Cuban Missle Crisis
Many agree that the Cuban Missile Crisis was the closest the world ever came to nuclear war; but exactly how close did it come? The Crisis was ultimately a showdown between the United States and the Soviet Union from October 16 to October 28, 1962. During those thirteen stressful days, the world’s two biggest superpowers stood on the brink of a nuclear catastrophe. The Crisis started as a result of both the Soviet Union’s fear of losing the arms race, and Cuba’s fear of US invasion. The Soviet Premier, Nikita Khrushchev, thought that both problems could easily be solved by placing Soviet medium range missiles in Cuba. This deployment would double the Soviet arsenal and protect Cuba from US invasion. Khrushchev proposed this idea to Cuban Premier, Fidel Castro, who, like Khrushchev, saw the strategic advantage. The two premiers worked together in secrecy throughout the late-summer and early-fall of 1962. The Soviets shipped sixty medium-range ballistic missiles (MRBMs) along with their warheads, launch equipment, and necessary operating personnel to Cuba. When United States President, John F. Kennedy discovered the presence of these offensive weapons, he immediately organized EX-COMM, a group of his twelve most important advisors. They spent the next couple of days discussing different possible plans of action and finally decided to remove the US missiles from Turkey and promise not to invade Cuba in exchange for the removal of all offensive weapons in Cuba.
On October 28, Khrushchev sent Kennedy a letter stating that he agreed to the terms Kennedy stated, and the crisis ended. The Cuban Missile Crisis can be blamed on the insecurity of Cuba and the Soviet Union. After the United States’ unsuccessful attempt to overthrow Castro and end communism in Cuba at the Bay of Pigs in 1961, Castro was fearful of another US invasion. The US Armed Forces conducted a mock invasion and drafted a plan to invade Cuba to keep Castro nervous. As a result, Castro thought the US was serious, and he was desperate to find protection. This protection came in the form of sixty Soviet medium-range ballistic missiles. (Detzer 30-32, 39, 55, 68, 87) During his presidential campaign, Kennedy repeatedly stated that the US had less missiles than the Soviets, contradicting the Pentagon’s claim that the opposite was true. However, during the summer of 1961, when...
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...on of aerial and naval reconnaissance flights in Cuban airspace and waters; (5) and the return of Guantanamo Naval Base to Cuba. Eventually, with the help of the UN, Castro backed down and all sides reached an agreement. A UN inspection team was assigned to monitor the removal of the missiles and the demolition of the missile bases in Cuba. Then, the Soviet Navy shipped the missiles back to the USSR. The missiles were sent back on the decks of the ships so that American reconnaissance planes could count the missiles and make sure that all had been removed.
Nine months after the crisis ended, Kennedy and Khrushchev signed an agreement to ban nuclear testing in the atmosphere. This marked the beginning of what seemed to be a new willingness to cooperate and communicate. However, on November 22, 1963, President Kennedy was assasinated in Dallas, Texas. Eleven months later, Premier Khrushchev was removed from office by communist "hard liners." (Brugioni 572-574) One can’t help but wonder what would have happened if these two men had stayed in power. Maybe the same two people who brought us so close to nuclear war, now changed by the experience, could have brought us far from it.
We were already in a cold war, not knowing wither if these missiles were going to go off it made people panic. Yet, Kennedy took it upon himself to, to assured us that we needed to take precautionary measure. Kennedy could have said, don’t worry, or nothing at all. Instead, he let us in and let us knows what was up because this crisis involved us, the nation, that involves everybody. After a long wait, the crisis ended peacefully with a deal was made to make sure that Soviets agreed to get rid of their missile if the US, go rid of their own missiles in turkey (it is only fair). This is the agreement that ended the Cuban missile crisis and made our Nation, including the Soviets, and the Cubans relaxed. After this scare, a bunch of treaties was made and signed to reduce nuclear power. Leading us to create a great relation with China, after being a great ally to the Soviets
The Soviet Union and the United States were very distant during three decades of a nuclear arms race. Even though the two nations never directly had a battle, the Cuban Missile Crisis, amongst other things, was a result of the tension. The missile crisis began in October of 1962, when an American spy plane secretly photographed nuclear missile sites being built by the Soviet Union in Cuba. JFK did not want the Soviet Union and Cuba to know that he had discovered the missiles, so he made his decisions very secretly. Eventually, Kennedy decided to place a ring of ships around Cuba and place missiles in Turkey. Eventually, both leaders superpowers realized the possibility of a nuclear war and agreed to a deal in which the Soviets would remove the missiles from Cuba if the US didn't invade Cuba. Even though the Soviets removed took their missiles out of Cuba and the US eventually taking their missiles out of Turkey, they (the Soviets) continued to build a more advanced military; the missile crisis was over, but the arms race was not.
