"Big Men Avoid War"

In a review of a new book about the Cuban Missile Crisis, Jackie Kennedy Onassis is quoted as saying, “Small men start wars. Big men avoid them.”

The reference, of course, was to the decisions made when the Russians were shipping missiles to Cuba.

At the time, America had a major strategic advantage over the USSR with its missiles and atomic warheads. There were several key military leaders who felt that if we attempted a pre-emptive war with the reds, we’d easily win.

President Kennedy asked what would happen if even one Russian missile made it through. He was told that it would mean a half million deaths. He is said to have responded, “We lost that many during the Civil War a hundred years ago and the nation still has not recovered.”

He chose not to go with his military leaders.

He found some US missiles in Turkey that America had promised to remove years before but the military had dragged its feet. When he negotiated with Secretary Kruschev, he was able to “swap” missiles in Turkey for missiles in Cuba. Both men knew this was a face saving agreement but they knew it was used it for the larger goal of avoiding the deaths of millions of people.

It was to this decision that Jackie was speaking.

The impact of her words on me were very relevant to what I see in our rush to war in Iraq. Did our President ask how many people could be killed if we undertook the war? Would he have considered the Iraqis who would die? Did anyone anticipate the estimated million Iraqis killed and injured because of our invasion, many the “collateral damage” resulting from our military actions?

If no one had that foresight, it does not matter. Iraqis will not forget.

Big men avoid wars.