50 years plus one day after the assassination of President Kennedy I want to recall some of the events of this 2 year 10 month presidency. Elected by a slim (contestable?) margin Kennedy wins the Nov 8, 1960 election. He takes the oath of office on Jan 20, 1961 and the reins of power are now in his hands. In his inaugural address Kennedy raises the hope of peace and goodwill and in the next breathe warns of military struggle. You are either, with us for peaceful purposes or against us in warmongering, is what I come away with in his speech.
Warmongering?
Remember that this is the height of the cold war. Communists have taken over many European countries, China has fallen, and insurgents around the globe trying to overthrow governments both good and bad. Fidel Castro just two years before overthrew Bastista and his government and established a communists foothold 90 miles off the US Coastline. Eisenhower made plans to train Cuban ex-patriots to invade Cuba and establish a western-style democracy. A little over two months into his administration Kennedy approves the invasion plan. He authorizes an air attack on Cuba, using disguised aircraft, in an attempt to destroy Cuban aircraft and their support structure, which does not succeed. Then on the 17th of April, 1961, the invasion is launched at the Bay of Pigs, Cuba. It was a disaster for the ex-pats.
Vietnam also came into focus and Kennedy increased US involvement in that region. It was to become the centre piece of a “Test of Wills.” This policy eventually led to the long standing struggle that resulted in 50,000 US servicemen dead. It ended with a “tail between the legs” moment as the last US personnel in Vietnam were evacuated by helicopter. Perhaps if Kennedy lived he would have cut his losses short as he did with the Cuban ex-pats. No one will know.
The Soviet Union then casts an eye to its new ally Cuba. As the US had nuclear strike capability in Turkey, so now they would try to place nuclear assets in Cuba. In October of 1962 an overflight of a U2 spy plane shows that the Cubans/Russians were starting to place and put together this nuclear strike equipment. What followed was 13 days in which the world came close to a nuclear war. As Roosevelt did with Japan, placing an embargo which lead to WWII, so too did Kennedy place an embargo about Cuba. Fortunately a deal was reached in which the Soviets would remove nuclear capability from Cuba with the promise from the US to never attack Cuba and secretly remove their own nuclear strike capability from Turkey. On the balance sheet this was a win for the Soviets. Better that then a nuclear holocaust.
Peaceful purposes?
Peace Corps. What a wonderful thought. To enable volunteers to travel to impoverished countries and lend a helping hand to raise life-expectancies and quality of life. A noble undertaking that could raise the hopes of millions. Sadly it could also be used by the CIA to place human assets on the ground. How much involvement did the CIA have in this program is unknown… it’s a secret you know.
A race to the moon. This would take great advances in science. It would pave the way for satellites, a lab and a space station to circle the globe. It could open up lunar exploration and would be our planet’s first step to the stars. From the Soviet point of view it also meant spy satellites and space weaponry, some nuclear, passing over their heads every 90 minutes or in a higher orbit so that it stays over their heads as a bird of prey.
Politics?
Seems to have been more aligned with conservative fiscal policies than with the more liberal wing of the government. His human rights initiatives seemed to be stalled in the House. Whether or not he would have been able to get any of these initiatives through if allowed to continue is unknown.
Sum up!
He was a president. He served 34 of his 48 months in office. An assassin’s bullet through the brain ended his reign. It was a volatile period of time. The world changed. It could have ended. It did bleed. Yet through his speeches the dream continues. Jacqueline’s vision of a Camelot lost still resides in the minds of many. We eventually went to the moon.
I still do not know what his legacy to the world will be. What I do know is this, when his casket was rolling down the streets of Washington on a caisson, I wept with all those Americans witnessing the event. When I was a child I wept as a child, but when I became a man I saw things differently. My sadness remains but my judgment of the times have also changed. He was in the end… just a man!