“Thirteen Days” quotes
(2000)
Title Thirteen Days
Year 2000
Director Roger Donaldson
Genre Drama, History, Thriller
Year 2000
Director Roger Donaldson
Genre Drama, History, Thriller
Plot – In October 1962, some photographs taken by U-2 planes reveal that Russians are installing nuclear weapons in Cuba to wipe out south and east United States areas. President Kennedy and his advisers have to plan a counterattack to stop the Soviets: Kennedy wants to prove to be strong enough to avoid blackmails, while the Pentagon prepares military troops to invade Cuba. Kennedy is reluctant to the idea of invading the island, as the action would push the Soviets towards Europe. Will it be possible to avoid a nuclear conflict without invading Cuba?
All actors – Shawn Driscoll, Kevin Costner, Drake Cook, Lucinda Jenney, Caitlin Wachs, Jon Foster, Matthew Dunn, Kevin O'Donnell, Janet Coleman, Bruce Thomas, Stephanie Romanov, Bruce Greenwood
show all“Thirteen Days” Quotes 28 quotes
“What kind of peace do we seek? I am talking about genuine peace, the kind of peace that makes life on Earth worth living. Not merely peace in our time but peace for all time. Our problems are manmade, therefore, they can be solved by man. For, in the final analysis, our most basic common link is that we all inhabit this small planet. We all...” (continue)(continue reading)
“I'll tell you one thing, Kenny. Those brass hats have one big advantage. That is, if we do what they want us to do, there's none of us gonna be alive to tell them they were wrong.”
“If we permit the introduction of nuclear missiles to a Soviet satellite nation in our hemisphere, the diplomatic consequences will be too terrible to contemplate. The Russians are trying to show the world they can do whatever they want, wherever they want, and we're powerless to stop them. If they succeed...”
“Call me Irish, but I don't believe in cooler heads prevailing.”
“I have the authority! I am the commander in chief of the United States, and I say when we go to war!”
“You're a good man; your brother is a good man. I assure you there are other good men. Let us hope the will of good men is enough to counter the terrible strength of this thing that was put in motion.”
The "big red dog" is diggin' in our backyard, and we are justified in shooting him!
“Mr. President, our early analysis says this probably was written by Khruschev himself. It's a first draft; it shows no signs of being polished by the foreign ministry. In fact, it probably wasn't even approved by the Politburo, as they wouldn't let the emotionalism go by. The analysts say it was written by someone under considerable stress.”
“- Helen O'Donnell: And while you're under a rock somewhere with the President, what am I supposed to do with our five children, Kenny?
- Kenny O'Donnell: Honey, we're not going to let it come to that, I promise. Jack and Bobby, they're smart guys.
- Helen O'Donnell: You're smart, too.
- Kenny O'Donnell: Not like them.”“If the sun comes up tomorrow, it is only because of men of good will. And that's... that's all there is between us and the devil.”
“Think if one of their ships resists the inspection, and we shoot out its rudder, and board. They shoot down one of our planes, in response, so we bomb their anti-aircraft sites in response to that, and they attack Berlin, so we invade Cuba. And they fire their missiles... And we fire ours.”
“I'm going on TV... You know, maybe the American people will go with me, even if their elected representatives won't.”
“Your first step sir, will be to demand that the Soviet withdraw the missiles within 12 to 24 hours. They will refuse. When they do you will order the strikes, followed by the invasion. They will resist and be overrun. They will retaliate against another target somewhere else in the world, most likely Berlin. We will honor our treaty commitments...” (continue)(continue reading)
“- John F. Kennedy: Well, who the hell authorized this missile test?
- Robert F. Kennedy: Who do you think? God knows what this is gonna communicate to the Soviets!
- Kenny O'Donnell: Communicate with the Soviets? We can't communicate with the Pentagon and it's just across the goddamn river!”“Gentlemen, for the last fifteen years, I've fought at this table alongside your predecessors in the struggle against the Soviet. Now I do not wish to seem melodramatic, but I do wish to impress upon you a lesson I learned with bitter tears and great sacrifice. The Soviets understands only one language: action. Respects only one word: force.”
“We've worked up several military scenarios; before I ask General Taylor to take us through the various options, I'd like for us to adopt a rule: if we decide to strike, we must agree now to do it before the missiles become operational, because once they are I don't think we can guarantee getting them all before at least... at least some of them...” (continue)(continue reading)
“Bobby, you gotta go in there and you gotta make them understand... that we have to have an answer tomorrow... because Monday, we go to war.”
“- Robert McNamara: A blockade is technically an act of war; therefore we recommend calling the action a quarantine.
- Kenny O'Donnell: Let's hope that translates into Russian the way we want it to.”“Sir, I am prepared to wait for your answer till Hell freezes over, if that's your decision.”
“This is language. A new vocabulary, the likes of which the world has never seen! This is President Kennedy communicating with Secretary Khrushchev!”
Highlights
