Thirteen Days Film Analysis: Kennedy, Khrushchev & Détente

Introduction to the Film and Crisis

The film Thirteen Days examines the Kennedy Administration's response to the threat of a Soviet missile attack launched from Cuba. The year is 1962. The main players are President Kennedy and his team of advisors, including his brother Robert Kennedy, his close confidant Kenneth O'Donnell, and Defense Secretary Robert McNamara. Kennedy's team faces pressure not only from the Soviets — including Khrushchev, the Politburo, Soviet emissary Fomin, and Soviet Ambassador Dobrynin — but also from the Joint Chiefs, who represent the war hawks eager to strike first and ask questions later. Kennedy's central problem is determining what to do: he states clearly that the US cannot allow Soviet missiles so close to its borders, but how to address the problem without making it worse remains the critical question. Kennedy is reluctant to take any action that would lead to war, yet to take no action risks annihilation if the Soviets do indeed intend to launch an attack.

The action takes place primarily in Washington, with pivots to military scenes in Cuba, but the bulk of the film focuses on the work of O'Donnell, the Kennedy brothers, and various advisors. The situation is tense from the outset as unwanted information about the missile build-up in Cuba is delivered to the President and his team at a round table, where everyone — including the war hawks — is assembled to weigh in and present the President with options and possible outcomes. The threat of the missiles is immediate: General Taylor, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, informs the President that within five minutes the Soviets could kill 80,000,000 Americans and destroy several bomber bases, making an effective counterstrike extremely difficult. Everyone in the room looks unnerved by the information.

Taylor, speaking for the Joint Chiefs, argues that the presence of missiles in Cuba indicates a major doctrinal shift in Soviet thinking. Anyone familiar with Kennan's Long Telegram of 1946 knows that Soviet policy thinking held that the capitalist nations of the West would fall by attacking one another, and that propaganda — not military strikes — was the key Soviet tool. That is precisely why Taylor argues in the film that the Soviets are evidently changing their approach to the West by placing missiles in Cuba.

The Competing Pressures Kennedy Faced

Before Kennedy can decide what to do, he must assess whether the threat is real. The fact that the Joint Chiefs believe it is does not make it so. The Bay of Pigs fiasco was still fresh in Kennedy's mind, and he was acutely aware of the hawkishness of the Joint Chiefs and their desire to implement a policy of containment. They viewed Kennedy as soft on Communism — meaning he wanted to avoid using military intervention to confront the Soviet Union directly and risk World War III. The fact that the film ends with Kennedy's American University speech underscores that his primary goal was to promote peace rather than war.

However, in the film's opening scenes, war suddenly becomes a very real possibility because it could be forced upon the US if the Joint Chiefs are correct about Soviet intentions. Where Kennedy and the Joint Chiefs agree is on the risk that the missiles in Cuba pose. Where they disagree is on the imminence of an attack. The Joint Chiefs appear indifferent to whether an attack is imminent — the mere possibility of a threat makes it actionable in their view. Kennedy, by contrast, believes the Soviets may be playing a political game and that the apparent threat could be a bluff. He wants more information before making a decision.

Team Dynamics and Decision-Making

Kennedy's advisors assemble to discuss the matter more fully. Two immediate options are on the table: a blockade or an air strike. McNamara suggests a blockade to prevent the numerous Soviet ships en route to Cuba from potentially delivering additional weapons, and to allow time for allied states to lend their support and provide the government with a sense of international legitimacy. However, CIA Director McCone points out the risks: a blockade sacrifices the element of surprise and does nothing to prevent a Soviet first strike. Kennedy subsequently has his speechwriter prepare a speech capable of justifying either option.

Kennedy then turns to his core team and draws on a book he has read — The Guns of August — to frame his perspective. He describes the book's central lesson and applies it to the current situation, emphasizing that tensions can escalate rapidly into disaster if a single misstep is taken. He cautions his team that the correct course of action must be guided by calm and caution.

The decision-making structure is straightforward: Kennedy has the final word, but he faces pressure from multiple fronts. His Secretary of Defense urges a blockade; the Joint Chiefs and CIA Director urge a military strike; the Soviets want the US to withdraw its Jupiter missiles from Turkey. Any option must also be justified to the public in a way that portrays the US as neither an aggressor nor a nation being bullied. Kennedy delegates authority to his team in an informal but deliberate manner, trusting them to make important decisions independently while remaining aligned with his primary goal of maintaining peace and preventing war.

This delegation allows Robert Kennedy to negotiate privately with the Soviet Ambassador, and it allows O'Donnell to communicate a crucial message to the pilots flying reconnaissance missions over Cuba — specifically, that they should not report being fired upon, since any such report would give the military generals the justification they seek to launch retaliatory strikes. Neither O'Donnell nor Robert clears these decisions directly with Kennedy, but because they understand his vision and because he trusts them, they feel empowered to act. Their actions serve the President's overarching goal and help facilitate a peaceful resolution, even while Kennedy buys time in his negotiations with advisors pressing for military action.

Kennedy establishes leadership by communicating his vision clearly: he wants to preserve world peace by preventing escalating tensions from producing a war. Peace is his primary goal, and he makes that clear as soon as advisors leave the room. He does not need to spell it out in exhaustive detail; he conveys what is at stake if the hawkish advisors are given free rein. His team understands those stakes and is equally committed to preserving peace. They work within their respective spheres of influence to ensure that the advisors cannot pressure the President into swift and dramatic military action.

Kennedy initially agrees to a blockade, viewing it as the least potentially fatal course of action. It appears to work — but only initially, since the missiles already in Cuba remain in place. Meanwhile, the military raises defenses to DEFCON 2 and tests nuclear strike capabilities. Messages arrive from a Soviet emissary, then from Khrushchev, and then from the Politburo. Kennedy decides to respond to the message believed to be from Khrushchev personally, as this seems the safest diplomatic avenue. However, he is running out of time: the military generals continue to press their case, wearing him down with the argument that inaction could be more devastating than the fallout from a first strike. He ultimately agrees to an air strike — but not an immediate one, scheduled instead for the following Monday. That window gives him a few days to see what his team can accomplish.

O'Donnell, recognizing that the Joint Chiefs will use any pretext to get their war, warns the President that ordering further reconnaissance is a setup. When a reconnaissance flight is indeed shot down and the Chiefs demand retaliation that Friday, Kennedy is prepared — in large part because O'Donnell has functioned as an intelligence source within the administration, keeping eyes and ears on all the key players and understanding their motives. He supports Kennedy's vision by providing the President with persuasive insight into how the Chiefs will react and how they will exploit any hostile fire against US aerial forces. This communication allows Kennedy to maintain his composure even in the face of mounting military pressure. His response after the reconnaissance plane is shot down is the simplest and most sensible available: he sends his brother Robert to negotiate with the Soviet Ambassador that night.

References

Donaldson, R. (Director). (2000). Thirteen Days. New Line Cinema.