War and Peace in the Nuclear Age; Interview with Ray Cline, 1986 [2]

Item Information

Title:
War and Peace in the Nuclear Age; Interview with Ray Cline, 1986 [2]
Description:
Ray Cline was appointed the CIA's deputy director for intelligence in 1962. Cline's interview conducted for War and Peace in the Nuclear Age: "At the Brink" explores how the ebullient mood of the new White House administration following the election of John F. Kennedy was quickly embittered by the Bay of Pigs defeat, the preoccupation with Cuba, and debate over how to organize anti-Castro opposition. He describes then-U.S. attorney general Robert Kennedy's concern for his brother's "redemption" and place in history following the Bay of Pigs, the failed U.S.-government-funded attempt to overthrow Cuban leader Fidel Castro. Cline also discusses CIA director John McCone's unheeded warnings of offensive missiles in Cuba. McCone, who had become a close personal friend of Robert Kennedy, was known as a hawkish Republican, and Cline discusses how most seasoned officials all but ignored the now-famous "McCone Honeymoon Cables" on the grounds that the Soviet Union had never before placed offensive surface-to-surface weapons outside its national borders. Cline provides a CIA insider's perspective, offering insight on everything from the extensive covert operations against Fidel Castro, to the initial photographic evidence revealing Soviet missiles in Cuba, to the various response options weighed. Finally, Cline expands on his personal judgment that the resolution of the missile crisis was an "unexploited victory."
Author:
Cline, Ray S.
Date:
February 20, 1986
Format:
Film/Video
Location:
WGBH
Collection (local):
American Archive of Public Broadcasting Collection
Series:
WGBH > War and Peace in the Nuclear Age
Subjects:
Global Affairs
Military Forces and Armaments
McCone, John A. (John Alex), 1902-1991
United States. Federal Bureau of Investigation
World War II
Nuclear warfare
Nuclear weapons
Nuclear arms control
United States. Central Intelligence Agency
Kennedy, John F. (John Fitzgerald), 1917-1963
Kennedy, Robert F., 1925-1968
Castro, Fidel, 1926-
United States
Cuba
Soviet Union
Cuba--History--Invasion, 1961
Cuban Missile Crisis, 1962
Moyers, Bill D.
Bundy, McGeorge
Khrushchev, Nikita Sergeevich, 1894-1971
Extent:
00:58:09
Link to Item:
https://americanarchive.org/catalog/cpb-aacip-15-kw57d2qh3g
Terms of Use:
Rights status not evaluated.
Contact host institution for more information.
Publisher:
WGBH Educational Foundation