War and Peace in the Nuclear Age; Interview with Richard Helms, 1986
- Raw Footage
- Interview with Richard Helms, 1986
- Contributing Organization
- WGBH (Boston, Massachusetts)
- AAPB ID
- cpb-aacip/15-3775t3g08m
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- Description
- Episode Description
- Richard Helms spent most of his career in intelligence, serving in the OSS during World War II before joining the Central Intelligence Agency where he rose to become Director of Central Intelligence, remaining in the position from 1966-1973. In the interview he discusses the U.S. position regarding Cuba, particularly the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962, at which point he was Deputy Director for Plans in charge of clandestine activities. He describes the Kennedy administration's use of covert operations, including Operation Mongoose and other actions during the Bay of Pigs in 1961, as well as the challenges of conducting intelligence gathering activities, all ultimately aimed at unseating Fidel Castro. In his opinion, the Bay of Pigs had nothing to do with Castro's decision to accept Soviet missiles. He recalls the White House reaction to the discovery of those missiles, and the interactions he had with members of the Executive Committee of the National Security Council (EXCOMM) during the 13 days of the crisis. He denies that President Kennedy attempted to interfere with CIA operations. In his view, maintaining nuclear strength was important as a deterrent during the crisis and beyond. To his mind, the belief that the world came close to nuclear war is "just hyperbole." Among the lessons he draws from the crisis are the danger of the United States confronting a Soviet proxy, the desirability of having a greater deterrent force than one's adversary, and the need to avoid cornering an opponent (the "cornered rat syndrome") so as to forestall the possibility of escalation. He also notes that crises are often unexpected and impossible to predict; therefore it is best to avoid military confrontations whenever possible.
- Date
- 1986-03-10
- Date
- 1986-03-10
- Asset type
- Raw Footage
- Subjects
- United States. Dept. of State; United States. Dept. of Defense; United States. Air Force; Korean War, 1950-1953; Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (1963); Communism; nuclear weapons; Nuclear arms control; Intermediate-range ballistic missiles; MX (Weapons system); United States; Cuba; Soviet Union; Kennedy, John F. (John Fitzgerald), 1917-1963; Kennedy, Robert F., 1925-1968; Castro, Fidel, 1926-; Lansdale, Edward Geary, 1908-1987; Cuban Missile Crisis, 1962; United States. Central Intelligence Agency; Kuznetsov, Vasily; McCloy, John J. (John Jay), 1895-1989; Acheson, Dean, 1893-1971; McNamara, Robert S., 1916-2009; Pen'kovskii, Oleg Vladimirovich, 1919-1963; McCone, John A. (John Alex), 1902-1991; Khrushchev, Nikita Sergeevich, 1894-1971; Harriman, W. Averell (William Averell), 1891-1986; Eisenhower, Dwight D. (Dwight David), 1890-1969; Taylor, Maxwell D. (Maxwell Davenport), 1901-1987
- Rights
- Rights Note:,Rights:,Rights Credit:WGBH Educational Foundation,Rights Type:All,Rights Coverage:,Rights Holder:WGBH Educational Foundation
- Media type
- Moving Image
- Duration
- 00:00:00
- Credits
-
-
Publisher: WGBH Educational Foundation
Writer: Helms, Richard
- AAPB Contributor Holdings
-
WGBH
Identifier: 053acd88df3bf48ad42603b418fb74127de5183a (ArtesiaDAM UOI_ID)
Format: video/quicktime
Color: Color
Duration: 00:00:00
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- Citations
- Chicago: “War and Peace in the Nuclear Age; Interview with Richard Helms, 1986,” 1986-03-10, WGBH, American Archive of Public Broadcasting (GBH and the Library of Congress), Boston, MA and Washington, DC, accessed September 29, 2024, http://americanarchive.org/catalog/cpb-aacip-15-3775t3g08m.
- MLA: “War and Peace in the Nuclear Age; Interview with Richard Helms, 1986.” 1986-03-10. WGBH, American Archive of Public Broadcasting (GBH and the Library of Congress), Boston, MA and Washington, DC. Web. September 29, 2024. <http://americanarchive.org/catalog/cpb-aacip-15-3775t3g08m>.
- APA: War and Peace in the Nuclear Age; Interview with Richard Helms, 1986. Boston, MA: WGBH, American Archive of Public Broadcasting (GBH and the Library of Congress), Boston, MA and Washington, DC. Retrieved from http://americanarchive.org/catalog/cpb-aacip-15-3775t3g08m