12-01-2011, 10:35 PM
silvarios wrote:
[quote=Buzz]The Soviets were invading our space by stockpiling offensive nukes on Cuba... we weren't invading the Soviets' space by an offensive nuke buildup in their backyard w/ the idea of taking out their prime political turf. "Backing down" was the only reasonable option, and it was brokered in the back rooms, behind the scenes, to allow everyone to save as much face as possible from a situation that had no basis in sound reason to have ever occurred in the first place. That JFK stood tall in the face of the gross stupidity of our country's cold war adversaries, was a shining moment, in that that's what a good, charismatic leader is supposed to do. Clearly that was a time sensitive situation. There weren't weeks and months available for protracted negotiations... and again, it was in our backyard. The Soviets got caught w/ their pants down. To put it simply; don't poke the animals, unless you really, really want to get bit.
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You are stating the USA did not likewise place missiles within striking distance of Moscow?
No, I'm stating that the US military presence in Europe/Asia was primarily to aid in the defense of US allies, and that the Soviets' stockpiling missiles in Cuba was primarily/purely offensive solely against the USA, and wholly w/o merit. The US had no intention of ever interfering w/ Cuban commerce w/ other non-ally nations until the Soviet missiles showed up. Castro and the Soviets chose to poke the animals.
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