October Skies

The Cuban Missile Crisis unfolded in October 1962 when U-2 flights discovered the Soviet Union was installing nuclear missile sites in Cuba, within easy range of major US cities. President Kennedy assembled a group of advisors called the EXCOMM to discuss options. They considered invasion or airstrikes but ultimately approved a naval blockade, or quarantine, of Cuba. After a tense standoff and negotiations between Kennedy and Khrushchev, the Soviets agreed to remove the missiles in exchange for the US not invading Cuba and secretly withdrawing its missiles from Turkey.