to the Captain of the Pierce
Is that a problem?
No, it isn't, sir
He's putting you through, sir
Sir, I'm patching you
through to the bridge now
This is the Captain of the Pierce
Captain
this is the President speaking
Mr. President
Is there any way you can
force that sub to the surface
without damaging it or yourself?
I can bring it up, Mr. President
But whether it's damaged or not
is up to the sub
Even if they do force it up
that sub'll be inspected
over the crew's dead bodies
They'd be executed for allowing it
when they got home
Captain, force the sub to the surface
Yes, Mr. President
Prepare to fire torpedoes
Prepare to fire torpedoes. Aye, sir
Prepare to launch ASROC
Prepare to launch ASROC! Aye, sir
What're they up to?
Slowing down
They stopped
Mr. Secretary!
We're receiving reports
the Russian ships are stopping
Mr. President
Reports are coming in here
to the Pentagon that
the ships appear to b stopping
Captain, belay that order!
Hold you fire!
Where's that coming from?
One second, Mr. President
Somebody find out what's going on
Those ships are definitely stopping
Some are turning around
Are they stopping?
I don't know what they're doing
Admiral
Admiral, what's happening?
Yes, sir. They are... stopping
Mr. President
reports are coming in from all around
The ships are stopping
Some are turning around
Soem are turning around
We were eyeball to eyeball, and I
think the other fellow just blinked
Sir
Mr. President
Sir?
We have the tally from NSA
We have 20 ships
stopping and/or turning around
Six, however
appear to be continuing for the line
It's a mistake
They must not have gotten
their orders yet. Let 'em go
That's unlikely, Bobby
We've been monitoring
the radio transmissions
from the Gagarin and the Kimovsk
Their radios are working
just fine, Mr. President
One ship, an accident, maybe
Six, Mr. President, is intentional
Mr. President, let them go
You're still here?
4 of the 6 continuing ships
are still a day away from the line
They stopped the ones
we suspect have weapons aboard
We'd look pretty bad shooting up
a freighter full of baby food
We sure as shit would
Captain, I want you
to maintain contact with those ships
and do nothing until I order otherwise
Is that clear?
Yes, Mr. President
Contact only
At its beginning
this day looked as though
it might be one of...
armed conflict between
Soviet vessels and American war ships
on the sea lanes leading to Cuba
Find out how close
our exercises are coming...
to their anti-ship missiles
Goddammit
How the goddamn hell
could this happen?
I will have Power's head on a platter
Next to LeMay's
Kenny, you hear me
give the order to got o DEFCON 2?
'Cause I remember
giving the order to go to DEFCON 3
but I must be suffering from amnesia
I've just been informed
our nuclear forces are at DEFCON 2
Mr. President
the orders were limited...
to our strategic forces
in the continental United States
General LeMay is correct
Technically
SAC has the statutory authority...
I have the authority!
I am the commander-in-chief
of the United States
and I say when we go to war
We're not at war, sir
Not until DEFCON 1
General
the Joint Chiefs have just signaled
our intent to escalate to the Soviets
You've signaled an escalation
which I had no wish to signal
and which I did not approve
Get out of here, Max
Yes, sir
Rescind the order. Can all the Chiefs
Put Nitze, Gilpatric
and the Undersecretaries in charge
Yes, we can
We can't fire the Chiefs, Bobby
Our invasion talk
would look like a bluff
Or even worse
if there's been an attempted coup
Jesus
Kenny
give me a couple minutes
alone with Bobby
Just try this on for size
We get a hold of Walter Lippman
and we leak the idea of pulling
our Jupiter missiles out of Turkey
The Soviets
pull their missiles out of Cuba
We back JFK! K. and K. must talk!
End the arms race, not the human race
Hey, hey, JFK!
Let's not