AHC 45th Anniversary of the Cuban Missile War: What's Next

As regards the bombing of Chinese airfields, given what Amerigo said in CMW I get the impression that General Power would have gotten last minute orders from the president to not bomb the Chinese airfields. Evidently he listened because in TTL the Chinese never became involved in the war.

Declaring war on the United States at this stage would have been a bad idea in capital letters for China. They would have gained nothing from it and would likely find themselves much worse off. As it is because they played the "peace card" they are now one of the most powerful nations on Earth.

Also, how would they project their power in a war with the U.S.? At the time - 1962 they did not have the atomic bomb. Their navy was virtually non-existent, likewise their air force and they were barely able to feed their own nation. I think the move they made to try to stay out of the war was the best move they could have made.

That Powers in thst TL didn't act as most would have expected to do, like listen to the President, was one of my problems with the story.

Powers was the one who set SAC to DEFCON 2, not the Prez, not the Joint Chiefs, Sec Def or DoD.

He wasn't really authorized to do that, or to do it in the Clear, so everyone would know.
He was one of the reasons that all the PALs at SAC were compromised. He still had predelegated laumch authority from Ike, and that never had been canceled.
While LeMay may have spoke of 'shooting the Red Dog that was digging in the backyard' Powers was the one who made the that the rifle and bullets were ready for immediate use.

This was his line of thinking
'Restraint? Why are you so concerned with saving their lives? The whole idea is to kill the Bastards. At the end of the war, if there are two Americans and one Russian, we win'
 
That Powers in thst TL didn't act as most would have expected to do, like listen to the President, was one of my problems with the story.

Well, yes. You seem to believe that the military would not obey direct orders from President. Powell had not received a direct order from Kennedy like had had in the CMC War TL to not raise the force to Defcon 2 nor did he receive an order to lower it. Had he, he would have complained... but obeyed. That's what happened when SAC received direct orders from the President to change it's policy away from it's obsession with the atomic air offensive to a more limited one in flexible response, SAC's reaction... was to obey. They complained, loudly, sure, and regarded those decisions as disastrous. But they obeyed and actions speak louder then words.

It's as Edward Kaplan observes in To Kill Nations: "Only in Dr. Strangelove did generals launch nuclear attacks for what they perceived as the good of the nation."
 
It's as Edward Kaplan observes in To Kill Nations: "Only in Dr. Strangelove did generals launch nuclear attacks for what they perceived as the good of the nation."
You really think Power would hold back after Nukes fly?

"General Power... was demanding; he was mean, he was cruel, unforgiving and he didn't have the time of day to pass with anyone.
A hard, cruel individual... I would like to say this, I used to worry about General Power. I used to worry that General Power was not stable.
I used to worry about the fact that he had control over so many weapons and weapon systems and could, under certain conditions, launch the force.
Back in the days before we had real positive control [i.e., PAL locks], SAC had the power to do a lot of things, and it was in his hands, and he knew it."


— General Horace M. Wade

LeMay thought him a Sadist.

So a guy who pretty much ignored what JFK and McNamara, would suddenly start behaving as US Cities are being vaporized?
 
You really think Power would hold back after Nukes fly?

If explicitly ordered? Yes. Your example doesn't even prove he ignored JFK or McNamara per-say, just that he didn't consult with them. Actions speak louder then words, and when confronted by a direct order from his superiors, Powers bowed to the American tradition of civilian authority over the military. He might try as much passive resistance as he can wiggle out of the orders, that happened as the "all-zeros" PAL links demonstrates, but he will obey a direct order.
 
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There is the issue of the fog of war. Units might not get any order forbidding attacks on China, and fearing Soviet attacks, might just launch.
 
There is the issue of the fog of war. Units might not get any order forbidding attacks on China, and fearing Soviet attacks, might just launch.

Well, it's most of a day that passes after the order is issued to Powers and the final execution of the SIOP starts so... maybe, maybe not.
 

Geon

Donor
I don't even understand why China was included in the SIOP in the first place. As indicated above she didn't have the means to do much more then reignite the Korean War. If anything she knew if she stayed neutral she might get just what she did-a big piece of Russian territory.

Also here's a question, given the fact that there are now 11 nuclear powers in the world counting the U.S. (see earlier posting) how do you think the U.S. will feel about there now being more nuclear powers to deal with then there were at the start of the CMW?
 
I don't even understand why China was included in the SIOP in the first place. As indicated above she didn't have the means to do much more then reignite the Korean War. If anything she knew if she stayed neutral she might get just what she did-a big piece of Russian territory.

Had already shot down US recon aircraft, and had SA-2 sites installed from the USSR since 1959. Those were a danger to SAC Bombers and Recon. Use a Great Circle mapper and see the path from Clark AFB to the 'Stans.
The Sino-Soviet split was in the Future.
As late as SIOP-64, the only Communist country to be excluded was Tito's Yugoslavia, who was not on good terms with the USSR or China.
 
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