This is CBS I On The World. I'm John Batsowith, Professor Serhi Ploki. His exciting, thrilling,

challenging, amazing new book is Nuclear Folly, a history of the Cuban Missile Crisis.

The world started again on October 27th. By October 28th, the perception in Washington

is that Jack Kennedy has won. The perception in Moscow is Nikita Kurschev to rationalize.

Well, I've made them promise they won't invade the island, so we've saved Cuba. Well, I've

got the missiles out of Turkey. But Melonovsky, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff,

their equivalent, General Inchev, and other voices at the Presidium that would be Mr.

Kosegan and Mr. Brezhnev. Do not believe that it's a success. But that will wait two more

years before Kurschev is removed in a coup in the Presidium. Right now, we have to deal

with Kurschev rationalizing what's happening. He can. He does. He calls it a success to

guarantee Cuba. But at no point, as the professor indicated, as he consulted with Fidel Castro,

the passionate young man who is now in charge of an island where there are still nuclear

tip missiles, tactical missiles, IL-28 bombers capable of carrying nuclear warheads,

nuclear warheads parked in one particular ship tied up in Cuba. Castro is in charge of

all of this. Professor Kurschev did not pay attention to Castro. He then realizes that

Castro is going to be a problem. He turns to Mikkoian and asks him to solve this. Mikkoian,

again, is the hero. Does Mikkoian at this point, does he feel vindicated? Does he feel put

upon? He's got family problems.

Well, Castro believes that he's going down. So he sends letter to Kurschev, advocating

the nuclear attack by the Soviet Union on the United States. So in all this crisis,

Kennedy and Kurschev are really, really frightened of the possibility of the nuclear war.

Castro is the one, where at some point is actually pushing for the nuclear strike because he

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