"[[John F. Kennedy|Kennedy]] was not unsympathetic to this argument, but as he explained to the American public in an address on October 22, it wasn’t possible to simply back down: **The 1930s taught us a clear lesson: Aggressive conduct, if allowed to go unchecked and unchallenged, ultimately leads to war**. This nation is opposed to war. We are also true to our word. Our unswerving objective, therefore, must be to prevent the use of these missiles against this or any other country, and to secure their withdrawal or elimination from the Western Hemisphere. . . . **We will not prematurely or unnecessarily risk the costs of worldwide nuclear war in which even the fruits of victory would be ashes in our mouth—but neither will we shrink from that risk at any time it must be faced**." ([Location 265](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07QY3CZ9L&location=265)) --- **Tags** -- [[quotes]], [[courage]], [[deterrence]], [[leadership]], [[discipline]], **Source** -- [[202409180133 - B - Stillness is the Key]]