Post by John Duncan on Dec 20, 2019 22:06:57 GMT -5
A prime example of the rift between President John Kennedy and his Joint Chiefs involved a study of of a massive preemptive strike, in which every missile and bomb in the US arsenal would be unloaded on the Soviet Union and China.
This plan was not a retaliatory strike, but a secret first-strike—the most guarded secret that the United States had. The plan was referred to as the Single Integrated Operational Plan for Fiscal Year 1962, or SIOP-62.
Although it is difficult to imagine that such a doomsday option was seriously considered by the American military, this plan was nonetheless presented to Kennedy by the Joint Chiefs of Staff during a meeting of the National Security Council on July 20, 1961.
The presentation was given by an Air Force General named Hickey, Chairman of the Net Evaluation Subcommittee, who presented his group's annual doomsday report analyzing the chances for Nuclear War (according to Roswell Gilpatric) "as though it were for a kindergarten class." Kennedy got up and walked right out in the middle of it.
Before he walked out, (according to a recently released document from the National Archives) General Lyman Lemnitzer (Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff), Allen Dulles and others presented plans for for a launch of intercontinental ballistic missiles that MacGeorge Bundy described as a "massive, total, comprehensive, obliterating strategic attack....on anything Red." The plan involved 1,060 bombs or warheads that would destroy 3,729 targets, and 1,530 missiles and bombers on full alert. It was presented as an "all or nothing" launch. Not a "portion of the plan", but "the whole plan".
After that, the Soviet arsenal would be such that they would be in a position to launch a substantial counter-attack of their own. According to Vice-President Johnson's military aide, Col. Howard Burris, the assumption of the study was that the US would launch a surprise Nuclear attack in LATE 1963 (my emphasis), preceded by a period of heightened tensions.
Sometime during the meeting, the President directed that no member in attendance disclose even the subject of the meeting.
A two-hour follow-up meeting was held on September 13, 1961. In that meeting, Kennedy realized that once he authorized the use of Nuclear weapons, his power to control those weapons shifted to the military. General Lemnitzer did the presentation and told the President that once he authorized the attack, "the JCS will designate E-Hour, "E" as in execution--- and the appropriate execution option."
Lemnitzer used easels with 38 flip charts of target and deployment maps. He told the Kennedy that the 1,530 missiles on "full alert" 24 hours a day could be launched within 15 minutes of Presidential authorization. He also said that an additional 1,737 weapons were on "non-alert status", meaning that they could be delivered within 6 hours of a Presidential order.
And the General made it clear that this was NOT a plan that Kennedy could use a portion of, or change (as he did in the Bay of Pigs), after it was executed. At the end of his presentation, Lemnitzer said, " It must clearly be understood that any decision to execute only a portion of the entire plan would involve acceptance of certain grave risks...There is no effective mechanism for rapid rework of the plan, after order for its execution, for a different set of conditions for which it was planned."
Kennedy was tapping his front teeth with his thumbnail, a clear sign to those who knew him that he either bored or getting angry.
"Why do we hit all of those targets in China, General?" Kennedy asked. The Chinese had no missiles, no delivery systems. "It's in the plan, Mr. President", Lemnitzer replied.
The military knew quite well that with John Kennedy in the White House, the US had lost its capability to launch a Nuclear first-strike. Not so with LBJ. More importantly, if the Soviets had launched the first strike, could Kennedy be depended on to retaliate with a Nuclear counter-attack?
Despite overwhelming Nuclear superiority over the Soviets, Kennedy had shown no boldness in his foreign policy. He hadn't used the military at the Bay of Pigs or during the Missile Crisis. Would he have countered if the Cuban missiles were launched ? He didn't use them in Laos. He didn't knock down the Berlin Wall.
Following the Bay of Pigs fiasco, the JCS were ordered by McNamara to compile an analysis dealing with the Cuba problem. Not only did it include a massive invasion, the JCS suggested that the US create an "incident" that would justify the overthrow of the Castro government. "Such an incident", the recommendation said, "must be carefully planned and handled to ensure that it is plausible and that it occurs prior to any indication that the US had decided to take military action against Cuba."
Of course this could have been the reason why JFK did not believe initial reports that the Russians were installing offensive missile bases in Cuba. He may have thought that this was an "incident" designed by the US as a pretext to an invasion that was to occur before the fall election. In addition, he was being reassured by the Russians that the missiles were only defensive missiles (SAMs). During the Bay of Pigs planning, his own CIA had deceived him. This time he chose to believe the Russians, who likewise deceived him. "F***ed again", said Kennedy when he finally saw the CIA's U-2 photographs in October, 1962.
Could such an "incident" include a Castro sympathizer who lived in the Soviet Union assassinating the Kennedy? Did Lyndon Johnson recognize the assassination of Kennedy as the beginning of "a period of heightened tensions" with the USSR that would be a pretext to an American Nuclear surprise attack against the Soviets and Chinese?
