Thirteen Days quotes

View Quote Robert Kennedy: You know, I hate being called the brilliant one, the ruthless one, the guy everybody's afraid of. I hate it. I'm not so smart, you know? I'm not so ruthless.
Kenny O'Donnell: Well you're right... about the smart part.

View Quote Kenny O'Donnell: You sleeping?
President Kennedy: No, not much. I slept last night, though, you know, and, geez, when I woke up, somehow I'd forgotten that all this happened, you know? Then, of course, I remembered, and I just wished for a second that somebody else was President.
Kenny O'Donnell: You mean that?
President Kennedy: I said for a second.

View Quote Kenny O'Donnell: I got a bad feeling about what's going on in there!
President Kennedy: In the morning I'm taking charge of the blockade from the situation room and MacNamara is gonna set up shop at the flagpot at the Pentagon and keep an eye on things there.
Kenny O'Donnell: Good. Because you've got armed boarders climbing onto Soviet ships, and shots being fired across bows!
President Kennedy: I know. I know.
Kenny O'Donnell: Well, what about these low level flights?
President Kennedy: We need the flights.
Kenny O'Donnell: They're starting them when?
President Kennedy: An hour.
Kenny O'Donnell: An hour. You realise what you're getting yourself in for?
President Kennedy: Kenny, no, we need the flights, because the minute that first missile becomes operational we gotta go in there and destroy it.
Kenny O'Donnell: Fair enough. But Castro's on alert and we're flying attack planes over their sites, on the deck! There's no way for them to know we're carrying cameras not bombs.
President Kennedy: God damn it!
Kenny O'Donnell: They're gonna be shot at, plain and simple.

View Quote Dean Acheson: What happened in there?
Gen. Maxwell Taylor: I thought he was going to give us his decision.
McGeorge Bundy: Look, I know them. They just need to make sure there's no other way. They'll get there.
Dean Acheson: Remember, the Kennedys' father was one of the architects of Munich. There's only one responsible choice here. So, let's hope appeasement doesn't run in families. I fear weakness does.

View Quote Robert Kennedy: You're talking a sneak attack. How will that make us look? A big country blasting a little country to the stone age. Yeah, we'll be everyone's favourites.
Dean Acheson: Come on Bobby, that's naive. This is the real world. You know that better than anybody.
John McCone, CIA Director: And you weren't so ethically particular when we were talking about options for removing Castro over at CIA.

View Quote Robert Kennedy: At this moment in time the United States is accepting the terms of Secretary Khrushchev's letter of Friday night. If the Soviet Union halts construction immediately, removes the missiles, and submits to UN inspection, the United States will pledge to never invade Cuba, or to aid others in that enterprise.
Anotoly Dobrynin: If your Jupiter missiles in Turkey were removed also, such an accommodation could be reached.
Robert Kennedy: That's not possible. The United States cannot agree to such terms under threat. Any belief to the contrary was in error.
Anotoly Dobrynin: You want war?

View Quote Robert Kennedy: What the hell is Khrushchev thinking?
President Kennedy: Did you have any indication of this from your KGB pal Bolshakov? I mean any possible warning, sence of motivation?
Robert Kennedy: Complete snow job. And then, we went out and told the country that they weren't puting missles into Cuba.
Kenny O'Donnell: Jesus I... I feel like we discovered the Jap carrier steaming for Pearl Harbor.

View Quote White House Operator Margaret: Yes sir, I understand exactly what you're talking about. I speak the language too. What?
Kenny O'Donnell: Margaret, would you mind helping me with something?
White House Operator Margaret: What do you need honey?
Kenny O'Donnell: That tone of voice specifically.
White House Operator Margaret: What tone of voice? What the hell is he talking about? I told you sir! I'm sorry, you're out of here.

View Quote Kenny O'Donnell: The president has instructed me to pass along an order to you. You are not to get shot down.
Commander William B. Ecker: Uh, we'll do our best sir.
Kenny O'Donnell: I don't think you understand me Commander. You are not to get shot down under any cir****stances. Whatever happens up there, you we're not shot at. Mechanical failures are fine, crashing into mountains fine. But you and your men are not to be shot at, fired at, or launched upon.
Commander William B. Ecker: Excuse me sir, what the hell is going on here?
Kenny O'Donnell: Commander, if you are fired upon, the President will forced to attack the sites that fire on you. He doesn't want to have to do that. It's very important that he doesn't, or things could very badly out of control.