The situation is out of hand,

It could spark the production of supercomputers that fit into the palm of your hand or tiny devices to fight disease and repair injuries from inside our bodies,

Once you see the situation that you're in -- and this was a terrible situation -- you try to look at your options. And then you look at your option and you see you don't have any.

[Lenny was] wreaking havoc on St. Maarten and adjacent islands, ... in a very dangerous situation.

Rioting definitely brings attention to the situation at hand.

On the one hand we want the Soviets to think that the situation might get out of hand, while on the other hand we want to persuade them not to let it get out of hand. The Soviets might stop without a major nuclear exchange. I don't believe they have an unlimited urge to escalate. I think they will be looking for excuses not to escalate.