That was the problem, George realized. The Jupiter missiles might have been obsolete, but they symbolized American determination to resist the spread of Communism.

The president was not convinced by Bundy. “The situation is moving there, Mac.”

Bundy persisted. “The justification for this message is that we expect it to be turned down.”

Really? thought George. He was pretty sure President Kennedy and his brother did not see it that way.

“We expect to be acting against Cuba tomorrow or the next day,” Bundy went on. “What’s our military plan?”

This was not how George had thought the meeting would go. They should be talking about peace, not war.

Defense Secretary Bob McNamara, the whiz kid from Ford, answered the question. “A large air strike leading to invasion.” Then he turned the argument back to Turkey. “To minimize the Soviet response against NATO following a U.S. attack on Cuba, we get those Jupiters out of Turkey before the Cuban attack—and let the Soviets know. On that basis, I don’t believe the Soviets would strike Turkey.”

That was ironic, George thought: to protect Turkey, it was necessary to take away its nuclear weapons.

Secretary of State Dean Rusk, who George thought was one of the smarter men in the room, warned: “They might take some other action—in Berlin.”

George marveled that the American president could not attack a Caribbean island without calculating the repercussions five thousand miles away in Eastern Europe. It showed how the entire planet was a chess board for the two superpowers.

McNamara said: “I’m not prepared at this moment to recommend air attacks on Cuba. I’m just saying we must now begin to look at it more realistically.”

General Maxwell Taylor spoke. He had been in touch with the Joint Chiefs of Staff. “The recommendation they give is that the big strike, Operations Plan 312, be executed no later than Monday morning, unless there is irrefutable evidence in the meantime that offensive weapons are being dismantled.”

Sitting behind Taylor, Mawhinney and his friends looked pleased. Just like the military, George thought: they could hardly wait to go into battle, even though it might mean the end of the world. He prayed that the politicians in the room would not be guided by the soldiers.

Taylor continued: “And that the execution of this strike plan be followed by the execution of 316, the invasion plan, seven days later.”

Bobby Kennedy said sarcastically: “Well, I’m surprised.”

There was loud laughter around the table. Everyone thought the military’s recommendations were absurdly predictable, it seemed. George felt relieved.

But the mood became grim again when McNamara, reading a note passed to him by an aide, suddenly said: “The U-2 was shot down.”

George gasped. He knew that a CIA spy plane had gone silent during a mission over Cuba, but everyone was hoping it had suffered a radio problem and was on its way home.

President Kennedy evidently had not been briefed about the missing plane. “A U-2 was shot down?” he said, and there was fear in his voice.