ANA REDONDO SÁNCHEZ IR IN CINEMA

ANALYSIS OF THE FILM “13 DAYS”

Thirteen days relates the history of the most complex moments lived during the Cold War, so
it is based on real facts. To get to the point of the film we must know that after Second World
War US and USSR military and diplomatic relations got broken because of its ideological and
political differences, and this started the period known as the Cold war because there weren't
any kind of militar approach until this moment of thirteen days, where the film starts and
known as the Cuban missiles crisis.
By 1962 the US already had nuclear missiles in Turkey very close to Soviet territory,
something the USSR sought to counter. This is where Cuba comes into this story, as the small
island is about 90 miles from the United States, which puts it in a very strategic position.

In 1961 a CIA-trained army of Cuban exiles tried to invade Cuba's Bay of Pigs, but the
operation failed miserably and preparations began for a much more comprehensive invasion.
Nikita Khrushchev, the then leader of the Soviet Union, appeared on the scene to help Cuba
defend itself against the Americans. At this time, the Cubans and the Soviets began installing
missile launch pads on the island. These operations were kept secret until 14 October 1962.
On that day, a US spy plane flew over Cuba and took hundreds of photos that allowed the
CIA to verify and identify that medium-range ballistic missile components were being
prepared in San Cristobal.

Two days after these events, the news reached President Kennedy, and he convened a group
of advisors known as the Executive Committee of the National Security Council to decide on
a strategic response. Three options were considered: first, to approach Castro and
Khrushchev, second, to implement a naval blockade to prevent the arrival of Soviet ships
carrying arms to Cuba, or third and finally, to attack. In the end, Kennedy decided to carry
out the blockade, and cautiously negotiate a solution. Kennedy, his brother and his advisor
kept a cool head when most of the top military officials were betting on the attack to try to
make amends for their pride after the occurred in the bay of pigs.

From 14 to 22 October, the world's population had no news of events that could trigger a
nuclear war between the two world powers of the day. The news exploded on the 22nd when
Kennedy told the press of the grave situation in which the country found itself. The US
President's words were very deliberate, as any misinterpretation could lead to an attack. He
ANA REDONDO SÁNCHEZ IR IN CINEMA

announced that his response would be a naval blockade of Cuba, which he called a strict
quarantine, rather than using the word blockade.
On 24 October 1962, the installation of the US-imposed naval blockade began. Khrushchev
declared that this blockade was an act of aggression and that the ships would not be stopped.
The situation reached such critical levels that the US imposed DEFCON level 2 at the
Pentagon for the first time (without president`s permission).

On the evening of 26 October, US ABC correspondent John Scali reported to the White
House that a Soviet agent had leaked to him the possibility that the Soviets would withdraw
the missiles if the US promised not to invade Cuba. The White House assessed the validity of
this leak, at the same time that Khrushchev sent a very revealing letter to Kennedy, in which
he spoke of the tragedy of a nuclear war and proposed a solution similar to the information
that had reached the correspondent.

However, on 27 October Khrushchev demanded more conditions from the United States to
withdraw missiles from Cuba, the US would now have to withdraw missiles from Turkey,
which put President Kennedy on the ropes.

There was a critical moment when the Soviets took out a US reconnaissance plane flying
over Cuba, killing its pilot. The US generals then recommended to Kennedy that an
immediate attack be executed. However, there was a turn of events when Llewellyn
Thompson, the US ambassador to the USSR, came on the scene and recommended that
Kennedy promise Khrushchev not to invade Cuba and also to remove the missiles from
Turkey, but the latter action was to be carried out in secret. The following morning the Soviet
leader publicly confirmed the removal of the missiles within the next few weeks, at which
point the missile crisis was considered to be over.

The film shows the great strategy of nuclear deterrence that was carried out by both sides and
that could have prevented a war with terrible consequences for humanity. My question is how
events might have changed if Kennedy had been guided by the wishes of the majority of his
pro-attack military advisors instead of sticking to his position even in the most tense
moments.