Lawrence Freedman
There was a famous moment during the October 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis when news came through to President Kennedy and his advisors that the Soviet ships they feared were about to challenge the US blockade of Cuba had turned away. Recalling a childhood game when he and his friends would try to outstare each other, Secretary of State Dean Rusk observed: ‘We’re eyeball to eyeball and I think the other fellow just blinked.’
As it happens the blinking had occurred sometime before. Almost as soon as Moscow learned of the blockade it ordered Soviet ships to stay clear. Contrary to the apprehensions of Kennedy and his advisors, by the time Rusk made his comment all Soviet ships were far away from the quarantine line. Nor was that the moment of greatest danger. There was more blinking to be done before the crisis was over. The big test was getting the Soviet missiles out of Cuba. Nonetheless, this moment showed that the crisis was potentially manageable and that the Soviets were wary about escalation.
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