It was true in 1962, when missiles in Cuba that could carry nuclear warheads were pointed this way. And it's the case today, with the tempting target of U.S. Central Command right here in Tampa as war with Iraq seems increasingly likely.

[Times photo: James Borchuck]
Robert S. Sumner, retired U.S. Air Force colonel

But that's where the similarities between the Cuban missile crisis and the Iraq situation end, said retired Air Force Col. Robert S. Sumner. He was one of several panelists who gathered Tuesday at the Florida International Museum to observe the 40th anniversary of the Cold War showdown between the world's superpowers.

Despite President Bush's efforts in a speech last week to draw a parallel between the peril posed by missiles in Cuba and the imminent threat of Iraq's weapons-building program, Sumner and others didn't see it quite that way.

"We were this close to thermonuclear war, and I don't see us at that same crisis point now," said Sumner, holding up his thumb and forefinger, a sliver of space separating them. Sumner, 80, was posted at U.S. Strike Command in Tampa in 1962.

"We had aircraft overhead at all times," said Sumner of Tampa. "We had trucks and tanks on the ground. The Tampa Bay area was full of troops."

In a speech in Cincinnati on Oct. 7, Bush quoted the missile crisis sentiments of President John F. Kennedy, and drew a parallel to the situation in justifying a pre-emptive strike.

"Facing clear evidence of peril, we cannot wait for the final proof -- the smoking gun -- that could come in the form of a mushroom cloud," Bush said as he addressed the nation.

Another of the panelists at the museum discussion said he thinks that if the United States goes into Iraq, there will be more troop losses than there would have been in Cuba.

Dick Sherwood, a retired lieutenant colonel with the 18th Airborne stationed in Fort Bragg, N.C., was coordinating paratroopers who would have gone into Cuba. He was to be on the first plane that was to drop soldiers at Jose Marti Airport.

Sherwood, 75, who lives in Hudson, said he has been impressed with the sophistication of special forces troops, who are better trained and equipped than ever before. Nevertheless, he thinks they would face difficult situations in Iraq -- more so than what paratroopers would have seen in Cuba.

"We're still going to take some heavy casualties if we go into combat situations," Sherwood said. "I don't think that would have been the case in Cuba."

He said another difference was one of logistics. It's a lot different conducting a remote war than it is to fight in your own back yard. And Sherwood is concerned about the danger of biological and chemical weapons, which have evolved greatly in recent decades.

Another difference is the degree to which the leaders of other nations are being consulted about an invasion of Iraq. Earlier, one didn't see the headlines about Americans talking to French or German government leaders about the potential for invasion.

"I don't believe there was much discussion at all," said John Guenther, a retired Marine Corps lieutenant colonel stationed in Guantanamo Bay. His job included talking to Russians who were on the island.

"We didn't have the state leader to state leader discussions that you have today," he said.

Moderator John Wilson, WTVT-Ch. 13 anchor, said he was a reporter working at a radio station at the time. In retrospect, he said, the public knew little of what was going on, that an invasion of Cuba was imminent.

"It was far more involved than any of us knew," he said. "It's important for us to know what is going on in the government."

Sumner, who was involved in high level discussions at U.S. Strike Command, said the U.S. was prepared to use nuclear weapons.

"We were prepared to use tactical nuclear weapons, only after the Soviets popped the first one," he said.

"We were a phone call away."

If you go

The Florida International Museum houses a permanent display called "The Cuban Missile Crisis: When the Cold War Got Hot." It contains more than 300 pieces from the era, including a Soviet SA-2 missile, a retro living room and fallout shelter, Russian military uniforms and props from the film Thirteen Days, starring Kevin Costner. The museum is at 100 2nd St. N. in St. Petersburg. Ticket prices: adults $12; seniors $11; children 6-18, $6; and children under 6, free.

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