The End Is Always Near: Apocalyptic Moments, from the Bronze Age Collapse to Nuclear Near Misses

by Dan Carlin

Within hours of seeing the photos of the construction sites in Cuba, President Kennedy called a meeting on October 16 of what would become known as the EXCOMM, a group of handpicked national security advisers, along with some other influential voices whom Kennedy wanted to hear from, including the attorney general, his younger brother Robert. Unbeknownst to any of the participants at that morning meeting (except his brother), the president taped the meetings.* And at one point, Kennedy reminded everyone there that they were talking about the potential for strikes on American urban centers that could cause eighty to one hundred million deaths.* Has there ever been a more important series of conversations in the history of the world? As events unfolded, and with hindsight available to us, it’s hard not to be impressed with President Kennedy’s ability to push back against the most hawkish of his civilian and military advisers.* Since the invention of nuclear weapons, the US military had had its aggressive advocates for their use.* Had Truman heeded them, he’d have used them during the Berlin Blockade and in the Korean War. Eisenhower had multiple occasions when nuclear hawks counseled using the H-bomb. At the EXCOMM meetings, Kennedy’s decision against launching air strikes targeting installations on Cuba was opposed unanimously by his military advisers.*