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On October 22, 1962, President John F. Kennedy broadcast a special message to the nation from

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his office in the White House. Here is President Kennedy as he delivered that message bearing on

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recent events in Cuba. Good evening, my fellow citizens. This government, as promised, has maintained

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the closest surveillance of the Soviet military buildup on the island of Cuba. Within the past

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week, unmistakable evidence has established the fact that a series of offensive missile sites is

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now in preparation on that imprisoned island. The purpose of these bases can be none other than to

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provide a nuclear strike capability against the Western Hemisphere. Upon receiving the first

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preliminary hard information of this nature, last Tuesday morning at 9 a.m., I directed that our

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surveillance be stepped up. And having now confirmed and completed our evaluation of the

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evidence and our decision on a course of action, this government feels obliged to report this new

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crisis to you in fullest detail. The characteristic of these new missile sites indicate two distinct

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types of installations. Several of them include medium-range ballistic missiles capable of carrying a

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nuclear warhead for a distance of more than 1,000 nautical miles. Each of these missiles, in short,

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is capable of striking Washington, D.C., the Panama Canal, Cape Canaveral, Mexico City, or any other city in the

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southeastern part of the United States, in Central America or in the Caribbean area. Additional sites not

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yet completed appear to be designed for intermediate-range ballistic missiles capable of traveling more than

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twice as far and thus capable of striking most of the major cities in the Western Hemisphere, ranging as far

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north as Hudson's Bay, Canada, and as far south as Lima, Peru. In addition, jet bombers capable of carrying

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nuclear weapons are now being uncrated and assembled in Cuba, while the necessary air bases are being prepared.

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This urgent transformation of Cuba into an important strategic base by the presence of these large,

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long-range, and clearly offensive weapons of sudden mass destruction constitutes an explicit threat to the peace and

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security of all the Americas in flagrant and deliberate defiance of the Rio Pact of 1947, the traditions of this nation and

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hemisphere, the joint resolution of the 87th Congress, the Charter of the United Nations, and my own public

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warnings to the Soviets on September 4th and 13th. This action also contradicts the repeated assurances of

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Soviet spokesmen, both publicly and privately delivered, that the arms built up in Cuba would retain its original

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defensive character, and that the Soviet Union had no need or desire to station strategic missiles on the territory

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of any other nation. The size of this undertaking makes clear that it has been planned for some months. Yet only last month,

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month, after I had made clear the distinction between any introduction of ground-to-ground missiles and the existence of

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defensive anti-aircraft missiles, the Soviet government publicly stated on September 11th that, and I quote,

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the armaments and military equipment sent to Cuba are designed exclusively for defensive purposes, unquote. That there is, and I quote the Soviet government,

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there is no need for the Soviet government to shift its weapons for a retaliatory blow to any other country, for instance Cuba, unquote. And that, and I quote the government,

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the Soviet Union has so powerful rockets to carry these nuclear warheads that there is no need to search for sites for them beyond the boundaries of the Soviet Union, unquote. That statement was false.

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Only last Thursday, as evidence of this rapid offensive buildup was already in my hand, Soviet foreign minister Gromyko told me in my office that he was instructed to make it clear once again, as he said his government had already done, that Soviet assistance to Cuba, and I quote,

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pursued solely the purpose of contributing to the defense capabilities of Cuba, unquote. That, and I quote him, training by Soviet specialists of Cuban nationals in handling defensive armaments was by no means offensive. And that if it were otherwise, Mr. Gromyko went on, the Soviet government would never become involved in rendering such assistance, unquote.

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Unquote. That statement also was false. Neither the United States of America nor the world community of nations can tolerate deliberate deception and offensive threats on the part of any nation, large or small. We no longer live in a world where only the actual firing of weapons represents a sufficient challenge to a nation's security to constitute maximum peril.

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Unquote. Nuclear weapons are so destructive, and ballistic missiles are so swift, that any substantially increased possibility of their use, or any sudden change in their deployment, may well be regarded as a definite threat to peace.

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Unquote !

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Unquote.

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Unquote.

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Unquote.

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Unquote.

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Unquote.

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Unquote.

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Unquote.

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Unquote.

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Unquote.

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Unquote.

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Unquote.

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Unquote.

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Unquote.

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Unquote.

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Unquote.

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Unquote.

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Unquote.

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Unquote.

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And our history, unlike that of the Soviets since the end of World War II,

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demonstrates that we have no desire to dominate or conquer any other nation

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or impose our system upon its people.

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Nevertheless, American citizens have become adjusted to living daily on the bullseye

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of Soviet missiles located inside the USSR or in submarines.

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In that sense, missiles in Cuba add to an already clear and present danger.

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Although it should be noted, the nations of Latin America have never previously been subjected

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to a potential nuclear threat.

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But this secret, swift, extraordinary buildup of communist missiles in an area well known

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to have a special and historical relationship to the United States and the nations of the

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Western Hemisphere. In violation of Soviet assurances and in defiance of American and

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hemispheric policy, this sudden clandestine decision to station strategic weapons for

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the first time outside of Soviet soil is a deliberately provocative and unjustified change

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in the status quo, which cannot be accepted by this country, if our courage and our commitments

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are ever to be trusted again by either friend or foe.

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Thank you.

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Thank you, Lieutenant.