The Cuban Missile Crisis was the closest the world ever came to nuclear war. The United States armed forces were at their highest state of readiness ever, and Soviet field commanders in Cuba were prepared to use battlefield nuclear weapons to defend the island if it was invaded. In 1962, the Soviet Union was desperately behind the United States in the arms race. Soviet missiles were only powerful enough to be launched against Europe but U.…showed first 75 words of 4864 total…

…showed last 75 words of 4864 total…s he went back to the Soviet embassy to report the latest news to Khrushchev, while Scali wrote a memorandum summing up the encounter for EX-COMM. At 8:05 p.m. Kennedy released his response to Khrushchev's latest proposal. It was given to the press to avoid any communications delays. "As I read your letter, the key elements of your proposals-which seem generally acceptable as I understand them-are as follows: 1.You would agree to remove these weapon