Chapters 19-22: The Kennedys and the Cold War; the CIA and Counterinsurgency; The Cuban Connection: I; Robert Kennedy and the Missile Crisis Summary and Analysis

The Cold War was still very much on the minds of Americans when John Kennedy was elected. Staunch conservatives believed in a strong, militaristic response to the threat of Communism; liberals preferred preparedness but "peaceful co-existence" and negotiation as the preferred foreign policy activities. The Cold War had evolved into a competition for friendship and loyalty among the emerging nations of Asia and Africa, and official U.S. policy was to prevent the spread of Communism in any new nation, by force if necessary. Both Kennedys ascribed to a policy known as "action diplomacy," becoming involved in new nations...