Senator Obama and JFK

As mentioned in the past, I try to avoid politics. However, the election of a new president can directly impact the war we are waging in Afghanistan and Iraq. Senator Obama has been compared with JFK in a number of ways. I can see why and I can also see how he DOES resemble the former president. They have many traits in common. This bothers me a great deal.

Senator Obama has used the Cuban missile crises as an example of how he would like to handle an emergency or crisis in his administration. The common perception is that JFK avoided a potential nuclear conflict with the Soviet Union by his handling of the crisis. I do not agree with this assessment. The Soviet leader turned his ships around after having been informed that they would be sunk if they continued on course. He wisely did so and the U.S. did not have to follow up on its threat. It is widely assumed that the U.S would have sunk the Soviet ships and by doing so could have possibly started a nuclear war. Today’s situation is naturally different.

It is unlikely that the Soviet Union (Or any other nuclear power) will place themselves into a position that is similar to the fall of 1962. What I believe is far more likely is that the U.S. will find itself in a similar position with a different kind of enemy. WHEN (It is only a matter of time) a terrorist organization obtains an effective weapon of mass destruction, do you believe that they will ‘turn the ships around’ and avoid a potential nuclear conflict?

I find a ‘yes’ answer so difficult to believe that a ‘no’ answer verges on certainty. The U.S would be forced to implement its threat, or else suffer the effect of an attack. From what he has said time and again, I believe that Senator Obama would NOT follow up on his threat unless his back was against the wall. (As JFK was during the cuban missile crisis.) Dealing with terrorism is not so clear-cut as dealing with other governments. Either way, any comparison that Senator Obama makes with himself and JFKs’ handling of the Cuban missile crisis is of grave concern to me.