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CNN Live Saturday
American/Russian Delegation Marks Anniversary of Cuban Missile Crisis in Havana
Aired October 12, 2002 - 15:23 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Havana may seem like a long way from Baghdad, but the showdown that's shaping up with Iraq bears some uneasy similarities to the Cuban missile crisis of 40 years ago. An American delegation is marking the anniversary in Cuba, and CNN's Havana bureau chief Lucia Newman is there. And Lucia, at this juncture, are we hearing publicly from any of these American delegates some real parallels between 40 years ago and today?
LUCIA NEWMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good afternoon, Fredricka.
Well, first, let me explain. This is a conference to mark the 40th anniversary of the Cuban missile crisis, which occurred in October 40 years ago in 1962, and present are the surviving key protagonists, that is the surviving members of the Kennedy administration, including former U.S. Defense Secretary Robert McNamara, advisers Arthur Schlesinger (ph) and Ted Sorenson. The same is true for the Russian side, the ex-Soviet side, and also Cuba, including President Fidel Castro himself.
And one of the things that they're debating at this very moment is why the crisis happened, why it almost got out of hand, and what lessons can be learned from the Cuban missile crisis that are applicable to the situation today.
For example, last week, President Bush himself or his administration tried to use the fact that President Kennedy had declared a Naval blockade -- it was called a quarantine at the time -- around Cuba as a preemptive measure, this as a justification for taking preemptive measures today.
Now, I would like to read to you what former Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara had to say. He said that that is basically misreading history. He said the Kennedy administration imposed what he called "a quarantine" because blockade was a word of war. "The purpose was the opposite of preemption," he said, "it was to try and prevent war." So words such as prudence, care, restraint are the ones that are being used today here in Havana, Fredricka, as these protagonists of the Cuban missile crisis try to decide what can be done to prevent big wars, nuclear wars in the future.
WHITFIELD: Lucia, then, already evidence of this ongoing war of words involving former Kennedy administration folks and current Bush administration folks. So now, is perhaps McNamara even commenting on the fact that today and perhaps just like then there is this spinning out of control of facts and speculation, and that that only helps this war of words grow and potentially put an awful lot of countries and people in potential danger?
NEWMAN: Well, former Defense Secretary McNamara said that he wanted to be very careful and that it would be irresponsible for him at this time at such a delicate moment to be criticizing a current U.S. administration, so he wanted to make that very clear.
But at the same time, he has emphasized over and over again, as have other members of the Kennedy administration, that prudence and restraint and the search for other avenues, for diplomatic solutions, for back channels, at the same time that a U.S. government is trying to show force is very, very important in order to try and prevent a disaster, in order to prevent a situation from spinning out of control.
And you used that word, and it was in fact discussed yesterday at the conference, that the Cuban missile crisis nearly did spin out of control and that the world was a lot closer to a nuclear disaster at that time than what many had believed up until now, Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: Lucia, what's the word, if any, coming from Fidel Castro there? Is he weighing in on what he sees as parallels or far from parallels?
NEWMAN: Well, right now he hasn't spoken about that in public yet. But we do know that behind closed doors at the conference, he said something yesterday that made the eyes of the Soviet generals that were there really open up wide. He said that in retrospect, he would have preferred to have gone directly to war with the United States back in 1962 than see those missiles come into Cuba and then be withdrawn again by Khrushchev, whom he now sees as a traitor, Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: All right, Lucia Newman, thank you very much from Havana. I appreciate it.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Missile Crisis in Havana>
Aired October 12, 2002 - 15:23 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Havana may seem like a long way from Baghdad, but the showdown that's shaping up with Iraq bears some uneasy similarities to the Cuban missile crisis of 40 years ago. An American delegation is marking the anniversary in Cuba, and CNN's Havana bureau chief Lucia Newman is there. And Lucia, at this juncture, are we hearing publicly from any of these American delegates some real parallels between 40 years ago and today?
LUCIA NEWMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good afternoon, Fredricka.
Well, first, let me explain. This is a conference to mark the 40th anniversary of the Cuban missile crisis, which occurred in October 40 years ago in 1962, and present are the surviving key protagonists, that is the surviving members of the Kennedy administration, including former U.S. Defense Secretary Robert McNamara, advisers Arthur Schlesinger (ph) and Ted Sorenson. The same is true for the Russian side, the ex-Soviet side, and also Cuba, including President Fidel Castro himself.
And one of the things that they're debating at this very moment is why the crisis happened, why it almost got out of hand, and what lessons can be learned from the Cuban missile crisis that are applicable to the situation today.
For example, last week, President Bush himself or his administration tried to use the fact that President Kennedy had declared a Naval blockade -- it was called a quarantine at the time -- around Cuba as a preemptive measure, this as a justification for taking preemptive measures today.
Now, I would like to read to you what former Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara had to say. He said that that is basically misreading history. He said the Kennedy administration imposed what he called "a quarantine" because blockade was a word of war. "The purpose was the opposite of preemption," he said, "it was to try and prevent war." So words such as prudence, care, restraint are the ones that are being used today here in Havana, Fredricka, as these protagonists of the Cuban missile crisis try to decide what can be done to prevent big wars, nuclear wars in the future.
WHITFIELD: Lucia, then, already evidence of this ongoing war of words involving former Kennedy administration folks and current Bush administration folks. So now, is perhaps McNamara even commenting on the fact that today and perhaps just like then there is this spinning out of control of facts and speculation, and that that only helps this war of words grow and potentially put an awful lot of countries and people in potential danger?
NEWMAN: Well, former Defense Secretary McNamara said that he wanted to be very careful and that it would be irresponsible for him at this time at such a delicate moment to be criticizing a current U.S. administration, so he wanted to make that very clear.
But at the same time, he has emphasized over and over again, as have other members of the Kennedy administration, that prudence and restraint and the search for other avenues, for diplomatic solutions, for back channels, at the same time that a U.S. government is trying to show force is very, very important in order to try and prevent a disaster, in order to prevent a situation from spinning out of control.
And you used that word, and it was in fact discussed yesterday at the conference, that the Cuban missile crisis nearly did spin out of control and that the world was a lot closer to a nuclear disaster at that time than what many had believed up until now, Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: Lucia, what's the word, if any, coming from Fidel Castro there? Is he weighing in on what he sees as parallels or far from parallels?
NEWMAN: Well, right now he hasn't spoken about that in public yet. But we do know that behind closed doors at the conference, he said something yesterday that made the eyes of the Soviet generals that were there really open up wide. He said that in retrospect, he would have preferred to have gone directly to war with the United States back in 1962 than see those missiles come into Cuba and then be withdrawn again by Khrushchev, whom he now sees as a traitor, Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: All right, Lucia Newman, thank you very much from Havana. I appreciate it.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Missile Crisis in Havana>
