October 27, 1962: Transcripts of the Meetings of the ExComm

International Security 12:3 | 66
ahead, announce that we haven't got an answer from the Soviets, and
then we decide that we're going to do a much more general one than
just shooting up some gun down there.
[The discussion then shifts once again to the problem of how to deal with the Turks
and the prospect of a trade of Turkish missiles for Cuban missiles. Various approaches
are suggested that may make the Turks more amenable to a missile trade, such as
emphasizing how obsolete the Jupiters are and how much more secure the Turks will
be if the Jupiters are replaced by Polaris. Finally, RFK and Bundy point out that any
decision on the Turks is difficult at this stage because no one knows whether the
Soviets will yet agree to the American proposal, just drafted, that omits the trade
entirely. RFK recommends waiting for a response from Khrushchev before trying to
decide the question of how to persuade the Turks.]
RFK: What is the rush about this other than the fact that we have to
make- -
MCNAMARA: I think the rush is what do we do- -
VOICE: The U-2.
MCNAMARA: The U-2 is shot down-the fire against our low-altitude surveillance- -
RFK: U-2 shot down?
MCNAMARA: Yes.... it was found shot down.
RFK: Pilot killed?
TAYLOR: It was shot down near Banes which is right near a U-2 (sic) site in
Eastern Cuba.
VOICE: A SAM-site.
TAYLOR: The pilot's body is in the plane. Apparently this was a SAM-site that
had actually had the energy.... It all ties in in a very plausible way.
JFK: This is much of an escalation by them, isn't it?
MCNAMARA: Yes, exactly, and this-this relates to the timing. I think we can defer
an air attack on Cuba until Wednesday or Thursday, but only if we
continue our surveillance and-and-uh-fire against anything that
fires against the surveillance aircraft, and only if we maintain a tight
blockade in this interim period. If we're willing to do these two things,
I think we can defer the air attack until Wednesday or Thursday and
take time to go to NATO- -
JFK: How do we explain the effect-uh-this Khrushchev message of last
night and their decision, in view of their previous orders, the change