This morning, I experienced an epiphany. Nikita Khrushchev saved my life.
I grew up on comic books and I still have all of them, ranging in date of issue from 1948 to the late 1960's. In about 1960, I got a war comic in which Khrushchev was referred to as a "mad dictator."
In October 1962, Khrushchev stood there and let President Kennedy kick him in the teeth figuratively speaking. He ordered the ships carrying missiles into Cuba to turn around and staved off World War 3. He did so with a smile because he saved the world. At the time, he knew his action would cost him everything on a personal basis.
Of course, sending the missiles into Cuba was a dumb thing to do in the first place, but in the end, he corrected his mistake, and he owned it. We owe him a debt.

So how did Nikita save your life?

He prevented WW3 by pulling the missiles out of Cuba.He pulled back from a brink that would have killed us all.As President Kennedy said, "the fruits of victory would be ashes in our mouth."

Quote from: Tory Potter on December 23, 2021, 07:45:36 PMHe prevented WW3 by pulling the missiles out of Cuba.He pulled back from a brink that would have killed us all.As President Kennedy said, "the fruits of victory would be ashes in our mouth."

There was never going to be a war. It was a chess game and Nikita lost.
And why wouldn't you say it was JFK that actually prevented war, when it was the USSR trying to plant nukes on our doorstep?
That shit was on them, not us!

Quote from: Solar on December 23, 2021, 08:01:43 PMThere was never going to be a war. It was a chess game and Nikita lost.
And why wouldn't you say it was JFK that actually prevented war, when it was the USSR trying to plant nukes on our doorstep?
That shit was on them, not us!

It was a chess game, for sure, but I think Mr. Khrushchev won. Perhaps more to the point, Nikita believed that he had won.

For more than a year, the Soviets had been living under the threat of nuclear-tipped American Jupiter rockets based in Turkey. These were 1,500-mile intermediate-range missiles sitting less than 1,200 air miles from Moscow. Each Jupiter sported a 1.4 megaton nuclear warhead, nearly a hundred times more powerful than the bomb dropped on Hiroshima. Part of the unpublicized agreement between Kennedy and Khrushchev was removing the missiles from Turkey; the obsolete Jupiters were demobilized and destroyed the following year.

Quote from: TboneAgain on December 31, 2021, 02:50:52 PMIt was a chess game, for sure, but I think Mr. Khrushchev won. Perhaps more to the point, Nikita believed that he had won.

For more than a year, the Soviets had been living under the threat of nuclear-tipped American Jupiter rockets based in Turkey. These were 1,500-mile intermediate-range missiles sitting less than 1,200 air miles from Moscow. Each Jupiter sported a 1.4 megaton nuclear warhead, nearly a hundred times more powerful than the bomb dropped on Hiroshima. Part of the unpublicized agreement between Kennedy and Khrushchev was removing the missiles from Turkey; the obsolete Jupiters were demobilized and destroyed the following year.

Bingo!!!
There are no winners when it comes to war, just failed politics. Khrushchev played JFK for his inexperience, it should have never reached the stage it did.
There was never going to be a nuclear war, it was all about jostling for position. Make your enemy think you're crazy enough and they'll do as you demand.