Sept. 11, 1962 - The Soviet Union warned today that any attack by the U.S. on Cuba or upon Soviet ships bound for Cuba would mean war. Moscow implied that it would be a nuclear rocket war. In a Government statement, Moscow accused President Kennedy of preparing for “an act of aggression” against Cuba when he asked Congress last Friday for stand-by authority to order 150,000 military reservists to active duty. After citing Soviet nuclear rocket capability, Moscow declared that any attack on Cuba would mean war and that no aggressor could expect to be “free from punishment.” The statement also disclaimed any Soviet intention to transform Cuba into a Soviet military base aimed at the U.S. It asserted that Soviet arms being transported to Cuba were exclusively for defensive purposes. The Administration and Congress seemed unimpressed by the Soviet warning. Secretary of State Dean Rusk, returning from a closed meeting of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said: “We are a great country. We are not nervous or afraid. We’ll proceed as we find it necessary.”
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