Maybe you should remove yourself a while.
:15:30
Let us meet informally
at the State Department,
:15:32
George Ball's office,
:15:33
where they'll be free
to speculate without you.
:15:36
Yes, that could be useful.
:15:38
I don't suppose you inhibit them?
:15:39
Irritate, yes, inhibit, no.
:15:42
Then irritate them.
:15:44
I will.
:15:45
But they have to reach agreement.
:15:47
I understand.
:15:48
But the question is, on what?
:15:50
A policy that the broadest elements
in the government,
:15:52
the bureaucracy, can support,
a consensus that won't tear
:15:56
the country and this administration
to pieces,
:16:00
a way to remove those missiles
without war, if possible.
:16:04
Is that all?
:16:06
I should think that would be enough.
:16:08
With pinpoint bombing,
we can destroy the bases
:16:10
without inflicting any serious casualties
:16:12
among the civilian Cuban population.
:16:14
But we'll be hitting Russian technicians
:16:15
and Russian soldiers.
:16:17
Won't that give the Soviets
an open invitation
:16:18
to strike back someplace thas
strategically more important?
:16:21
Excuse me...
:16:22
Admiral, I wonder if I might...
:16:23
May I say...
:16:24
Go ahead, Admiral Anderson.
:16:25
Thank you, sir.
:16:26
Now, there is no more strategically vital
location than Cuba.
:16:29
Look, sir,
Cuba lies on the Windward Passage,
:16:32
the Florida Straits, the Yucatan Channel,
:16:34
and all of the main ship lanes from our
east coast to the gulf coast,
:16:38
and the Panama Canal.
:16:39
With nuclear weapons,
she commands half the hemisphere.
:16:43
Would you agree with
that assessment, Mac?
:16:47
I'm inclining to the view that in the end
:16:50
we're going to have to
negotiate with the Soviets
:16:52
either in direct talks or
at the United Nations.
:16:55
But what will we negotiate,
Berlin, Greece,
:16:58
Secretary Rusk's plantation in Georgia?
:16:59
Cuba is an island, and I submit that we