. Such a move was also backed by the Soviet premier Nikita S. Khrushchev who believed that the future of wars would involve strategic nuclear rockets and it was he who had actually created the Strategic Rocket Forces.
             The Soviets, thus, decided to place medium (MRBM) and intermediate-range ballistic (IRBM) missiles in Cuba (as well as other weapons). Forty-two MRBMs (300-1200 miles) and twenty-four IRBMs (1200-3500 miles) were sent to Cuba. Some 22,000 Soviet soldiers and technicians escorted these missiles to Cuba. The Soviets started the shipments in early 1962.
             It was only on October 14, 1962 that the US discovered the presence of a ballistic missile on a launching site. John McCone, head of the CIA, had suspected since August that Soviets were introducing offensive missiles to Cuba. However, he had not been listened as he was seen as being ardently anti-communist and other actors in the decision-making process did not believe that Soviets would introduce offensive missiles to Cuba until they saw them with their own eyes.
             On October 22, 1962 President Kennedy declared that the island of Cuba was under quarantine. It had not been easy to make this choice. However, ExCom decided that it was the only possible choice. The other choices had been surgical air strike and doing nothing. Surgical air strike had been ruled out because the US Air Force did not believe that it could guarantee success. Doing nothing was also dismissed as it would not go well with US credibility and there was no guarantee that the Soviets would not introduce more missiles to Cuba. Kennedy also announced that the US forces would confiscate "offensive weapons and associated material" entering the quarantined zone. None of the Soviet ships that entered the quarantined zone were carrying such cargoes; most of the Soviet ships bound for Cuba stayed well clear of the zone. After a tense week Khrushchev announced, on October 28, that the construction of the site...