Ted Voorhees

Background

About Ted Voorhees

Ted served as Chair of the Section of Antitrust Law, Americn Bar Association, from August 2012 to August 2013. I have written a book on the Cuban missile crisis that is being published by University of Michigan Press for release in May 2020. The book title is: The Silent Guns of Two Octobers: Kennedy and Khrushchev Play the Double Game. My research and findings focus on six important elements of JFK's perception-reaction behavior as the Cuba drama unfolded: 1) his heavy use of back-channel rather than conventional diplomacy for his communications with Khrushchev both in the lead-up to and during the crisis; 2) his acute concern from the outset that tensions with the Soviets might hurt him in the upcoming US midterm election - the first of his presidency - taking place on November 6; 3) the mutual accommodation that was reached between the two leaders before discovery of the Soviet missiles upset things; 4) the impact of the immense US advantage over the Soviets in strategic nuclear strength on the way the eventual settlement was reached; 5) the president's personal authorship and ownership of the Turkey-for-Cuba missile trade deal that enabled a lightning-quick settlement; and 6) the implication of all the above for avoiding exaggeration of the nuclear war risk that the crisis presented. Although I am mindful of the serious need for social distancing during the COVID-19 pandemic, I have begun planning for future book talks once the pandemic hopefully recedes. The first on the tentative schedule will be a talk at the Commonwealth Club in San Francisco currently set for October 12 at 6:00 pm. Hope to see folks there if public health circumstances permit.