The Cuban Missile Crisis letter and the knot of war speech

During the Cuban Missile Crisis, Soviet premier Nikita Khrushchev sent a letter to John F. Kennedy warning that they were at a point of no return in the conflict. He used the analogy of passing over spikes in a parking lot, highlighting that there was no turning back. Khrushchev emphasized that continuing to escalate the situation would only tighten the 'knot of war' and lead to a point where even he who tied it would not have the strength to untie it. The letter conveyed the dire consequences of not maintaining self-control and rationality in the face of potential war.