The Kennedy Men_ 1901-1963 - Laurence Leamer [525]
635 several secretaries, and almost certainly Bobby: It is clear that Robert Kennedy knew about the taping system because one of his first actions after he learned of President Kennedy’s shooting in Dallas on November 22, 1963, was to order the system dismantled. Thomas, p. 276.
636 “Secretary McNamara, Deputy Secretary Gilpatric…”: monologue of John F. Kennedy, October 18, 1962, tape 31, JFKPL.
637 “I think the benefit this morning…”: Ex Comm meeting, October 19, 1962, tape 31, JFKPL.
638 “useful play…”: The author has listened to this passage of the tape many times and remains unsure whether Kennedy says “play” or “ploy.”
640 “I don’t think I…”: Lord Harlech, KLOH. 640 “This thing …”: Thomas, p. 217.
640 “That’s not what…”: ibid.
641 “strange flip-flops”: Bird, p. 233.
641 “Well, I’m having …”: ibid., p. 234.
641 “a bit disgusted”: ibid., p. 232.
641 “spoken with the president…”: record of meeting, October 19, 1962, FRUS.
28. “The Knot of War”
643 eight hundred sorties: May and Zelikow, p. 197. 643 Bobby sat next: TD, p. 38.
643 “if we used …”: minutes of the 505th meeting of the National Security Council, Washington, D.C., October 20, 1962, 2:30-5:10 P.M., FRUS.
644 He scribbled: In his note to himself, Kennedy said that Dillon called the missiles “flops,” but the NSC account of the meeting states that “Dillon recalled that we sent United States missiles to Europe because we had so many of them we did not know where to put them.” Minutes of the 506th meeting of the National Security Council, Washington, D.C., October 21, 1962, 2:30–4:50 P.M. FRUS.
644 “We don’t want to …”: Ex Comm meeting, October 22, 1962, 3:00 P.M., tapes 33 and 33A, JFKPL.
644 “that in the days …”: May and Zelikow, p. 201.
645 The president was constantly: Bradford, p. 239.
645 “Who’s that? Eddie?”: Edward Berube, KLOH.
646 “It’s a very difficult choice …”: meeting with members of Congress in the Cabinet Room, October 22, 1962, tape 33A, JFKPL.
647 “They’re gonna keep …”: Ex Comm meeting, October 23, 1962, 6:00 P.M., tape 35, JFKPL.
647 “whatever was done …”: memorandum for the files, October 23, 1962, CIA, DCI/McCone files, “Meetings with the President,” FRUS.
648 “It looks really mean …”: Ex Comm meeting, October 23, 1962, 6:00 P.M., tape 35, JFKPL.
648 “Robert Kennedy and his circle …”: Fursenko and Naftali, pp. 249-50.
649 “I called Bolshakov …”: LL interview with Charles Bartlett.
649 A few minutes later: Thomas, p. 222.
649 “had almost daily conversations”: Anatoly Dobrynin, In Confidence (1995), p. 76.
649 “was far from being …”: ibid., pp. 82-83.
649 “he had a very helpful…”: RKHT, p. 514.
650 “an idea of the …”: Dobrynin, p. 82.
650 That same evening: Bradford, p. 240.
650 He told the president: TD, pp. 51-52.
650 “He [Kennedy] took.…”: Bradford, p. 240.
650 The air force’s massive: Brugioni, pp. 366, 398.
651 “the danger and concern …”: TD, p. 53.
651 “Here is the exact situation”: Ex Comm meeting, October 24, 1962, 10:00 A.M., Cabinet Room, tapes 34 and 35, JFKPL.
651 “for a few fleeting …”: This account of RFK’s mindset is based on his own recollections in Thirteen Days, pp. 53-54, a handwritten note in RFK’s personal papers, JFKPL, seen by two authors who have had access to the document: Thomas, p. 225, and RKHT, p. 514; and the tape transcripts of the Ex Comm meeting. There are subtle differences in these three accounts that the author has attempted to reconcile in a reasonable way.
652 The next afternoon: Bradford, p. 240.
652 And an ironic: ibid., p. 241.
653 “Lansdale feels badly …”: memorandum for the director, “Subject: Mongoose Operations and General Lansdale’s Problems,” October 25, 1962.
653 “stated that he understood…”: memorandum of Mongoose meeting, October 26, 1962, FRUS.
653 “that would leave …”: memorandum of telephone conversation between President Kennedy and Prime Minister Macmillan, October 26, 1962, NSC files, FRUS.
653 “the primary Soviet…”: paper prepared by the Planning Subcommittee of the