The Presidential Years 343
name of the LCY to all party organs, inviting them to “take people’s minds off
anti-Sovietism.”^431 This attitude was also affected by Tito’s growing preoccupa-
tion with America’s aggressive policy in Middle and Far East. In his opinion,
the United States was exploiting the lack of cohesion of the communist bloc,
shaken as it was by Mao’s “cultural revolution.”^432 In this context, Tito was
convinced that he could become a leader of international standing: he opposed
Chinese ideological and military aggressiveness (due to his close ties with India
the conflict between Beijing and New Delhi on the Tibetan border was of great
concern to him), but also the American imperialism that found its expression
in the Vietnam War.^433
Khrushchev’s visit between 20 August and 3 September 1963 was emblem-
atic of the reciprocal exchange of courtesies between the two statesmen.^434
Tito, who loved to stress his independence from the rest of the communist
bloc, rediscovered the role of Yugoslavia in the “international workers move-
ment.” In polemics with Western neocolonialism, he therefore tried to forge
alliances with “progressive” forces in Africa, Asia, and Latin America.^435 When
the Cuban Missile Crisis broke out in October 1962 due to the discovery of
Soviet missiles on the island, followed by John F. Kennedy’s ultimatum to
Khrushchev to remove them, Tito did not hide his sympathies for the Soviet
position, although he tried to mediate between Moscow and Washington. He
stressed that American unilateral actions could hinder world peace and tried
to solve the quarrel between the two superpowers in the context of the United
Nations, where the non-aligned nations were a strong presence. In this sense,
he appealed not just to the Americans but also to the Soviets, warning Khrush-
chev with the utmost seriousness—as George Kennan wrote—to be careful not
to fall into Fidel Castro’s trap.^436 His reserved attitude toward the United States
was further strengthened by his experience in autumn 1963, when President
Kennedy invited him to Washington for an unofficial visit at the end of his tour
in Latin America—the first of a socialist head of state.^437 Although the White
House made every effort to welcome him with open arms, violent protests were
organized by Croat, Serb, and Albanian immigrants, who went berserk because
after WWII they had been protected by the Americans, who preferred to ignore
the fact that there were war criminals among them.^438 Tito had to cancel a
planned trip to California with the excuse of a sudden flu, but he could not
avoid a traumatic experience in New York. A hostile crowd besieged the Wal-
dorf Astoria Hotel, where he and his entourage were staying, and it seems that
he eluded an assassination attempt by a hair’s breadth.^439
Although the UN General Assembly gave him a standing ovation, he re-
turned home embittered and convinced that the Chetniks, the Ustaše, and
Albanian extremists were able to vilify him because they had the tacit support