EXCOM DISCUSSES OPTIONS FOR RESPONSE TO SOVIET MISSILES
Washington, D.C. (JFK+50) On October 18, 1962, the Executive Committee of the National Security Council, or EXCOM, met at the White House to discuss the options for responding to the placement of nuclear missiles in Cuba by the Soviet Union.
Early in the discussions, President John F. Kennedy asked Arthur Lundahl how many different missile sites were identified. Mr. Lundahl answered twenty-three.
General Maxwell Taylor said...
"All of our (response) plans are based on...(the)...assumption that we would attack with conventional weapons against an enemy who is not equipped with operational nuclear weapons."
The President asked...
"How quick is our communication with Moscow?"
Llewellyn Thompson answered that it would take from five to six hours to communicate with the Kremlin. Mr. Thompson expressed his preference for a naval blockade of Cuba along with a demand for the missiles already in place to be dismantled.
In addition to the President and Vice-President, other participants were:
Robert S. McNamara, Secretary of Defense
Dean Rusk, Secretary of State
C. Douglas Dillon, Secretary of Treasury
Bob F. Kennedy, Attorney General
Llewellyn Thompson, Special Assistant for Soviet affairs
George Ball, Under Secretary of State
McGeorge Bundy, National Security adviser
John McCone, CIA director
Art Lundahl, director National Photo Interpreting Center
General Maxwell Taylor, chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff
