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The cause and effect of the Cuban missile crisis
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Kennedy's Fixation with Cuba by Thomas G. Paterson
Thomas G. Paterson's essay, "Kennedy's Fixation with Cuba," is an essay primarily based on the controversy and times of President Kennedy's foreign relations with Cuba. Throughout President Kennedy's short term, he devoted the majority of his time to the foreign relations between Cuba and the Soviet Union. After the struggle of WW II, John F. Kennedy tried to keep a tight strong hold over Cuba as to not let Cuba turn to the Communist Soviet Union. Kennedy seen Cuba and the Soviet Union as a major threat to the United States. As Castro fell farther and farther into the Communist party, he inched his way closer and closer to becoming a close ally with the Soviet's, As Kennedy seen this happen before his eyes, he was astonished. Kennedy, a newly formed president, did not want to seem like the kind to just sit back and roll with the punches, he wanted immediate action taken for these measures. "As someone said, Cuba was one of the four-letter words of the 1960s" (268). Cuba was not viewed as a very potential power before Fidel Castro took office. It was viewed more as a neutral country that we sent aide and military supplies to in exchange for sugar and other products. When Castro took office, things drastically changed. He started taking back land that we had set aside for military bases, he wanted the American forces no more than what they had in Washington, and he openly defied orders from America. Unknown to Kennedy Khrushchev, leader of the Soviet Union, was also watching everything that played out between Cuba and the United States. President Kennedy, later realizing, would make a few decisions for the worst. These decisions would haunt him for the re...
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...ity of the blame went onto Kennedy's record as not being the one that had planned it out and not giving the go ahead for the second air raid. It was later proven that no matter what the outcome of the second air raid would have been, it would not have mattered. The CIA also released a document taking the full responsibility and blame for the incident at the Bay of Pigs. The Cuban Missile Crisis not only worried the U.S. but also worried the rest of the world as to how it would turn out. The Soviet's backed Cuba as an ally and fed them missiles and the supplies to build the missile silos in Cuba. The Soviet's said they did this as a counter measure incase we did in fact invade Cuba. Between these two major conflicts of the time, it can be said that the two countries were not battling over Cuba in itself, but more or less battling over the belief of Communism.
Casablanca was directed in an era almost entirely dedicated to propaganda, as far as the film industry is concerned. The movie promoted America and the Allies similar to most films of the time, but it did so in a much different manner. The story told in Casablanca follows the main character, Rick, through his personal affairs and love tango with another lead character, Ilsa Lund. The film begins with Rick alone running his saloon based in Casablanca, in which he seems very indifferent to other people’s affairs, and comes off as very exclusive. He is delivered letters of transit by a man named Ugarte, which are nearly priceless to any refugee desiring to flee to the United States or another unoccupied country. Rick continues to act disinterested, reluctantly agreeing to hide the documents. He holds onto them even after Ugarte is killed for having stolen the letters, although there did not seem to be an...
The main reason for the Bay of Pigs attack on Cuba was the change to communism. The January 1, 1959 , the Cuban dictator Fulgencio Batista fled the country for the safety of the Dominican Republic ( Goode, Stephen 75). Fidel Castro and his guerrilla warriors overthrew the former government dictated by Batista. Over the next couple of weeks , Castro established a new government and on February 16 was officially declared premier ( Finkelstein , Norman H. 127). The United States accepted this new ...
The account is told from Robert F. Kennedy's point of view. Kennedy was a key player in the decisions made during the thirteen days of the Cuban Missile Crisis. Kennedy believed that the United States should try and resolve The Cuban Missile Crisis peacefully and that the United States needed to try and avoid resolving to violent measures. Kennedy took over for his brother, the President on many occasions. He led important meetings and tried to negotiate an understanding with the other cabinet members who were involved. At first he believed that a blockade around Cuba would be the right maneuver and his proposal was supported by the majority of the other members. Soon he realized though that the Russians were not planning on negotiating or dealing with this matter in any peaceful manner. Though apposed to it Kennedy moved for an air strike. He was very uncomfortable with the idea and he showed this with his remark to the president of "I now know how Tojo felt when he was planning Pearl Harbor.
