Thirteen Days (2000) · 57 quotes
4th most-quoted character in Thirteen Days (2000): in 6 of its 57 quotes
Most scenes with: Robert F. Kennedy (2)
Dean Acheson 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.
Dean Acheson Let's hope appeasement doesn't run in families. I fear weakness does.
Okay - let's have it.
Gentlemen, as most of you now know, a U-2 over Cuba Sunday morning took a series of disturbing photographs. Our analysis at NPIC indicates that the Soviet Union has followed up its conventional weapons build-up in Cuba with the introduction of surface-to-surface, medium-range ballistic missiles, or MRBMs. Our official estimate at this time is that the missile system is the SS-4 'Sandal'. We do not believe that the missiles are as yet operational. Iron Bark reports that the SS-4 can deliver a three-megaton nuclear weapon 1,000 miles. So far we've identified 32 missiles serviced by about 3,400 men, undoubtedly all Soviet personnel. Our cities and military installations in the southeast as far north as Washington, D.C., are in range of these weapons, and in the event of a launch would have only five minutes warning.
General Marshall Carter Five minutes, gentlemen.
In those five minutes, they could kill 80 million Americans - and destroy a significant percentage of our bomber bases, degrading our retaliatory options. The Joint Chiefs' consensus, Mr. President, is that this signals a major doctrinal shift in Soviet thinking - to a first-strike policy. It is a massively destabilizing move.
How long until they're operational?
General Carter can answer that question better than I can.
GMAC - Guided Missiles Intelligence Committee - estimates 10-14 days. A crash program could limit that time. However, I must stress that there may be more missiles - that we don't know about. We'll need more U-2 coverage.
Gentlemen, I want first reactions here. Assuming for the moment that Khruschev has NOT gone off the deep end - and intends to start World War Three - what are we looking at?
Mr. President, I believe my team is in agreement. If we permit the introduction of nuclear missiles to a Soviet satellite nation in our hemisphere, the diplomatic consequnces will be too terrible to contemplate. The Russians are trying to show the world they can do whatever they want, wherever they want, and we're powerless to stop them. If they succeed...
It'll be Munich all over again.
Yes. Appeasement only makes the aggressor more aggressive. And the Soviets will be emboldened to push us even harder. Now we must remove the missiles one way or another. Now it seems to me the options are either some combination of international pressure & action on our part, until they give in - or - we hit them. An air strike.
Dean, how does this all play out?
Dean Acheson Your first step sir, will be to demand that the Soviet withdraw the missiles within 12 to 24 hours. They will refuse. When they do you will order the strikes, followed by the invasion. They will resist and be overrun. They will retaliate against another target somewhere else in the world, most likely Berlin. We will honor our treaty commitments and resist them there, defeating them per our plans.
Those plans call for the use of nuclear weapons. So what is the next step?
Dean Acheson Hopefully cooler heads will prevail before we reach the next step.
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.
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.
And you weren't so ethically particular when we were talking about options for removing Castro over at CIA.
No, no, NO! Now there is more than one option here, and if one isn't occurring to us, it's because we haven't thought hard enough.
Bobby, sometimes there is only one right choice, and you thank God when it's so clear!
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 favorites.
Dean Acheson Come on Bobby, that's naïve. This is the real world. You know that better than anybody.
And you weren't so ethically particular when we were talking about options for removing Castro over at CIA.
