Vienna Summit - Outcomes

Outcomes

The summit was initially seen as a diplomatic triumph. Kennedy had refused to allow Soviet pressure to force his hand, or to influence the American policy of containment. He had adequately stalled Khrushchev, and made it clear that the United States was not willing to compromise on a withdrawal from Berlin, whatever pressure Khrushchev may exert on the "testicles of the West" (as Khrushchev once called them).

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" and told NYT reporter James ‘Scotty’ Reston it was the "worst thing in my life. He savaged me."

In addition to conveying US reluctance to defend the full rights of Berlin’s citizens, Kennedy ignored his own cabinet officials’ advice to avoid ideological debate with Khrushchev. Khrushchev outmatched Kennedy in this debate, and came away believing he had triumphed in the summit over a weak and inexperienced leader. Observing Kennedy’s morose expression at the end of the summit, Khrushchev believed Kennedy "looked not only anxious, but deeply upset…I hadn’t meant to upset him. I would have liked very much for us to part in a different mood. But there was nothing I could do to help him…Politics is a merciless business.”

Part of the reason for Kennedy’s rather poor performance may have been the combination of drugs he was taking for back pain and other ailments. Following the prescriptions of Max Jacobson (informally known as ‘Dr. Feelgood’), Kennedy was injecting himself with a drug cocktail that included hormones, steroids, animal organ cells, vitamins, enzymes, and amphetamines. Among the possible side effects were hyperactivity, nervousness, impaired judgment, and wild mood swings.