when discussing the cuban missile crisis in 2002, robert mcnamara, the u.s. secretary of defense at the time, stated, "we came very close" to nuclear war, "closer than we knew at the time." arthur m. schlesinger jr., an advisor for the john f. kennedy administration and a historian, continued this thought by stating "this was not only the most dangerous moment of the cold war. it was the most dangerous moment in human history."