The generals were unimpressed by McNamara’s argument that Khrushchev’s concessions left the United States in “a much stronger position.” They drafted an urgent message to the White House dismissing the Soviet move as “an insincere proposal to gain time” and warning that “there should be no relaxation of alert procedures.” “We have been had,” Anderson told Kennedy when they finally got together. “It’s the greatest defeat in our history,” insisted LeMay. “We should invade today.”
