Ted Sorensen, a former aide and speech writer to President John F. Kennedy, spoke before nearly 200 Boston University students and faculty members yesterday, discussing the Cuban Missile Crisis and the similarities between the current U.S. situation with Iraq and the international crisis 40 years ago.

Sorensen spent 11 years as a policy and legal advisor, as well as writing speeches for Kennedy during his years as a senator and president.

Sorensen drafted Kennedy’s famous 1961 inaugural speech and was present for the Cuban Missile Crisis, which he refers to as ‘the most dangerous 13 days of all time.’

He spoke of the important decisions which need to be made by any leader facing a crisis.

‘Every leader has to make basic decisions at a time of crisis,’ Sorensen said.

Sorensen said the importance of the decisions Kennedy made was due to the unique nature of the Cuban Missile Crisis.

‘There had never been a nuclear confrontation in the history of the world,’ he said. ‘It became a regional act of self defense.’

President Kennedy made the first of these decisions by selecting a team of advisors to help sort out the problem, Sorensen said. Many members of this team were not government officials, but instead were citizens with specific expertise. One of the citizens was the leading expert on the Soviet Union at the time.

‘That first decision of choosing a team is fundamental to all the other decisions,’ Sorensen said.

Sorensen expressed the importance of deciding on a course of action, especially when war is a possible outcome of that decision.

‘The president didn’t want to start a war because he knew that if we started a war with nuclear weapons, it would be the world’s last war,’ he said.

Sorensen also made a comparison between a decision made during the Cuban Missile Crisis and President Bush’s consideration to attack Iraq.

‘The trouble with a preemptive strike is it knocks out all the president’s other options,’ he said. ‘I think a preemptive strike in Iraq would be a mistake Iraq is going to strike back.’

Several audience members asked questions following Sorensen’s speech.

‘The public opinion could be a restraint on the president but that’s what democracy is all about,’ Sorensen said when asked about differences between Iraq today and the situation prior to the Vietnam War. ‘But if there were a draft today, I think you’d all be out protesting.’