Lack of context

edit

The following would make the article easier to get into:

  • What was the stated purpose of the summit? As it is, it sounds like they met for the sake of meeting and talked about random stuff (which might actually have been the case, but if so, it would be nice if it were mentioned explicitly (and more formally)).
  • What was the political climate, and what was the process that led up to the summit? This would make easier to understand why it was initially considered a diplomatic triumph. It would also be nice background knowledge for putting the summit in context.

-- Saligron 00:47, 21 February 2007 (UTC)Reply

Misleading Information?

edit

Taking a look at the article and then at BBC's articles about the Summit, I'm coming upon two different conclusions:

"However, it may seem, in retrospect, to have been a failure. The two leaders became increasingly frustrated at the lack of progress of the negotiations. After the summit, Khrushchev realized he had underestimated Kennedy. Kennedy, meanwhile, felt that he had to avoid giving the same impression of weakness which he had demonstrated before the summit, and felt he had demonstrated to Khrushchev during the summit. He later claimed of Khrushchev, "He beat the hell out of me." [article]

"As a result of the summit, Khrushchev thought of Kennedy as weak, and thought that he would crumble under pressure. He said that he pitied the American people because they had this leader. As a result of this, Khrushchev didn't fear US retaliation in the future Cuban Missile Crisis." [1]

Is it possible for anyone to clear up what really was the outcome of the Summit?

Felinius 04:47, 14 June 2007 (UTC)Reply

This article was written by a huge Kennedy apologist. When I get a chance I will rewrite the conclusion section. I have to pull out my copy of "The 50 year War" by Norman Friedman. Not only does it accurately cover the conference but it goes into how Kruschev's opinion of Kennedy created the mood for the Cuban Missile Crisis.

Moriartty 11:40, 17 September 2009 (UTC)

Apologizing for JFK

edit

You find this evidence of a "huge Kennedy apologist"? The article, as I first saw it, made it sound as if the Bay of Pigs had been entirely a Kennedy projected. I noted that it was planned under Ike's admin. Also, I changed the date of the U-2 incident from April to May of 1960. Chuck Norton 21:02 CDT June 4, 2011 — Preceding unsigned comment added by Chuck Norton (talkcontribs) 02:03, 5 June 2011 (UTC)Reply

Huh?

edit

"This feeling of inadequacy which pervaded both leaders was one of the key features in their personalities that led to the Cuban Missile Crisis."

Excuse me, but WTF? Can stuff like this (which is all over the article) possibly constitute an objective and scholarly evaluation?

The arrogant tone of this completely unsourced article disturbs me truly. 32.178.178.60 (talk) 02:19, 28 April 2009 (UTC)Reply

Major rework needed

edit

It's a shame that an article on such an important Cold War event is in this bad a shape. I don't know if any editors are monitoring this article for changes but it is in desperate need of help in all aspects: POV, sourcing and raw data. As a semi-professional Cold War historian :) I would be happy to make appropriate revisions using appropriate sources -- Khrushchev's memoirs, Sorenson's JFK books, Dallek and Beschloss come immediately to mind -- and make this article better. Just want to make sure I'm not duplicating someone else's work or interrupting someone else's project first. StephenFHammer (talk) 23:04, 18 November 2010 (UTC)Reply

Sounds to me like you are just the man for the job Stephen. Nobody has touched the article for months so you are free and clear to go to work on it. If you would like any assistance with formatting references I will be glad to help. MarkDask 16:30, 18 December 2010 (UTC)Reply

Accuracy

edit

The article claims that this was the first time the two leaders met. This is not actually true, it was in fact the first time the two men had met as leaders of their respective states. They had previously had a brief meeting in 1959 when Khrushchev visited Washington DC and JFK was still a Senator. I don't know how to incorperate this properly into the article however.

Ref: Khrushchev's Cold War: The Inside Story of An American Adversary by A. Fursenko & T. Naftali p360 —Preceding unsigned comment added by 92.20.94.218 (talk) 19:52, 11 April 2011 (UTC)Reply

Vietnam War

edit

I copied content from Vietnam War to the Vienna summit to article.

Kennedy used Methamphetamine during parts of the summit

edit

https://archive.org/details/johnfkennedyunfi0000dall/page/408/mode/2up?q=Jacobson


""""""""'Page 398 aggravated his chronic back problem; he had triggered painful spasms by forgetting to bend his knees, but this was an injury waiting to happen. The bone loss and destruction in his lower back from steroids had been the source of back pain since at least 1940. And while the 1954 surgery that his Addison’s disease had made so risky had given him some limited relief, he continued to live with almost constant discomfort. As president, he sometimes took five hot showers a day to ease his pain. A rocking chair, which put less pressure on the muscles and nerves in his lower back than a conventional chair or sofa with soft cushions, gave him additional relief. Procaine, a variation of novocaine, injected into his lower back since 1951, also eased his pain. (During periods of travel, when he had less access to the hydrotherapy and the rocking chair, he relied more on the procaine.) During the campaign in 1960, he had begun seeing Dr. Max Jacobson, the New York physician who had made a reputation for treating celebrities with “pep pills,” or amphetamines, that helped combat depression and fatigue. Jacobson, whom patients called “Dr. Feelgood,” administered back injections of painkillers and amphetamines that allowed Kennedy to stay off crutches, which he believed essential to project a picture of robust good health. All of this was kept secret. When he went to France to meet de Gaulle, his longstanding physician Dr. Janet Travell, and Dr. George G. Burkley, an admiral and member of the White House medical staff, accompanied JFK on Air Force One. Unknown to Travell and Burkley, Jacobson flew on a chartered jet to Paris, where he continued giving the president back injections."""" Ori2004abc (talk) 21:48, 16 June 2024 (UTC)Reply