Saturday night, October 27, 1962
Moscow, the Kremlin
“The pilot is dead?”
Malinovsky looked up from the paper, said, “Yes. It is confirmed.”
Khrushchev let out a long breath, leaned back in his chair, scanned the three men in front of him, Malinovsky to one side, Marshal Kochov front and center. Khrushchev took the report from Malinovsky’s hand, read slowly, then said, “So, you spend all last night demanding I withdraw my letter to Kennedy, demanding that I make a stronger statement, that I not demonstrate such a willingness to negotiate. I would submit to you that killing an American pilot is a stronger statement we did not need. Perhaps, Marshal Kochov, you would have preferred that I keep all of my words to myself, and allow our SAM missiles to do all the talking.”
Kochov grunted, and Khrushchev looked up at him, saw a scowl of arrogance.
“Premier, must I point out to you that this is no great tragedy. Simply put, an American soldier has died, fighting for his country. This is not so rare in a time of war. That pilot knew he was flying in a war zone, that his enemies were observing him, that his life was in danger every minute he was over Cuba. I have not understood why you insisted that General Pliyev avoid shooting every one of the American spy planes out of the sky. Well, wonder no longer. Now the message has been sent. Violate our air space, and you will pay the price.”
Khrushchev felt a boiling fury, wanted to strangle away the smugness on Kochov’s face. He clamped it down, said in a hiss, “That will be all, Marshal Kochov. Have you not other duties to attend to?”
Kochov didn’t take the bait, the arrogance continuing.
“Premier, it is my opinion that if the Americans have a backbone, they will react, and with force. If there were doubts before as to whether they would send their army into Cuba, those doubts are wiped away. I would counsel you, Premier, as per my position and that of Marshal Malinovsky, that we prepare our forces there for an immediate attack, and prepare the Cubans to expect the same. The time for hesitation, for prevarication has concluded. Now we shall find out who is the better prepared for war.”
Khrushchev had had enough.
“That will be all, Marshal Kochov. You are dismissed. Your counsel will be taken under advisement. Please return to your office, and … monitor activity from Cuba. If the Americans are indeed mounting an invasion, I should seek your counsel again.”
Kochov slapped his heels together, a crisp salute, said no more. As he left, he pulled the door sharply closed. Khrushchev felt the room deflating, said, “He would have us in a third world war.”
Malinovsky said, “There are some in the Presidium who support that position. There is much talk still that you have been too timid.”
“Did I not respond to that kind of talk? Did I not issue a further demand on the Americans?”
Malinovsky looked at Vodyev, nodded.
“Yes. But I must mention … I cautioned you. I suggested that your first letter was unwise. You should have consulted the Presidium before offering to withdraw from Cuba.”
“I am no fool, Rodion. If I made a mistake, I corrected it. I may have been too emotional, I may have expressed strong feelings that we do not sink into the abyss Marshal Kochov prefers. Perhaps I am not a strong businessman, not like the capitalists. My powers of bargaining are weak. But I have corrected that. By broadcasting the second message over Moscow radio, I have notified the entire world what our demands must be. That has given us an enormous advantage, since the Americans can no longer deny or ignore what we are asking for. Now everyone can see that our demands are reasonable, a fair trade. We have again reclaimed the stronger position.”
To one side, Vodyev, one of Khrushchev’s favorite Presidium members, spoke up.
“I would suggest, Premier, that whatever strong position you sought has been swept away by the loss of the American spy plane. The Americans are not likely to treat such a loss as a bargaining chip. They will respond emotionally.”
Khrushchev looked again at Malinovsky.
“I will read this report in detail. I want to know what exactly happened down there.”
Khrushchev shuffled through several sheets of paper, but he had no patience for the minutiae of this kind of report. Malinovsky seemed to understand, said, “Premier, if I may cut through the details. Once the American plane was shot down, General Grechko immediately made his report to General Pliyev. Grechko commands all of our air defenses on Cuba. It seems that Castro had ordered his own antiaircraft batteries to attempt to shoot down any American plane. Naturally, the Cubans do not possess weapons capable of reaching the spy plane, which flies at an altitude of some seventy thousand feet. It seems that the Cubans were discharging their antiaircraft weapons freely, giving the impression to our own troops that a great struggle was beginning, that the Americans were arriving in force. Our SAM operators, under the command of General Grechko, were placed on extremely high alert. General Grechko had previously requested authorization to aid the Cubans by all available antiaircraft means in the event of American attacks on our installations. General Pliyev was apparently not available to respond to Grechko’s request, thus, when his missiles had locked onto a target, General Grechko felt he had no choice, and he gave the order to fire. General Grechko claims that he believed there was a general engagement starting, that possibly the American invasion was under way, and without clarification of that fact, he erred on the side of aggression.”
Khrushchev stared at Malinovsky, tried to read the man’s true feelings about what had happened. Malinovsky offered no clue. Khrushchev said, “What do you suggest be done with General Grechko?”
Malinovsky seemed surprised by the question.
“On my authority as minister of defense, I responded to his report already. I agree that he was too hasty in shooting down the American plane. But given the circumstances, it was a reasonable response.”
Khrushchev felt the fury returning.
“That’s it? It was reasonable? We allow Castro with his hot head to drag us into an unfortunate confrontation, while at the same time, I am seeking the peaceful means to end this crisis? On that count Vodyev is right. The Americans will respond emotionally, as perhaps I would. Remember, gentlemen, the Americans have their own Kochovs, men who will push Kennedy to escalate, to seek revenge for our bloody act. How much voice will they have? How much sway will they hold over such a young and inexperienced leader? Kennedy has already been humiliated by his bumbling into the Bay of Pigs fiasco. If he fails to respond to our act of aggression, it could be a mistake fatal to him politically. Certainly he knows this.”
Vodyev said, “Premier, is not the greater mistake ignoring the opportunity to defuse this crisis? Kennedy must be made to understand that this was merely an error on our part, that we are not escalating the danger here.”
Khrushchev looked down at his hands, spread now on the desk.
“Unfortunately, I do not know what Kennedy understands. I suppose we should await his reaction to our second letter. Certainly, that holds the key to diffusing this crisis. Again, what are we to do about General Grechko?”
Malinovsky said, “Premier, General Grechko and his officers responded appropriately to the situation as they saw it. They should not be punished.”
Khrushchev knew he should bow to Malinovsky’s judgment. After all, as defense minister, this decision should rest with the man who understands the facts. Khrushchev stood slowly now, hobbled on stiff knees, walked around the office, the others watching him silently.
“This is about Castro. It would not surprise me if somehow Castro tricked General Grechko into believing there was an invasion. If we are to avoid mistakes in the future, gentlemen, let that be a lesson worth learning. This nation must make our alliances with those we can rely upon, who might have our best interests at heart, as well as their own. If there is a single reason above all others that we should remove our missiles from Cuba, it is that we have formed an unreliable alliance. Meanwhile, I must wonder if young Mr. Kennedy is about to go to war.”