You’d think such a thing was just a plot device in Fail-Safe and Dr. Strangelove but on this day, JFK and Krushchev had a direct line installed thanks to the near-miss over Cuba. I wonder if it was ever used when the president needed to speak to the Soviet leader in a hurry over less urgent matters?
The History Channel’s site doesn’t state if this is still in place. It should be. Our country (most of my readers are Americans) still has tension with Russia and their nuclear stockpile hasn’t evaporated; yet they do have difficulty keeping track of it along with their scientists. Hopefully there are plans to build one with China and eventually India, Israel and Pakistan.
And again, the History Channel got their facts wrong. Krushchev didn’t accept JFK’s pledge not to mess with Cuba. The Soviet Union had US missiles in Turkey and Italy removed in exchange for withdrawing from Cuba. America’s Defense Department agreed to this because the nuclear arsenal in those nations was old and could be easily rendered useless by mere snipers.