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Okay, so that's a monumental understatement.
The last couple of lines in Theodore C. Sorensen and Adam Frankel's article,
originally published for the American
Prospect for Memorial
Day weekend, really gets to the nub of it. Not just that Bush never really
fought a war, but that his champagne, upper crust, spoiled brat existence made
him cavalier about other people's lives and the cost of war, nuclear war, that is. It's an important
article. Check it out.
If President Bush wishes to emulate President Kennedy's success in terminating
that overwhelming threat in 1962, it is essential for him to remember what
President Kennedy did not do, as well as what he did.1. JFK did not listen to the “bombers” like General LeMay, who
always recommend bombing regardless of the consequences, but preferred to
listen instead to the soft-spoken experienced diplomats like Tommy Thompson,
who understood Chairman Khrushchev's mind and could predict his reactions.
A wise President knows that the quality of answer he gets to a tough question
depends upon the quality of person he asks.2. JFK did not violate international law or ignore multilateral global and
regional organizations, but wooed and won world opinion so successfully that
Khrushchev became internationally isolated, realizing that his reckless gamble
was a failure when two friendly West African states refused refueling and
landing rights to Soviet cargo planes bound for Cuba. In time, a nuclear Iran
can also be isolated without our firing a shot.3. JFK did not launch a nuclear war through a unilateral pre-emptive strike
or ultimatum, even though those more aggressive actions would have been more
politically popular at home than the seemingly more passive “quarantine”
option. Instead he chose the latter, realizing that a military response would
have driven his adversary into a harsh choice between escalation and humiliation.
Kennedy, a decorated World War II combat veteran, would say later that he
had “seen enough of war.” Not all Presidents have.
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