The wind is freezing in the waters off Cuba, and the waves are surging. In the sparse clouds in the sky, a group of U.S. bombers may appear at some point, and on the vast ocean to the north, hundreds of ships from the U.S. Navy fleet appear.
Fan out.
The United States and the Soviet Union made harsh words to each other, making the whole of Europe restless, and war seemed to be exaggerated to be about to break out.
Finally, at this time, France took a stand. The de Gaulle government fiercely accused the United States of putting the world at risk by going to war. However, de Gaulle also announced that the French army was on a state of war readiness.
Later, the Federal Republic of Germany expressed the same view as France, but expressed more of a call for peace.
The actions of scolding the United States first and then announcing that it stands with the United States can summarize the attitudes of the two countries.
"Obviously, the farther away from the Soviet Union, the tougher it becomes. France's attitude is obviously tougher than Germany's. At the same time, France also deliberately criticized the United States to demonstrate its independent and self-sufficient status."
In a discussion with Foreign Secretary Rab Butler, Alan Wilson commented on the positions of Germany and France.
Just as Rab Butler was about to say something, Chief Private Secretary Dixon came in and reported, "France hopes to mediate this crisis together with the United Kingdom."
"Okay!" Rab Butler replied simply, he was just waiting for the Frenchman to take the initiative to speak.
Alan Wilson stood aside and said nothing. All the glory goes to the minister. He just needs to cheer and shout from the side.
In fact, British citizens are still interested in the war in the former colonies. All newspapers are reporting and commenting on it every day. The first time a British newspaper paid attention to the distant Caribbean was Kennedy's televised speech two days ago and the handling of the news by countries around the world.
at the same time.
According to reports this morning, public opinion is discussing how people should live their lives in a nuclear winter.
A large number of people in the UK are dissatisfied with the violent reaction of the United States, especially the US Navy's blockade. Is Cuba an independent country? What's more, the United States invaded Cuba a year ago, but was defeated by Cuba.
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Many British people believe that this is caused by the bases deployed by the United States near the Soviet Union.
It has to be said that every era has its own characteristics. In later generations, network control can silence dissenting voices with one click and three connections, but the cost is that there are too many people expressing their voices, and some programmers are busy.
To silence dissenting voices now, in a sense, is not as convenient as it will be later.
This cannot be said to say that the British citizens of this era are extremely clear-headed. The main reason is that the generation that experienced the world war knows very well what the consequences will be if the United States and the Soviet Union fight over Cuba.
Just this morning, the Labor Party wrote an article in The Times stating that the United States is practicing double standards. The direction that Britain should work towards is to allow the United States and the Soviet Union to have a good talk as much as possible.
There are voices that accuse the United States, but there are voices that understand the United States, and voices that support the United States believe that the free world cannot be the opponent of the Soviet Union on land. The missile bases around the Soviet Union are just barely maintaining Europe's fragile balance.
After all, the position of key politicians is in the minority. In fact, most people simply do not believe that a nuclear war is imminent. I wonder if this is because the psychology of avoiding threats is at work.
But this mentality is exactly the same as that of Alan Wilson. When the Foreign Secretary and the French envoy were discussing how to exert diplomatic influence, Alan Wilson, the permanent undersecretary, was broadcasting on the radio, saying that he did not believe that a nuclear war would break out. On this day
The broadcast was very influential.
The silent majority liked the broadcast of the Secretary General’s assertion that nuclear war would not break out, “Our policy is to stand firmly on the side of the United States and resolve this nuclear crisis.”
In such a public place, as a walking figure in the special relationship between Britain and the United States, it is impossible for Alan Wilson to say anything independent. Even if he wanted to, he could not say so.
Faced with a question about European security, Alan Wilson answered in an almost stupidly brave tone, "The Soviet Union should understand that Britain and France also have nuclear weapons. If in this crisis, the Soviet Union feels that challenging one country is not enough, it must challenge France and France.
Britain also joined in, so I was very shocked by Moscow's courage."
"The independent nuclear power of the British Empire, like the United States and the Soviet Union, is on standby at any time. It is enough for any adventurer to keep calm. The British position is not to allow any wavering or division in the Free World Alliance at this time. At the same time,
We are doing everything we can to get through this crisis smoothly."
"Some voices believe that the conflict in Cuba and the Katanga region of Congo and the war in Asia are a source. If the speculation is reasonable, the risks of the latter two are controllable, and we should be committed to making Cuba a priority.
Consider the issue.”