Regardless of that, he continued to make films that spoke of the true nature of the lives of African Americans and the struggles the face .One of his most successful films Do The Right Thing (Spike Lee, 1989), the film that solidified his place as the leading African American director, explores racism in a neighbourhood in New York. ‘Spike Lee had done an almost impossible thing. He 'd made a movie about race in America that empathized with all the participants,’ (Ebert, 2001 cited in Leopold, 2009). Lee heavily exaggerates stereotypes of all the races shown within his film as a way to show the audience just how ridiculous stereotyping is. Although, another theme throughout the film is the representation of all the races relations with each other rather than the stereotypes given to
A key and enduring topic of debate regarding Cuba’s global role in Cold War international politics centers on Cuba’s relationship with the Soviet Union: to what extent were Cuban actions independently determined, and to what extent were they dictated by her Soviet patrons? Simply posed, was Cuba little more than a satellite mercenary of the Soviet Union, or was Cuba an independent actor pursuing autonomous foreign policy goals in the Cold War world?
Spike Lee is brand name when it comes to the film industry. When you try to ask any group of people their opinion about this man, you will probably receive numerous positive responses from the film community as well as the African American community. Do the Right Thing (Spike Lee, 1989) is a film that illustrates how racial conflict can become a reality while showing the repercussions that come with racial segregation. Spike Lee uses a number of tools to write and produce the film in order to ensure the message reaches his intended audience in the best way possible. The use of location, soundtrack, and dialogue is abundant in this film. Therefore, this film analysis paper is for Spike Lee’s Do the Right Thing (1989). It is a film in which racial segregation ignites riots in a neighborhood dominated by the black population. The heightened scene of this film analysis is where Spike Lee throws a trash can and it is from this that hell breaks loose and riots begin.
This is shown in one scene as Strasser and his men sing Die Wacht am Rhine in the café. Rick gives permission for Victor to sing La Marseillaise which shows a changing attitude from his previous disinterest in the situation at hand. This is again shown in a later scene in the film where Rick fixes a round of roulette to help a young Bulgarian couple obtain visas from Renault in a way which would not corrupt their marriage. Adopting the roles of shapeshifter and ‘false enemy’, Renault closes the café at the order of Strasser. Rick’s ‘Road of Trials’ began with the fall of France and Isla’s abandonment. However, in obtaining the visas and a married Isla returning into his life, Rick’s moral compass is tested, and his ‘Road of Trials’ continue within the film. Rick’s allies and enemies (real and false) meet. The allies, Victor and Isla, go to ‘false enemy’ and shapeshifter Renault’s office where they encounter the ‘real enemy’ Strasser. Strasser states that the venture of escaping Casablanca is impossible for Victor and he will not allow him to do so alive. Afterwards, Victor and Isla learn of Rick’s possession of the letters which prompts Victor to request them from him. Being confronted with his past ‘Road of Trials’ and his ‘Inmost Cave’, Rick recluses and refuses to sell the letters up saying, “ask your wife” when questioned as to why not. Rick is then forced to come to terms with his inner pain and himself as Isla holds him at gunpoint, making him to listen to her explanations. As conversation with Isla continues, Rick’s acceptance of the truth is brought forwards and a new intimacy with Isla is created through this ‘Meeting with The Goddess’. By allowing himself to approach his ‘Inmost Cave’ and deal with his inner demons, Rick begins the true turning point of his journey as the hero in the special world, his ‘Ultimate Boon’. Using his experience from the journey thus far,
During the 20th century, racism was a prevalent issue throughout the country. It often caused social tensions between people of different races living in the same community, resulting in violence and disruptions. In the film Do the Right Thing, the director, Spike Lee, portrayed racism accurately by addressing the discrimination against black people. Throughout the film, characters were transformed, stereotypes were broken, and the audience knew more information than the characters in the movie. Lee’s theme was to show people that blacks should “fight the power,” or superiority, caused by racial supremacy of white people by establishing a balance of power, fighting the stereotypes, and uniting together against the white people.
