Cuban Missile Crisis Analysis

The Cuban Missile Crisis was caused by uproars started by Fidel Castor; because of those conflicts, it was the closest the world's ever been to nuclear war. This is how it all started; on January 1959, Fulgencio Batista, an American backed Cuban Dictator was overthrown by Fidel Castor. The main problem was that the United States had a navel based, Guantanamo, was a vital asset to Cuba. Then when Castor came into power, everything of the Americans was shut down and the economy dropped. So Castor planned a widespread revulsion against this humiliating position.

October of 1962 is considered by many the closest the world has ever been to a third World War. As pressure between the Soviet Union and United State grew so did the fears of the American people. Due in part because of its proximity to the United States, Cuba was the perfect place from which the Soviet Union could launch an attack. This was cause for real alarm, Cuba had already begun building silos and launch pads for nuclear missiles that would be able to do massive amounts of damage to the United States. John F. Kennedy’s speech regarding the Cuban Missile Crisis was one of the greatest factors in preventing a third World War as well as keeping domestic peace.

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.

The Cuban Missile Crisis was the closest the world has ever been to a nuclear war which would have doomed the human race. For thirteen days the world was scared to death of what could happen. In a nutshell, the Soviet Union under leadership of Nikita Khrushchev tried to counter the lead of the United States in developing and deploying strategic missiles. The Soviet Union or USSR knew of the missiles the United States had set up in Turkey. (Garthoff) To gain first strike capabilities they reached an agreement with Cuba under the leadership of Fidel Castro set up missiles in Cuba.

RFK and Secretary of Defense, Robert McNamara, became the blockade's strongest advocates. They did not accept the idea of the U.S. raining bom... ... middle of paper ... ...roposed that if the U.S. removed its missiles from Turkey then Russia would remove its missiles from Cuba. Robert Kennedy wanted Soviet missiles and offensive weapons removed from Cuba under UN inspection. Later that same day, a U.S. U-2 was shot down over Cuba. Bombardment of Cuba was the initial reaction, but JFK calmed everyone down.

Soon enough president Kennedy had to talk to one of their leaders about what are they doing with the missiles and if they do not remove it there will be a war. The Cuban missile crisis happened during the Cold War between the United States of America and the Soviet Union. It was basically a waiting game to see who will make the first move. Evidence: On October 1962, a U.S. spy plane caught Soviet Union moving nuclear missiles into Cuba. After a week of careful discussion with his advisers, President Kennedy then forced a naval blockade which prevented materials from coming in but it did not work for soviets from operating the missiles that were already there.

It was October 14, 1962 when an American spy plane flew over Cuba. The images that were recovered on the flight would escalate a growing tension between the U.S and The Soviet Union. It would also bring fear to the world, as an action poorly thought out by the other side could have lead to a nuclear war. The Cuban Missile Crisis was the most controversial event in what we know as the Cold War. To understand the growing controversy between the United States and The Soviet Union, we first must travel back in history.

The U.S. had just elected President Kennedy two years prior to this very threatening occasion, and every nation thought he was a weak leader who just craved attention. During this time, the Soviets and the U.S. were right in the middle of the Cold War (1947-1991): the period of time when both nations were trying to spread their type of government and become superior, making us enemies. Just a year before the Cuban Missile Crisis, the U.S. had made a failed attempt at invading Cuba at the Bay of Pigs to overthrow their communist dictator, Fidel Castro. Once Russia caught wind of this failed invasion, they quickly jumped at their chance at becoming allies with Castro, and started building nuclear bombs in Cuba. Kennedy had recently placed bombs in Turkey, Russia’s neighbor probably leading the soviets to place some of theirs in Cuba, because of how close it was to America; one nuclear bomb could reach Washington D.C. in 30 minutes.

On October 22, Kennedy announced the discovery of the missile installations to the public and his decision of the naval quarantine around the island. He also announced that any nuclear missile launched from Cuba would be regarded as an attack on the United States by the Soviet Union and demanded that the Soviets remove all of the missiles from Cuba. For thirteen days the two major superpowers of the world were on the verge of a nuclear war. The events leading up to the missile crisis as explained by Dinerstein were the long years of Cold War hostility and the revolutions occurring in countries of Latin America. The Soviet Union’s fear of losing the race in the weapons department and Cuba’s fear of an invasion by the United States sparked those thirteen stress filled days.

The Soviet Union came to realize that they were extremely outmatched in the area of nuclear weapons and the decision by Nikita Khrushchev to place missiles in Cuba was made. It was not until a U-2 spy plane, piloted by Richard Heyser, captured pictures of possible missile sites in Cuba, that the United States became aware of the present danger. The Soviets did, however, deny the accusations made the by the United States regarding the missiles in Cuba. The events during the thirteen days that followed became known as the Cuban Missile Crisis; a nuclear standstill between the Soviet Union and the United States. The Cuban Missile Crisis was the closest the United States has ever come to participating in nuclear war, and the trepidation experienced by Americans spanning those thirteen days was unmatched throughout history.