Some of you may remember the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962.   Nikita Khrushchev decided the Soviet Union was going to establish a nuclear missile base in Cuba.  But President John F. Kennedy said we weren’t going to have enemy missiles 90 miles from home.  He told the Russians to dismantle the  bases. Furthermore, he told them stop sending missiles.    He formed a naval blockade around Cuba,  and threatened the use of military force.    The Russians set sail, anyway.  As a result, America held its breath for 13 long days.  We were on the brink of nuclear war.   Khrushchev and Kennedy were eyeball to eyeball.    Finally, the Russian ships turned around and headed home.  The recent conflict between Trump and Iran reminds us of the Cuban Missile Crisis.    Did someone just blink? 

The election of  President John  Kennedy  caused as much controversy as the election of Donald Trump. The Republicans claimed the Democrats stole the election in Chicago.

The Republicans hated Kennedy just  as the Democrats hate Trump. But Kennedy had an advantage. The media adored him,   That changed in 1961, after the  Bay of Pigs fiasco.      111 Americans were killed, and 1100 taken prisoner.  Now,  public opinion turned.  Many Americans thought  Kennedy was “dangerously incompetent,” as Joe Biden might say.

But  Kennedy turned defeat into glory  after the Cuban Missile crisis ended. At last, he was seen as a strong leader.  By the same token, many Americans now believe Trump is a hero after eliminating  Iran’s terrorist General Soleimani.

In ordering the killing of Soleimani in Iraq, President Trump took a bold risk.  But, no Americans died in Iran’s subsequent missile attack on a US base in Iraq.   Will Trump go down in history as  a strong leader?  Did someone just blink? Or was the confrontation with Iran a fiasco? Only time will tell.