Sept. 14, 1962 - Senator Barry Goldwater assailed today President Kennedy’s handling of the Cuban situation and asserted that “the American people will not be satisfied with the President’s reiteration of a ‘do nothing’ policy toward Cuba.” The Arizona Republican charged that President Kennedy, in his policy statement on Cuba yesterday, “virtually promised the Communist world that the U.S. will take no action to remove the threat of Soviet armed might in the Western Hemisphere.” At his news conference yesterday, the President criticized “rash talk” on Cuba. He said the U.S. would move swiftly against Cuba if it should be necessary to defend its security but that military action now was neither required nor justified. Mr. Goldwater, in his statement, said: “We have before us today a humiliating picture. The Soviets pushed a huge military build-up on our Southern doorstep. Khrushchev warned the U.S. not to interfere. And President Kennedy holds a news conference and says military intervention by the U.S. cannot be either required or justified. To say the least, President Kennedy is a very poor poker player. Even if the thought of invading or blockading Cuba is completely repulsive to him, it does us no harm to keep Castro and his Soviet masters guessing.”
