Which is what they appear to
be preparing to do, Mr. President
We're tracking 26 ships
inbound for Cuba
They show no sign of changing course
The closest ships
the Gagarin and the Kimovsk
will make the quarantine line
by this time tomorrow
Admiral Anderson
if the ships do not stop
exactly what are
our rules of engagement?
Russian- speaking personnel
have been transferred to our ships
When the quarantine
takes place in the morning
our ships will attempt radio contact
with approaching vessels
They'll be ordered to reduce speed
and stand by for inspection
An inspection team will then
board and search the vessel
If weapons are found, the ship will be
ordered out of the quarantine area
If they refuse
they'll be towed into the nearest port
What if the ship doesn't stop
for inspection or want to be towed?
We fire a warning shot
across their bow
And what happens
if the ship ignores the warning shot?
Wen then fire at its rudder
disable it
and carry on our inspection
There will be no shooting
without my explicit orders
Is that understood?
Yes sir
Well, Admiral
looks like it's up to the navy
The navy won't let you down, sir
There is one other thing
Mr. President
We're commencing low-level photography
runs over Cuba this morning
It'll be more detailed
than the U-2 photography
We'll firm up our estimates
of the missiles' readiness
and develop target packages for strikes
if you should order them, sir
To protect our pilots
we're prepared to retaliate
against any SAM site
or anti-aircraft battery
that may open fire
We have a flight of Thunderchiefs
that'll be able to
respond within minutes
to any attacks on our planes
I've got a bad feeling about
what's going on in there
In the morning
I'm taking charge of the blockade
from the situation room
And McNamara is gonna set up shop
in the flag plot at the Pentagon
He'll keep an eye on things there
Good
You get armed boarders
climbing on the Soviet ships
with shots being fired across bows
What about these low-level flights?
We need the flights
They're starting in what?
An hour
Do you realize what you're in for?
We need the flights
because the minute that
first missile becomes operational
we gotta go in there and destroy them
Fair enough. But Castro's on alert
and we're flying attack planes
over their sites on the deck
There's no way for them to know
we're carrying cameras, not bombs
They're going to be shot at
plain and simple
I'm your political advisor
I'm giving you a political analysis
This is a set-up
The Chiefs want to go in
They need to redeem themselves
for the Bay of Pigs
They gotta go in this time
and do it right
I'm gonna protect those pilots
They're boxing us in
with these rules of engagement
If you agree and
one of our planes gets knocked down
or one of the ships
won't stop fro inspection
the Chiefs will have us by the balls
and will force us to start shooting
They want a war
and they're arranging thing to get one
How does a man get to a place
where he can say
"Throw those lives away" so easily?
Maybe it's harder for them
to say than they let on
but at the very least
they believe it's in our best interest
And you know what?
At the end of the day they may well
end up being right
I'll tell you one thing
We have to triple-check
everything the Chiefs say to us
with the guys that actually do it
And nobody's to know about this
but Bobby
I need redundant control over
what happens out there
If things aren't advertised
then you are gonna make sure
they come out the way I want
Starting with
this low-level flight thing
That's gonna be tough
You know how these guys are
about their chains of command
Listen, tell them
those chains of command
end at one place - me
Go ahead, sir
Speak up, lady. I cannot hear you
I got a train to catch
and I'd like to be home by Christmas
That's the one
What's her name?
Margaret
Margaret
Yes sir, I understand exactly
what you're