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After six tense days during which nuclear war seemed a real possibility, Khrushchev agreed
to honor the blockade and remove the missiles from Cuba. As Secretary of State Dean Rusk
later told a reporter, “Remember, when you report this, that, eyeball to eyeball, they blinked
first.”
Why did Secretary of State Rusk likely insist that the reporter remember, when reporting the
story, that the Soviets "blinked first”?
a. to provoke the Soviets into violating their agreement
b. to bolster Kennedy's image as a strong and resolute leader
c. to erode Khrushchev's credibility in the eyes of his own party
d. to deter the Soviets from further military operations in the West