Most scenes together: Robert F. Kennedy & Kenny O'Donnell (5), Robert F. Kennedy & Dean Acheson (2)
You're a good man; your brother is a good man. I assure you there are other good men. Let us hope the will of good men is enough to counter the terrible strength of this thing that was put in motion.
Gentlemen, for the last fifteen years, I've fought at this table alongside your predecessors in the struggle against the Soviet. Now I do not wish to seem melodramatic, but I do wish to impress upon you a lesson I learned with bitter tears and great sacrifice. The Soviet understands only one language: action. Respects only one word: force.
Let's hope appeasement doesn't run in families. I fear weakness does.
We were eyeball to eyeball and I think the other fella just blinked.
White House Operator Margaret What the crap is going on today?
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.
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.
You're in a pretty bad fix, Mr. President.
:[wonders at remark and looks back at LeMay] What did you say?
You're in a pretty bad fix.
Well, maybe you haven't you noticed you're in it with me.
And while you're under a rock somewhere with the President, what am I supposed to do with our five children, Kenny?
Honey, we're not going to let it come to that, I promise. Jack and Bobby, they're smart guys.
You're smart, too.
Not like them.
I got a bad feeling about what's going on in there!
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.
Good. Because you've got armed boarders climbing onto Soviet ships, and shots being fired across bows!
I know. I know.
Well, what about these low level flights?
We need the flights.
They're starting them when?
An hour.
An hour. You realise what you're getting yourself in for?
Kenny, no, we need the flights, because the minute that first missile becomes operational we gotta go in there and destroy it.
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.
God damn it!
They're gonna be shot at, plain and simple.
The point is, you trade our missiles in Turkey for theirs in Cuba, they're gonna force us into trade after trade, until finally, a couple of months from now they demand something we won't trade, like Berlin, and we do end up in a war. Not to mention that long before that happens this administration will be politically dead.
I don't care if this administration ends up in the freaking toilet! We don't do a deal tonight there won't be any administration.
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.
I don't think you understand me Commander. You are not to get shot down under any circumstances. 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?
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.
You know, the Joint Chiefs are gonna be upset if you mess with their chain of command.
Well, you tell them that their chain of command leads up to one place - me.
You sleeping?
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.
You mean that?
I said for a second.
McGeorge Bundy, National Security Advisor Sunday morning, one of our U-2s took these pictures. The Soviets are putting medium-range, ballistic missiles into Cuba.
They appear to be the SS-4, range of a thousand miles, three-megaton nuclear warheads. Seen here in this year's May Day parade in Red Square.
Acheson's scenario is unacceptable, and he's got more experience than anybody.
There is no expert on the subject, there is no wise old man. There's... shit, there's just us.
The thing is that Acheson's right. Talk alone's not gonna accomplish anything.
Well, let's bomb the shit out of 'em! Everybody wants to. Even you, I mean, even me, right? It sure would feel good.
