What happened
The President left on a scheduled campaign trip to Ohio and Illinois. In Washington, officials continued assessing how to respond. There was no single obvious solution: military action promised speed but could not offer certainty about the missiles or the Soviet response.
Sources for this passage: [1] [2]The air-strike case and the danger to Berlin
Before leaving Washington for campaign appearances, Kennedy met the Joint Chiefs of Staff. LeMay argued strongly against relying on a blockade and pressed the case for military action. The recorded discussion exposes a disagreement about risk: would force remove a danger, or trigger a Soviet response that made the situation worse?
Kennedy repeatedly viewed Cuba in relation to Berlin. An American attack might give Khrushchev an opportunity or justification to move against the vulnerable Western position there. The advisers’ task was consequently larger than selecting targets on the island; they had to consider a conflict spreading into Europe.
Sources for this passage: [3] [1]