Thirteen Days2000

President Kennedy:
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.

President Kennedy:
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.