KHRUSHCHEV SENDS JFK MESSAGE OF WARNING
Washington, D.C. (JFK+50) On April 18, 1961, Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev sent a message to President John F. Kennedy warning that his "little war" against Cuba might result in an..."incomparable conflagration* between the US and Soviet Union."
The message followed the U.S. backed invasion of Cuba which began on April 17th. President Kennedy denied any direct involvement by U.S. forces and responded... "I trust that this does not mean the Soviet government, using the situation in Cuba as a pretext, is planning to inflame other areas of the world."
JFK went on in his reply to say that while the US was not involved directly in the invasion..."the people of the United States do not conceal their admiration for Cuban patriots who wish to see a democratic system in an independent Cuba. The United States government can take no action to stifle the spirit of liberty."
In the first 24 hours of the invasion, Fidel Castro ordered 20,000 Cuban troops to the beach at the Bay of Pigs while the Cuban Air Force took control of the sky. When the fighting ended, more than a hundred exiles were dead and the rest captured.
The Dallas Morning News published this editorial comment...
"The President is our leader, our spokesman. Destiny knocks at his door. It is his door; but it is our house."
*conflagration (Noun) a large and destructive fire that threatens human & animal life, health and/or property.
SOURCE
"The Brilliant Disaster: JFK, Castro, and America's Doomed Invasion of Cuba's Bay of Pigs," by Jim Rasenberger, Scribner, New York, 2011.
SOURCE
"The Brilliant Disaster: JFK, Castro, and America's Doomed Invasion of Cuba's Bay of Pigs," by Jim Rasenberger, Scribner, New York, 2011.
JFK Accepts Brigade's Flag in Miami
Photo by Cecil Stoughton
December 1962
JFK Library
