Word: backdowns
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...achieved a complete victory in Cuba, the Soviet Union had suffered a stunning setback. Just as significant as Nikita Khrushchev's backdown in the face of firmness was the fact that the Cuba crisis had heartened the Western alliance while helping to splinter the Communist world...
...Pique. Hours before that deadline came the first hint of a Russian backdown. Fidel Castro sent a letter to the U.N.'s Acting Secretary-General U Thant withdrawing his objections to the removal of the bombers from Cuba; they were, he said in a characteristic fit of pique, old and inferior aircraft anyhow. Kennedy paid no public attention to Castro's message. He was still waiting for word from the Kremlin, and it came shortly after noon on the day of the press conference...
...Khrushchev was obviously afraid that if he hesitated the U.S. would invade Cuba or destroy the bases; a backdown after such action would be far more humiliating than a retreat before. For years to come, political scientists will be studying and restudying the rapid exchange of messages between the Kremlin and the White House, as Khrushchev tried to forestall U.S. action and salvage what he could...
...Cuba must have convinced him, if he still needed convincing, that the U.S. will stand firm in Berlin. Since Khrushchev presumably is no more eager to start a nuclear war over Berlin than over Cuba, provoking a Berlin crisis now might be risking another and even more disastrous Russian backdown. The guess is that Khrushchev will simply not revive the East German question for several months...
...week's end the Guild, whose contracts with Manhattan's seven dailies expired on Halloween, had struck only the News. This was clearly a backdown from the Guild's pre-strike threat of "no contract, no work." It was a strong indication, as well, that the strike was not likely to spread. In fact, although the Publishers Association of New York was publicly pledging solidarity, privately its leaders were putting pressure on the News to come to terms. Among Guild demands that the News has stubbornly refused to meet is one that the other six New York...