The Importance of War

Krushchev had offered to withdraw the missiles in exchange for a promise, a pledge, to cease all preparations to invade Cuba. Excom digested the letter and concluded that Khrushchev was willing to admit these missiles would probably have to go home soon enough. If there is no intention to tighten that knot and thereby doom the world to the catastrophe of thermonuclear war, then let us not only relax the forces pulling on the ends of the rope, let us untie the knot. We are ready for this.