In his letter, Galileo shifts his focus to arguments that would potentially defend the Copernican theory, and himself as a believer. One of the subtle arguments made by Galileo was that the Copernican theory is a matter of opinions. Galileo is arguing that everyone is entitled to have their own opinions and ideas. His opinions just so happened to go against the teachings from the Bible. Thus, the church declared his ideas and opinions to be heretical. In the letter, Galileo asks, “can an opinion be heretical and yet have no concern with the salvation of souls?”(Galilei). Which basically Galileo is saying, “so what if my opinions are heretical, does that have anything to do with receiving salvation from God”. Galileo utilizes this argument to develop a bigger argument. Galileo says “That the intention of the Holy Ghost is to teach us how one goes to heaven, not how heaven goes”(Galilei). Meaning the Bible has nothing to do with teaching people how the universe works. The whole point of the Bible in the first place was to teach people how to receive salvation from God. Therefore, the Copernican theory doesn’t interfere with people from reaching salvation. Thus, it is not an excuse for the church to claim, that the Copernican theory is against the teachings of
The event of the Cuban Missile Crisis of October 1962 was the closest the world has ever come to nuclear war. Fifteen years into the cold war, the two superpowers continued the fierce competition to increase their military strength. In 1962, the Soviet Union was desperately behind the United States in the nuclear arms race. Soviet missiles were only powerful enough to be launched against Europe, whereas the US missiles were capable of striking the entire Soviet Union. In late April 1962, Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev conceived the idea of placing intermediate-range missiles in Cuba which would double the Soviet strategic arsenal and provide a real deterrent to a potential U.S. attack against the Soviet Union. The fate of millions literally hinged upon the ability of two men, President John F. Kennedy and Premier Nikita Khrushchev, to reach a compromise. The sources I have researched strongly agree that it was President Kennedy who was very determined to prevent the world from another war. They also show that the crisis was not just a conflict about missiles; it was a conflict of contradictory philosophies, ideologies and power.
In the year 1801 Thomas Jefferson reluctantly sent the infant navy to the shores of Tripoli in hopes of avoiding an attack on America by the Pasha of Tripoli. Many years later, October of 1962, America once again teetered on the brink of war, but this time with John F. Kennedy by their side, and the threat was nuclear war. Two situations very different, but also similar; two outstanding presidents who did what they thought was right in the time of crisis. Perhaps had Thomas Jefferson been in charge in the year 1962 the outcome may have been different, or would it have? John F. Kennedy responded to the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962 by playing a game of "nuclear chicken", had Thomas Jefferson been in charge he would have tried to negotiate with Khrushchev , then threatened war; Jefferson would not have threatened the entire globe with atomization by playing "nuclear chicken".
In October 1962, the United States and the Soviet Union faced off in what could be considered the most dangerous moment in the Cold War. The United Sates realized that the Soviet Union was holding medium-range missiles armed with nuclear weapons that could hit every major city in the U.S. At the time President John F. Kennedy was in office. Kennedy took much time and thought when putting a naval quarantine and negotiating a deal that led the Soviets to remove the missiles that were being held in Cuba, in exchange for this we made a promise to not invade Cuba and a secret promise to remove our nuclear-tipped missiles from Turkey. Although this tension only lasted 13 days, a lot was both gained and lost by the U.S. and the Soviets.
...ar of a military strike, he decided to blockade Cuba. Lucky enough, Khrushchev sent two telegrams: in the first one he offered to dismantle the nuclear sites if America would agree not to invade Cuba and in the second one he demanded the American sites in turkey to be dismantled. On the contrast, an American U2 plane was shot down in turkey at this time, but J.F. Kennedy decided to ignore the incident following the turn of events at that time. Peace was insinuated when finally President Kennedy publicly agreed not to invade Cuba and proceeded to dismantle the sites in Turkey. Though both leaders had a crisis they agreed to set up a telephone hotline to talk over the issue and in 1963 they agreed to sign a treaty that banned the testing and usage of nuclear weapons. The Cuban crisis ended up very significant as from then on the cold war started becoming insignificant.
“He was neither hasty nor hesitant; he was neither reckless or afraid. He demonstrated toughness, restraint, and determination. He always exercised wisdom, analysis, and a keen sense of strategy; he was not only a leader but also a hero,” recall members of Kennedy’s former Administration when asked how well the President performed during the intense Cuban Missile Crisis. According to the contributors, President Kennedy’s leadership during the national emergency helped reduce tensions of the Cold War. (source: Cuban Missile Crisis: Evolving Historical Perspectives) Perhaps it was President Kennedy’s well-composed attitude and clear direction that led the Cuban Missile Crisis to be so successful and avoid a nuclear war that could have ended the world. Throughout all of the events that occurred during the Cold War, the Cuban Missile had one of the most crucial roles in the war and also in determining the fate of two remaining superpowers.