The first point that made John F. Kennedy responsible for handling the Cuban Missile Crisis, well, was his way of managing the public. In every crisis, a leader must always keep in mind of the reactions of the people because if it is ill dealt with, disastrous and chaotic consequences could ensue. Thus, even though nuclear warfare was prevented; credit should also be given to how the public of the United States did not end up in turmoil. To access how the public did not end up in chaos, one has to look into the genesis of when the majority of the American citizens received the news of the Cuban Missile Crisis in the first place. This leaves with only one source, which was the public address from President John F. Kennedy on October 22, 1962.1
The Cuban Missile Crisis most definitively is known for how it halted nuclear attack on the brink of a hot war. With missiles in Cuba and Turkey pointing at each other, a stalemate was created between the Soviet Union and the United States. A policy of Mutually Assured Destruction was followed in order to prevent either side from attacking the other in fear of mass amounts of death and environmental consequences that would be caused by a nuclear war between the two most powerful countries in the world. The United States had always had weapons in Turkey within the region of the Soviet Union, being threatened by this the leader of the Soviet Union, Nikita Khrushchev order for missiles to be sent to the communist ally in the caribbean which was Cuba led by former revolutionary Fidel Castro. After this event had occurred President Kennedy addressed the nation and the world on how the U.S. would respond to such threats. “ This urgent transformation of Cuba into an important strategic base--by the presence of these large, long range, and clearly offensive weapons of sudden mass destruction--co...
The failed invasion of Bay of Pigs had extensive repercussions. It advanced Castro’s political stature in Cuba and also allowed him to establish a more prominent relationship with the Soviet Union. Even though U.S. - Cuban relations were strained since the Spanish-American there was a small possibility that Castro would have been opened to working with the United States considering that Castro did not declare his allegiance to Marxist-Leninism till 1961. The Bay of Pigs invasion served as a catalyst for more bold Cuban-Soviet relations. The more bold Cuban-Soviet relations were seen in the Cuban Missile crisis in 1963.
The story is set in French Morocco in December 1941, in which war refugees are seeking a way out of the Third Reich to the American safe haven. The protagonist in the movie, Tick Blaine, operates a café and boasts of not taking any sides stating that “I stick my neck out for nobody”. However, his apparent ignorance and nonchalance changes after a Nazi resistance leader Victor Laszlo and Rick’s old flame Ilsa Lund. Not only does rick start recognizing the war that is happening within and around his café but also he is prompted to make an immense sacrifice for the good of all.
The last thing President Kennedy wanted was to be in a nuclear war with countries across the globe. To achieve that from never happening, J.F.K. had a very diplomatic attitude towards other countries. He would do anything to keep his country safe from other countries. During his presidency, Cuba and the Soviet Union began an alliance. The problem with this is that the U.S. and the Soviet Union had been having complications with each other for a few years and Cuba is only ninety miles away from American shores. Kennedy ordered a blockade to
The U.S. was not justified in invading Cuba through the Bay of Pigs Invasion in April 1961, because it conflicted with the internal affairs of a sovereign nation. Fidel Castro rose to power through guerilla warfare and Americans hated him because of his perceived communist leanings. Americans were concerned with the Russians aiding the Cubans during the Cold War. As Fidel Castro led Cuba, he instituted a socialistic government that drastically changed Cuba from when the dictator Batista was in office. Castro visited the USA three times during the late 1940’s up to the early 1960’s. The first visit, in 1949, was to New York City on his honeymoon where he studied English and bought a Lincoln car. His second visit, in 1959, after he defeated Batista was public relations tour under the guise of being asked to speak to the American Newspaper Editors conference in New York City. Before the trip he conferred with a public relations firm for how to polish his image. He continually said he was not a communist, “Never was and never will be.” ( page 16, Jim Rasenberger} He ran into the crowds of thousand admiring fans, and developed a love affair with the American people. His third trip, 1960, cast a black shadow over his friendship with the USA, with a venomous United Nations speech coordinated with Soviet premier, Nikita Krushchev. Castro and Cuba was considered the nearest threat to the economic interests of the USA, only 90 miles off shore. The CIA under President Dwight D. Eisenhower began planning an elaborate invasion plan. The CIA plan was supposed to be covert and fool proof, but the battle plans were leaked to Castro who knew about the invasion site and the Guatemala training site of the ‘Brigade’ Cuban exiles. On April 17, 196...
The scene that I will be analyzing takes place towards the end of the movie in which all the racial tensions that were boiling over erupted like a volcano and spewed out. This particular scene is about five minutes in length and is composed of about 25 shots. It takes place at the end of the day after Sal’s Famous Pizzeria has closed. We see that the pizzeria is closed and Sal is having a conversation with his sons Vito and Pino about him wanting to change the name of his store to Sal and Son’s Pizzeria. He also tells Mookie, “You are like a son to me.” The suddenly we here banging on the door, it’s the neighborhood kids wanting to get a slice of pizza. Although the pizzeria is closed, Sal tells a reluctant Mookie...