the cuban missile crisis
InformationThe Cuban Missile Crisis was a 13 day confrontation in October 1962 between The United States and The Soviet Union over Soviet ballistic missiles deployed in Cuba. It was covered on television worldwide and was the closest The Cold War came to escalating into a full-scale nuclear war. The Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev decided to agree to Cuba's request to place nuclear missiles in Cuba to deter from future harassment. An agreement was reached between the two nations and later that summer, construction on a number of missile launch facilities began.
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JFK's Involvement |
JFK played a key role in halting a nuclear warfare. He discovered missiles being built by The Soviet Union and Cuba through a spy plane. Consequently, Kennedy decided to place a naval blockade around Cuba. A deal was worked out between The Soviets and The U.S. after the two agreed that a nuclear war would be devastating to all nations involved. It stated that The Soviets would would dismantle the weapon sites in exchange for a pledge from The U.S. to not invade Cuba. Other good signs were the creation of a teletype "Hotline" between the Kremlin and the White House and the signing of the Limited Nuclear Test Ban Treaty. President Kennedy told Americans in June 1963 that "For, in the final analysis, our most basic common link is that we all inhabit this small planet. We breathe the same air. We all cherish our children's future. And we are all mortal."
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Analysis |
The compromise embarrassed The Soviet Union because the withdrawal of U.S. missiles from Italy and Turkey was a secret deal between Kennedy and Khrushchev. The soviets were seen as retreating from circumstances they had started. Two years later, Khrushchev lost power and it was mainly due to the embarrassment at both his concessions to the U.S. and his inability to precipitate the crisis in the first place. In contrast, Cuba had a different perspective on the situation. They viewed it as a betrayal by The Soviets given that all decisions were made by Khrushchev and Kennedy. Also, Castro felt that certain issues pertaining to Cuba were not even considered. This caused Cuban-Soviet relation to deter over the next few years. However, Cuba remained protected from invasion.
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