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THE U-2 CRISIS # PART 1 MICHAELR.BESCHLOSS On May Day, 1960, two weeks before President Eisenhower was to meet Nikita Khru- shchev at a Paris summit, the CIA’s Francis Gary Powers flew a U-2 spy plane deep into the Soviet Union and crashed. This mysterious event caused one of the most serious confrontations of the cold war and may have changed the course of history. Historian Michael R. Beschloss has written an important new book on the U-2 crisis. Here is the first of two exclusive excerpts from Mayday, a Main Selection of the Book-of-the-Month Club. The book draws on interviews with key Eise…

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approved the mission but allowed only two weeks in which to fly: “We don’t want that thing flying up there while the summit’s on.” For two weeks, clouds and snowstorms con- cealed much of the route over the Soviet Union. Bissell pleaded for a few more days. Eisenhow- er agreed but specified that ‘‘no operation is to be carried out after May 1.” By this, the last day of April, the pilot and plane were still waiting in West Pakistan. If they could not fly tomorrow on May Day, there would be no mission at least until after the summit. Saadey evening. Eisenhower joined his wife Mamie; his son John…

know; that could alert the Russians. Instead he broadcasted two clicks. Peshawar sent back a single click: Proceed as planned. Nikita Khrushchev was asleep. In the dark, workers in Moscow’s Red Square were tacking up bunting and moving bleachers in prepara- tion for the national celebration of May Day. In Khrushchev’s bedroom, the telephone rang. As he later recalled, at the other end of the line was his Defense Minister, Marshal Ro- dion Malinovsky. An unidentified plane had crossed the Afghan frontier into Soviet air- space. Both men knew who had sent the plane. Khrushchev was furious: Bad’ …

ae a.m. j hot down Tyuratam U.S.S.R. ’ Peshal { All did so at high | that while the Russia retaliate against the | violation, they might weaker U.S. ally. The each government tha flights were ever rev world, the U.S. would used its territory to w into Russia without p the U-2 fell On’ May. Deeysmsemconapssmumers was kept. Dulles took Sunday breakfast with 2,500 members of the New York Police Department to be lauded for ‘‘distinguished government service and dedication to Christian ideals.” The CIA director did not know yet that the U-2 was down, but his people in Washington did. Professional e…

ILSOAON ILSOAON Ural Mountains 8:53 a.m. Shot down 7? Peshawar 5 ) PAKISTAN fe & usnawa ayes that reta violation, they might strike back at a wea e€ac wor into the | was All did so at high risk. They knew flights were ever revealed to the used its territory to wage spy flights U.S.NEWS & WORLD REPORT, Marc while the Russians might not iate against the U.S. for an aerial ker U.S. ally. The CIA promised h government that if the spy d, the U.S. would claim that it had Russia without permission. After U-2 fell on May Day, this promise kept. 24, 1986 Dulles took Sunday breakfast with 2,500 members …

dor Llewellyn Thompson: ‘‘What was this? A May Day greeting?” Delegates whooped and stamped their feet. “The question then arises: Who sent this aircraft across the Soviet frontier? Was it the American Commander in Chief who, as ev- eryone knows, is the President? Or was this aggressive act performed by Pentagon milita- rists without the President’s knowledge?” Khrushchev charged that “American aggres- sive circles” were trying to “torpedo the Paris summit or, at any rate, prevent an agreement for which the whole world is waiting.” Now he capped off the outrage he had so artfully whipped up. “…