Abbie Rowe. White House Photographs. John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum, Boston. Digital Identifier: JFKWHP-AR6295-1G.
The President’s chief speechwriter and close confidant, Sorensen advocated a naval blockade as the best first response to the Soviet missiles in Cuba. Along with McNamara, he believed the blockade could only freeze the status quo and open the door to negotiations. While it would put a halt to further shipments of missiles, the blockade would not force the Soviets to remove the missiles already in place in Cuba. Sorensen carefully drafted Kennedy’s speech to the nation announcing the blockade and letters to Khrushchev, knowing that “anything that angered or soured Khrushchev could result in the end of America, maybe the end of the world.”