Tensions in September

BY RACHEL DOBBS | SEPTEMBER 6, 2012

Sept. 4, 1962

Premier Khrushchev instructs the Soviet ambassador, Anatoly Dobrynin, to assure President John F. Kennedy via his brother Robert that no offensive weapons have been placed in Cuba. Above, Dobrynin stands outside the White House.

In Washington, President Kennedy issues a statement declaring that surface-to-air missile sites and significantly more military personnel than originally thought have been detected in Cuba. However he insists there is "no evidence of an organized combat force or other significant offensive capability...otherwise the gravest issues would arise."

This is followed by a promise to the U.S. public to "continue to make information available as fast as it is obtained and properly verified."

JFK Library

 

Rachel Dobbs is a research assistant with the Cuban Missile Crisis +50 project. You can follow the project on Twitter at @missilecrisis62.