Former Defense Secretary Discusses Cuban Missile Crisis

The minds who know the Cuban missile crisis best--including the defense secretary during the 1962 standoff between the U.S. and Soviet Union--gathered last night at the Institute of Politics (IOP) to talk about nuclear weapons and the new movie "Thirteen Days," a film which documents the crisis that almost brought the world to nuclear war.

Robert McNamara, former defense secretary in the Kennedy and Johnson administrations, participated in a panel with Theodore Sorensen, former special counsel and adviser to Kennedy, Graham T. Allison, director of the Kennedy School's Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs and Ernest May, Warren professor of history--and whose book the Kennedy Tapes formed the basis of the movie "Thirteen Days."

McNamara said last night that he believes the U.S. needs to reduce the number of warheads the nation has, while still being aware of how the country's actions are perceived abroad.

A lesson, McNamara said, he learned from the Cuban missile crisis.

"For God's sake, think about the other guy. We were going to invade Cuba and destroy Castro," he said. "We're going to have a World War III if we don't learn from this."

"Thirteen Days"is a dramatization of the political, diplomatic, and military maneuverings of Oct., 1962 after U.S.U-2 surveillance planes discovered Soviet-owned missiles in Cuba.

May said he thought the film succeeded as a thriller, but said he had mixed-feelings on its historical value.

"The movie presents the [military advisors] as trying to corner and manipulate the president. That gives the wrong impression," he said.

The ARCO forum at the IOP was overflowing with students and non-students alike, many wondering outloud about how accurate the film is historically.

All faults aside, the panelists concurred that the film was faithful to the central truths of the crisis, accurately capturing President Kennedy's strong leadership throughout the entire ordeal.

"Our hope is that the film pricks people's curiosity about what really happened [during the Cuban missile crisis] and about the relevence it has for the real world today," Allison said.

More information on the movie "Thirteen Days' and the history of the missle crisis can be found at the Harvard sponsored web site at www.cubanmissilecrisis.org.