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Of course Kennedy engaged in brinkmanship. He forced Soviet ships to submit to search or turn around. Plans for a strike were prepared. Brinkmanship was the order of the day.The October Missile Crisis.That is doubtful. You shouldn't casually discard brinkmanship. Every tool has a use.Trump is more like Kim Jong-un than Ronald Reagan. One can be a patriot without going to the extreme; one can forestall brinkmanship and seek win-win solutions. Brinkmanship is a zero sum game.
Can you give an example? How well do you think Brinkmanship will play, given Spicer's rant today?
You need to read:
Thirteen Days: A Memoir of the Cuban Missile Crisis
I read the book years ago and remember the intense negotiations described between JFK and Khrushchev.
"Cold War tensions reached a high point in October 1962 when the United States discovered Soviet nuclear missiles stationed in Cuba. The world appeared to be on the brink of nuclear conflict, but, after a 13-day standoff, Khrushchev agreed to remove the weapons. In return, U.S. President John F. Kennedy, who one year earlier had authorized the failed Bay of Pigs invasion, publicly consented not to attack Cuba. Kennedy also privately agreed to take American nuclear weapons out of Turkey. In July 1963, the United States, the United Kingdom and the Soviet Union negotiated a partial nuclear test ban."
Brinkmanship is sans discussion and negotiations:
Brinkmanship: the art or practice of pursuing a dangerous policy to the limits of safety before stopping, typically in politics. Khrushchev engaged in Brinkmanship, but Kennedy did not, He put our forces on alert:
"In a dramatic televised address to the American public, President John F. Kennedy announces that the Soviet Union has placed nuclear weapons in Cuba and, in response, the United States will establish a blockade around the island to prevent any other offensive weapons from entering Castro’s state. Kennedy also warned the Soviets that any nuclear attack from Cuba would be construed as an act of war, and that the United States would retaliate in kind."
Kennedy announces blockade of Cuba during the Missile Crisis - Oct 22, 1962 - HISTORY.com
Kennedy was not a hopeless Narcissist like the Comrade.