Foreign Relations of the United States, 1961–1963, Volume XI, Cuban Missile Crisis and Aftermath

37. Editorial Note

At 12:30 p.m. on October 21, 1962, President Kennedy met privately with British Ambassador Ormsby Gore at the White House. According to the Ambassador’s report to London, Kennedy summarized the evidence from the U-2 flights, stated that the United States appeared faced with either an all-out air strike on October 22 to eliminate the missiles or to blockade the island, and asked Ormsby Gore which of these two courses of action he could support. Ormsby Gore chose the second alternative. The President then admitted that he and his principal advisors had come to the same conclusion. For Ormsby Gore’s account of the meeting, see Harold Macmillan, At the End of the Day, 1961-1963, pages 190-194. No record of this meeting has been found at the Kennedy Library or in Department of State Files.