The last paragraph is very disappointing. If the Soviets heard today's broadcast, juxtaposing the Cuban Missile Crisis with the Congo War and the war in Asia, once the Cuban Missile Crisis retreats, it will inevitably have to find its way back to other issues.
of.
The Deputy Secretary's broadcast implemented the UK's consistent diplomatic concepts of flexibility, independent interests, and not being swayed by emotional likes and dislikes. At the same time, Prime Minister Eden also expressed the same central point in his statement in the British House of Commons.
We firmly support the United States and strive to resolve this crisis peacefully as much as possible.
Prime Minister Eden's speech was immediately recognized by Washington, praising the indestructibility of the special relationship between Britain and the United States.
"Without my years of hard work, would Washington look down on London?" Alan Wilson, who returned to Xiameng Apartment, was watching Prime Minister Eden's speech on TV.
In the original history, by 1962, the special relationship between Britain and the United States had turned into a relationship between a superpower and a small partner. The United Kingdom had long ago transformed from the three giants of World War II to one of the many small partners of the United States.
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This chapter is not over, please click on the next page to continue reading! Britain is in relative decline, and its suggestions in many fields are no longer relevant to the United States. As this fact is established, many people in the United States no longer regard Britain as a mother country, and the two countries have also
It is not about the relationship between Greece and Rome. The United States does not need Britain to teach anything.
The importance of Britain is declining, and naturally it does not have the ability to play chess. Britain in its original history certainly did not connect several events in 1962 to shape the strength of the Soviet bloc's general offensive.
Although the United States values Britain's views, it will not always take care of Britain's interests.
But it is different now. The United States must still take care of the interests of the United Kingdom. The United Kingdom has not yet fallen from its position as a world power and is still a large country with global mobilization capabilities. Similarly, France is far stronger than France in history.
With such support from Britain and France, the pressure faced by the Soviet Union was much stronger than it had been in history.
"Will war break out?" Xia Meng asked a man of the same status as her husband, "I'm a little scared."
"If you believe me, you can rest assured." Alan Wilson held Xia Meng in his arms and comforted him, "We are all living well now. How can we not think about it before we start a nuclear war?"
There are no major crises in major countries now, and there is no need for war to divert attention, let alone a nuclear war. As long as everyone is doing well, the situation is not as dangerous as it seems.
"Some people make things very serious, while others are not worried at all." Xia Meng sighed quietly, feeling that she was too cowardly.
"Isn't this the real world?" Alan Wilson smiled. It is impossible for everyone to have the same attitude.
"You seem to have said that the purpose of Britain joining an organization is to disintegrate the organization from within." Xia Meng suddenly stared into the man's eyes, "Is this true?"
"It also needs to be divided into some organizations. If you are talking about NATO? The French have replaced our role." Alan Wilson laughed, the current France is much stronger than the original France.
If the France of this world were to cause trouble within NATO? It would be much more difficult to deal with than in the original history, but it would not be a bad thing for Britain. The existence of such France would make the United States need Britain more, and the status of the two countries would be more equal.
Just take this one instance. Didn’t the UK give France the opportunity to express its stance first? The French envoy even came to London specifically and expressed that they would work with the UK to mediate this crisis.
Today, Britain and France are still two countries that retain considerable strength, and their successive statements are absolutely different.
In the evening of this day, French President de Gaulle and British Prime Minister Eden had a phone call to discuss how to resolve this crisis. De Gaulle said that now both the United States and the Soviet Union need a third country to speak out and give the two countries a step down.
At this time, giving steps to the United States and the Soviet Union is the solution to the problem.
Eden agreed, so the question is, who will visit Washington and who will visit Moscow? In theory, Britain should naturally side with the United States, but now the U.S. Navy is blocking Cuba, which can be said to have an advantage.
What if the Americans think that the United States can solve this problem, and the United Kingdom is responsible for solving the problem, and the United States does not appreciate it?
It seems that the Soviet Union needs this level more. In the diplomatic field, it can greatly add points to the United Kingdom.
But what if the UK visits the Soviet Union and France visits the United States, which is inconsistent with its previous statement? The UK's statement pays more attention to the special relationship between Britain and the United States than France, and then gives France the opportunity to visit Washington for the sake of diplomatic influence?
At this time, the British government was caught up in the greed of wanting both. It wanted to maintain the special relationship between Britain and the United States, but also wanted to gain influence from Moscow.
"Just visit Washington, and also visit Moscow. Once the matter is settled, who has a greater role, Britain or France, shouldn't it depend on whose public opinion is stronger?" Alan Wilson said with the Times on his left and the Daily Times on his right.
Looks like, in the war of public opinion, is the UK still afraid of France?