Is this why he talked Earl Warren into whitewashing the investigation to avoid a Nuclear War?
There are still many questions that need to be answered.
But if any of the answers to the questions I've raised is "yes", then it takes us a little deeper down the road in search of a motive for the assassination of Kennedy. A road that does not go through Minsk, Moscow, or Havana, but a road that leads directly to Washington.
This plan was not a retaliatory strike, but a secret first-strike—the most guarded secret that the United States had. The plan was referred to as the Single Integrated Operational Plan for Fiscal Year 1962, or SIOP-62.
Although it is difficult to imagine that such a doomsday option was seriously considered by the American military, this plan was nonetheless presented to Kennedy by the Joint Chiefs of Staff during a meeting of the National Security Council on July 20, 1961.
The presentation was given by an Air Force General named Hickey, Chairman of the Net Evaluation Subcommittee, who presented his group's annual doomsday report analyzing the chances for Nuclear War (according to Roswell Gilpatric) "as though it were for a kindergarten class." Kennedy got up and walked right out in the middle of it.
Before he walked out, (according to a recently released document from the National Archives) General Lyman Lemnitzer (Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff), Allen Dulles and others presented plans for for a launch of intercontinental ballistic missiles that MacGeorge Bundy described as a "massive, total, comprehensive, obliterating strategic attack....on anything Red." The plan involved 1,060 bombs or warheads that would destroy 3,729 targets, and 1,530 missiles and bombers on full alert. It was presented as an "all or nothing" launch. Not a "portion of the plan", but "the whole plan".
The Joint Chiefs argument was that there was a "window of opportunity" to launch this attack that would remain open until sometime late in 1963 without the US having to suffer unacceptable damage from a counter-attack.
Sometime during the meeting, the President directed that no member in attendance disclose even the subject of the meeting.
A two-hour follow-up meeting was held on September 13, 1961. In that meeting, Kennedy realized that once he authorized the use of Nuclear weapons, his power to control those weapons shifted to the military. General Lemnitzer did the presentation and told the President that once he authorized the attack, "the JCS will designate E-Hour, "E" as in execution--- and the appropriate execution option."
Lemnitzer used easels with 38 flip charts of target and deployment maps. He told the Kennedy that the 1,530 missiles on "full alert" 24 hours a day could be launched within 15 minutes of Presidential authorization. He also said that an additional 1,737 weapons were on "non-alert status", meaning that they could be delivered within 6 hours of a Presidential order.
And the General made it clear that this was NOT a plan that Kennedy could use a portion of, or change (as he did in the Bay of Pigs), after it was executed. At the end of his presentation, Lemnitzer said, " It must clearly be understood that any decision to execute only a portion of the entire plan would involve acceptance of certain grave risks...There is no effective mechanism for rapid rework of the plan, after order for its execution, for a different set of conditions for which it was planned."
Kennedy was tapping his front teeth with his thumbnail, a clear sign to those who knew him that he either bored or getting angry.
"Why do we hit all of those targets in China, General?" Kennedy asked. The Chinese had no missiles, no delivery systems. "It's in the plan, Mr. President", Lemnitzer replied.
After the meeting, Kennedy remarked to Secretary of State Dean Rusk as they walked back to the Oval Office, "And we call ourselves the human race."
Despite overwhelming Nuclear superiority over the Soviets, Kennedy had shown no boldness in his foreign policy. He hadn't used the military at the Bay of Pigs or during the Missile Crisis. Would he have countered if the Cuban missiles were launched ? He didn't use them in Laos. He didn't knock down the Berlin Wall.
He did use the military against the state of Mississippi and the state of Alabama. Instead, he pushed for disarmament beginning with the Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, which the military opposed. He pursued dialog with Fidel.Castro along the lines of accommodation. He ordered home 1,000 men from Vietnam.
Of course this could have been the reason why JFK did not believe initial reports that the Russians were installing offensive missile bases in Cuba. He may have thought that this was an "incident" designed by the US as a pretext to an invasion that was to occur before the fall election. In addition, he was being reassured by the Russians that the missiles were only defensive missiles (SAMs). During the Bay of Pigs planning, his own CIA had deceived him. This time he chose to believe the Russians, who likewise deceived him. "F***ed again", said Kennedy when he finally saw the CIA's U-2 photographs in October, 1962.
Could such an "incident" include a Castro sympathizer who lived in the Soviet Union assassinating the Kennedy? Did Lyndon Johnson recognize the assassination of Kennedy as the beginning of "a period of heightened tensions" with the USSR that would be a pretext to an American Nuclear surprise attack against the Soviets and Chinese?
Is this why he talked Earl Warren into whitewashing the investigation to avoid a Nuclear War?
There are still many questions that need to be answered.
But if any of the answers to the questions I've raised is "yes", then it takes us a little deeper down the road in search of a motive for the assassination of Kennedy. A road that does not go through Minsk, Moscow, or Havana, but a road that leads directly to Washington.
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