The Cuban Missile Crisis

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. The Cuban Revolution was a background cause to the crisis. On January 1st, 1959 a Marxist regime in Cuba would have seemed unlikely. To the communist party in Cuba, Fidel Castro appeared tempestuous, irresponsible and stubbornly bourgeois.

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.

The Soviet Union and the United States were exceptionally close to an all out nuclear war that could have wiped out the entire human population. Photos were taken from a spy plane... ... middle of paper ... ..., there was a huge need for the Cuban Missile crisis to occur and for the missiles in Cuba to be discovered, for the reason that if it had not happened, then there would still be a lack of communication to this day, or there would have been for numerous years to come, and the nation as we know it may not still be standing. This event in history was significant because it in fact did lead to the connection of the world to each other and therefore eliminated abundant tribulations. The nations would never have been connected by something as necessary as a hotline as early as they were at the time. Ultimately, the positives outweighed the negatives in that the only true negative was fear, and this fear was the fear of the unknown.

The Cold War had lots of confrontations that involved using principles and practicing them. One example is the Cuban Missile Crisis. Cuba was coming off the failed invasion by the United States at the Bay of Pigs. They allied themselves with the Soviet Union and, in order to protect Cuba, The Soviet Union sent missiles to Cuba. The Americans found out using a spy plane.

It was certain though; by placing missiles on Cuba that Khrushchev would have the upper hand in negotiations relating to the cold war. Also Khrushchev claimed that ‘the missiles were placed merely to deter the Americans from invading Cuba’. (Timewatch Missile - Crisis) Khrushchev’s decision to put Soviet missiles in Cuba was very important and crucial to America. Cuba was only 90 miles away from the USA, and the Americans did not like the idea of a pro communist state in its ‘sphere of influence’ (Gcse modern world history). More than military advantage for the Soviets who had missiles elsewhere which could... ... middle of paper ... ...et, Jeremy.

“Fear swept over the country and the American citizens supported their president in planning action.” (Bender 330). President John F Kennedy warned the soviets “the gravest issues would arise” if they were to place nuclear weapons in Cuba. ”People all over the world feared this standoff would led to World War III and a nuclear disaster” (Littell 493). After carefully considering the alternatives of an immediate U.S. invasion of Cuba (or air strikes of the missile sites), a blockade of the island, President John F. Kennedy decided to place a naval “quarantine,” or blockade, on Cuba to prevent further Soviet shipments of missiles. President John F Kennedy also stated that missile strike launched from Cuba would be considered as an act of war by the Soviet Union.

Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara outlined three possible courses of action for the president: "The political course of action" of openly approaching Castro, Khrushchev, and U.S. allies in a gambit to resolve the crisis diplomatically, an option that McNamara and others considered unlikely to succeed; "a course of action that would involve declaration of open surveillance" coupled with "a blockade against offensive weapons entering Cuba"; and "military action directed against Cuba, starting with an air attack against the missiles" (Chang, 2). When U.S. reconnaissance flights revealed the clandestine construction of missile launching sites, President Kennedy publicly denounced (Oct. 22, 1962) the Soviet actions. The options of taking military action against Cuba and Russia luckily never took place and President Kennedy chose to impose a naval blockade on Cuba and declared that any missile launched from Cuba would warrant a full-scale retaliatory attack by the United States against the Soviet Union. On Oct. 24, Russian ships carrying missiles to Cuba turned back, and when Khrushchev agreed (Oct. 28) to withdraw the missiles and dismantle the missile sites, the crisis ended as suddenly as it had begun. The United States ended its blockade on Nov. 20, and by the end of the year the missiles and bombers were removed from Cuba.

He would not let that happen again; his speech was thoroughly planed and carefully executed. The Cuban Missile Crisis was in part because Cuba’s leader Fidel Castro felt threatened after he learned the U.S. tried to overthrow him. This along with the threat that Soviet Union felt from the U.S. having missiles positioned just over 100 miles outside their border led the two countries to form an alliance. With the Soviet Union’s resources and Cuba’s positioning they formed an alliance that could have done substantial damage to the U.S. before they could even react. At the time the speech was given the United States had already been secretly negot... ... middle of paper ... ... planned to read if the United States was to enter a war.

While the argument went on about the possible sanction the missiles were already in Cuba and they realized that a blockade would not solve the problem. Moreover, if U.S demanded the removal of missile from Cuba the soviets would demand the removal of missile around Europe near the Soviet Union. This was a time when Kennedy really showed what he was made of and never wanted to take rash decision that may have tempered the world into nuclear devastation. Meanwhile the missiles were directed at certain American cities and if fired, it would kill almost eighty million Americans. However, Kennedy was skeptical on possible alternatives because he feared that Soviets would do harm on West Berlin and this made Kennedy think twice.

The limited value of nuclear weapons does not outweigh the possible cataclysmic consequences of their existence. During the Cuban missile crisis the world was consumed with fear of what could possibly happen if two members of the four major powers entered into a thermonuclear war. The Cuban missile crisis occurred as a Soviet response to the United States placing Jupiter missiles in Turkey and Italy (George, 2014). For the Soviets putting nuclear missiles in Cuba was a strategic defensive decision in two ways. Firstly, Nikita Khrushchev, the leader of the Soviet Union, wanted to apply pressure on the United States and demonstrate what it felt like to be consistently vulnerable to nuclear weapons.