Telegram from Polish Embassy in Washington (Drozniak), 25 October 1962

Ciphergram No. 15747

Dispatched from Washington, D.C., on 10.25.1962 at 17:50 and received on 10.25.1962 at 21:30

Came to the Decoding Department on 10.26.1962 at 00:30

To: [Foreign Ministry Director Eugeniusz] MILNIKIEL¹

From: [Ambassador Edward] DROŻNIAK²

There have been some signs of a certain calm in Washington [D.C.] today. However, there are various and numerous rumors, as well as the information [we have been getting], which are all hard to verify. One of our embassies92 has been repeating [the following information] after the West German journalists: during the period of preparation for a ruckus [awantura], [US Attorney General] Robert Kennedy was allegedly in favor of an immediate invasion [of Cuba], while [Chief of Staff General Maxwell D.] Taylor was against it. The President [John F. Kennedy] chose to act by taking the middle ground. We do not know, however, whether his decision does not [constitute] a preliminary step towards the invasion [of Cuba], which could take place as a result of some kind of a drastic move made by the Soviet Union. The ambassador of Argentina does not believe in either the possibility of an invasion or even the fact that preparations are being made for such an invasion. [At the same time,] many people are pointing to the fact that the concentration of [US] military forces and [amphibious] landing equipment continue to be made against Cuba in various locations. There is a renewed rumor, [which comes] from the same source as the previous rumor, that an invasion [of Cuba] could take place, but this time such an invasion has allegedly been scheduled for next Monday.

[1] Eugeniusz Milnikiel (1905 -1969), former Polish ambassador to Great Britain (1953 -1956).

[2] Edward Drożniak (1902 – 1966), Poland’s Ambassador to the United States (1961-1966).

[3] It is not clear which communist embassy the Polish Ambassador is referring to here.