Book Description
In March 1963, President Kennedy asked Richard E. Neustadt to investigate a troubling episode in U.S.British relations. His confidential report--intended for a single reader, JFK himself, and classified for thirty years--is reproduced in its entirety here. The Anglo-American crisis arose out of a massive misunderstanding between the two governments. The British Prime Minister, Harold Macmillan, had been operating on the assumption that Washington would proceed with, and sell for British use, an airborne missile system named Skybolt. In its defense planning, the United Kingdom relied on Skybolt to sustain its nuclear deterrent. The Americans, however, decided to cancel the program. This decision rocked the British government and seriously strained Anglo-American relations.
Upon reading Neustadt's report, Kennedy passed it to his wife, Jacqueline, remarking, "If you want to know what my life is like, read this." She had it with her in Texas five days later, when he was killed. Today the document remains fascinating for the insight it provides into American-style foreign policymaking. This volume adds to the report Kennedy's comments, a glossary, a cast of characters, and new information gleaned from recently declassified British files.
Library of Congress
""In December 1962, the President of the United States, John F. Kennedy, received an unpleasant surprise. Three months after the Cuban missile crisis ... he found himself facing an unexpected crisis of confidence with his country's closest ally, the United Kingdom." - from the Introduction."--BOOK JACKET. "In March 1963, President Kennedy asked Richard E. Neustadt to investigate that troubling episode in U.S.-British relations. His confidential report - intended for a single reader, JFK himself, and classified for thirty years - is reproduced in its entirety here."--BOOK JACKET. "The Anglo-American crisis arose from a massive misunderstanding between the two governments. The British Prime Minister, Harold Macmillan, had been operating on the assumption that Washington would proceed with, and sell for British use, an airborne missile system named Skybolt. In its defense planning the United Kingdom relied on Skybolt to sustain its nuclear deterrence. The Americans, however, decided to cancel the program. This decision rocked the British government and seriously strained Anglo-American relations, while its hasty resolution gave President de Gaulle of France an excuse to veto British membership in the European Economic Community."--BOOK JACKET. "This volume adds to the report itself Kennedy's comments about it, a glossary, a cast of characters, new information gleaned from recently declassified British files, and Neustadt's comparison of British and American governments both at the time of the Skybolt affair and at present."--BOOK JACKET.