The world was at the edge of a third world war. This was the result of a variety of things: the Cuban Revolution, the failure of the Bay of Pigs invasion, US anti-communism, insecurity of the Soviet Union, and Cuba's fear of invasion all made causes for war. However, war was not the result due to great cooperation from both President Kennedy and President Khrushchev and each of the decisions made by the leaders was crucial in the outcome of The Crisis. Kennedy's choice to take action by means of quarantine instead of air-strike and Khrushchev's decision to abide by the quarantines were perhaps the two most significant decisions made by the leaders in order to prevent war. The Cuban Missile Crisis showed the world that compromising and discussion can in-fact prevent war. As Khrushchev said in 1962, "They talk about who won and who lost. Human reason won. Mankind won." 1 The world had almost seen another world war, the effects of which would have been devastating because of the weapons involved. Humanity, indeed, was the prevention of the war.
President Kennedy didn’t want the Soviet Union to know that he had discovered the missile build sites before he could take some form of action. A secret meeting with nine members of the Nationa...
The Cuban Missile Crisis was a major event in U.S History that almost led to nuclear destruction. It was over a period of thirteen days in which diplomats from the U.S and the Soviet Union were trying to reach a peaceful resolution so that they wouldn’t have to engage in physical warfare. The crisis was the hallmark of the Cold War era which lasted from the 1950’s to the late 1980’s. The Cold War was a power struggle between the U.S and Soviet Union in which the two nations had a massive arms race to become the strongest military force. The U.S considered Communism to be an opposing political entity, and therefore branded them as enemies. Khrushchev’s antagonistic view of Americans also played a big role in the conflict. The Cold War tensions, coupled with a political shift in Cuba eventually lead to the military struggle known as the Cuban Missile Crisis. The Cuban Missile Crisis was the point of most tension and near collapse causing the Cold War to almost shift from a passive and underground struggle to a violent and catastrophic one.
The condemnation of Galileo by the Catholic Church is a prime example of the vast dispute between religion and science. It is widely believed that his support of Copernicanism, the theory that the earth rotates on its own axis, led to his condemnation by the Catholic Church. However, modern historians disagree with this belief and as a matter of fact they do not believe that indeed there is warfare between religion and science. Under the content of condemnation of Galileo are subjects such as Copernicanism, Eucharist, Popes Paul 5 and atomism.
The Cuban Missile Crisis was one of the most important events in United States history; it’s even easy to say world history because of what some possible outcomes could have been from it. The Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962 was a major Cold War confrontation between the United States and the Soviet Union. After the Bay of Pigs Invasion the USSR increased its support of Fidel Castro's Cuban regime, and in the summer of 1962, Nikita Khrushchev secretly decided to install ballistic missiles in Cuba. President Kennedy and the other leaders of our country were faced with a horrible dilemma where a decision had to be made. Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara outlined three possible courses of action for the president:
The modern science view as well as the Scientific Revolution can be argued that it began with Copernicus’ heliocentric theory; his staunch questioning of the prior geocentric worldview led to the proposal of a new idea that the Earth is not in fact the center of the solar system, but simply revolving around the Sun. Although this is accepted as common sense today, the period in which Copernicus proposed this idea was ground-breaking, controversial, and frankly, world-changing. The Church had an immense amount of power, and was a force to be reckoned with; in the beginning of the Scientific Revolution, new scientific proposals and ideas were discouraged in many cases by the Church. A quote from Galileo’s Children does an excellent job summing up the conflict: “The struggle of Galileo against Church dogma concerning the nature of the cosmos epitomized the great, inevitable and continuing clash between religion and reason.” If evidence goes against scripture, the scientist is considered a heretic and is, like in Galileo’s case, forbidden to discuss the ideas any further. Galileo Galilei, who proposed solid evidence and theory supporting the heliocentric model, was forced to go back on his beliefs in front of several high officials, and distance himself from the Copernican model. This, luckily, allowed him to not be killed as a heretic, which was the next level of punishment for the crimes he was charged with, had he not went back on his beliefs. Incredible support was given through the young developing academies with a sense of community for scientists and academics; “Renaissance science academies represent a late manifestation of the humanist academy movement.” Since the Church was grounded traditionally evidence that went agains...
Before this revolution, the Roman Catholic church held a monopoly on most scientific research. The majority of scientists were monks or members of universities where a study of the natural world was viewed through the lens of Scripture. Even Copernicus 's studies of the rotation of the planets and his original heliocentric model of the universe were created to help the papacy build a better calender so that it could properly celebrate Easter. However, during and after the Scientific Revolution, philosophers and scientists began moving toward a belief that the spiritual world was outside of the physical world, and that religious beliefs should be considered separate from scientific study. This turn in thinking is seem in Galileo 's attempt to reinterpret the Bible to fit the new research being done. Despite the Church 's attempts to crack down on theories that contradicted its own beliefs, these new ideas permeated the society. After the Revolution, society had mostly turned to a belief that the Church and science were separate entities, and that religion was not over study of the natural