Event Summary
The recent Hollywood blockbuster "Thirteen Days" about the Cuban Missile Crisis has caused a whole new generation to reflect on the danger of nuclear war. On February 21, almost 900 people packed the Kennedy School''s Forum to listen to a panel discussion about the movie and crisis with Robert McNamara, John F. Kennedy''s Secretary of Defense; Theodore Sorensen, JFK''s speechwriter and special advisor; Ernest May, professor of American history and co-author of The Kennedy Tapes; Peter Almond, Producer of "Thirteen Days;" and Graham Allison, author of Essence of Decision.
The event opened with a "Thirteen Days" trailer followed by the demonstration of an educational website created by BCSIA and the producers of "Thirteen Days." From a laptop on stage, Allison played an excerpt from John F. Kennedy''s 1963 commencement address at American University. Kennedy''s voice, powered by speakers, filled the venue with his famous admonishment: "Nuclear powers must avert those confrontations which bring an adversary to a choice of either a humiliating retreat or a nuclear war. To adopt that kind of course in the nuclear age would be evidence only of the bankruptcy of our policy - or of a collective death wish for the world."
As the panel reflected upon America''s current political climate and the pressures of the 24 hours news cycle, Allison asked the participants this troubling question: if the United States had been forced to make a decision about the Missile Crisis within 24-48 hours and had acted on the initial impulse to attack Cuba, did they think that "the consequences would likely have been the use of nuclear weapons against the United States?" Frighteningly, the panel was unanimous in its assent.
McNamara subsequently brought up the vitally important issue of nuclear danger today, explaining to the audience that the U.S. President has, in the event of an enemy launch, only fifteen minutes to decide whether or not to launch a nuclear weapon: "That''s the world we live in and it''s absolutely insane" concluded McNamara.
While the panel''s participants overall gave "Thirteen Days" high marks for accurately capturing the essential lessons of the Cuban Missile Crisis, they questioned some of its dramatic distortions, especially its caricature of the military.
http://www.cubanmissilecrisis.org
(Seth Jaffe contributed to this article.)