Canadian International Relations: The Cuban Missile Crisis

Canada maintained both diplomatic and economic ties with Cuba following the Cuban Revolution before the Cuban Missile Crisis. The insistence on a much more placated policy towards the Cuban government became a source of contention between the United States and Canada. Therefore, after the Cuban Missile Crisis began, which was when an American U2 spy plane flying over Cuba and photographed the construction of several missile deployment sites on October 14, 1962, Canada’s military force were expected to go immediate war alert status. However, Canadian Prime Minister Diefenbaker refused to the need of United Nations intervention. After a tense phone call between President John F. Kennedy and Diefenbaker, Canada’

In October of 1962, Bill Doman was living the American dream in Salt Lake City Utah. He had a wife, three small children and a steady job. He had recently graduated from the University of Utah and was awaiting his formal release from the military reserves, having served briefly in the Korean War some nine years earlier. Bill is a proud American, a history buff, which cultivated his love of this county. Then, in just thirteen days, his way of thinking concerning the security of the United States and his very own family was changed forever with the advent of the Cuban missile crisis (Doman).

The Cuban Missile Crisis was a thirteen day confrontation between the United States and the Soviet Union in October of 1962. The stand off was over Soviet ballistic missiles deployed in Cuba. The Cuban Missile Crisis was the closest the Cold War ever came to a full out nuclear war. The event was broadcasted on television for the world to see causing a global panic, especially in America. John F. Kennedy announced that the U.S. would use a naval blockade to eliminate the Cuban threat, showing that America was prepared to use military force to preserve their national security. The Cuban Missile Crisis escalated very quickly and nearly ended consequentially in nuclear destruction across the U.S. and Russia.

During 1939-1945, the United States and Soviet Union were involved in the Cold War. When Cuba accepted communism, the United States tried to drive out Cuba’s leader, Castro, during the Bay of Pigs, but it failed (Kauffman). The U.S. were concerned even more when they discovered Soviet Missiles in Cuba. Kennedy had established a quarantine to try and stop weapons coming to Cuba, but it was still a mystery when it came to what Kennedy’s response would be. Many Americans were in favor of using military action to remove the missiles, while critics of military action wanted to negotiate with the Soviets instead. During the Cuban Missile Crisis, John F. Kennedy chose the best course of action to end the crisis because he was able to prevent war, get the Soviet’s to remove their missiles from Cuba, and avoid alienating the United State’s allies.

The Cuban Missile Crisis brought the Cold War directly to America’s doorstep. This event marks the only real threat during the Cold War to America itself and not just America’s interests in various countries around the world. Before the events in Cuba, the fighting had been contained to Europe, Asia and the Middle East. This event marked the first time that communism posed a direct threat to the American homeland and put the United States itself at risk of an attack. President Kennedy knew that long-range missile sites in Cuba posed a direct threat to American security and had to be removed. Instead of bombing the sites or using ground troops to remove them, he opted to blockade the island to prevent the Soviet Union from delivering any more

35 Nikita Khrushchev, “Department of State Telegram Transmitting Letter From Chairman Khrushchev to President Kennedy, October 26, 1962” (Moscow: 26 Oct. 1962). 36 “Black Saturday: Cuban Missile Crisis.” (The Historical Association, 27 Apr. 2010). 37 Nikita Khrushchev, “Letter From Chairman Khrushchev to President Kennedy, October 27, 1962” (Moscow: 27 Oct. 1962). 38 Carter 33.

1. SUMMARY: The Cuban Missile Crisis was one of the scariest moments in United States history and was quite possibly the closest the United States has come to all-out nuclear war with the Soviet Union. Starting with the Cuban Revolution in the 1950’s, which lead to our failure at the Bay of Pigs, and eventually culminating with the thirteen-day confrontation between our government and the government of the USSR regarding the placement of ballistic missiles in our close Caribbean neighbor, Cuba, the Cuban Missile Crisis was truly a terrifying experience. The placement of ballistic missiles in Cuba by Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev not only had massive implications in the Western hemisphere, but in Europe as well, specifically Berlin.

From October 16 to October 28 of 1962, the United States and the Soviet Union had a 13-day political and military dispute over the installation of Soviet missiles on the island of Cuba. This dispute was known as the Cuban Missile Crisis. After the failed and humiliating Bay of Pigs Invasion, the Cuban people and their dictator, Fidel Castro, asked for support of the Soviet Union and defensive weapons. President John F. Kennedy took careful consideration into his options, choosing to put a naval “quarantine” around Cuba. Finally, this crisis resulted in a treaty for a ban on nuclear testing and the removing of missiles by both the US and USSR. The Cuban Missile Crisis is a critical point in the history of the Cold War and the closest we have

Not many events in United States history have ever been as stressful as the Cuban Missile Crisis. The nuclear standoff occurred in October of 1962, and has been remembered by many throughout the past few decades. During this crisis, which lasted nearly two weeks, adults and children alike were taught how to protect themselves and find shelter in the case of an attack, while members of the National Security Council dealt with the possibility of one. Now that the threat has since disappeared, many historians are looking back and researching the event, why it happened, and the logic behind all the decisions made. Arthur Schlesinger Jr., a historian who graduated from Harvard College, gave some great insight to the crisis in his foreword in the

“We’re eyeball to eyeball, and I think the other fellow just blinked” (Dean Rusk). The Cuban Missile Crisis put the world on the edge of its seat, and was the closest humanity has ever gotten to full-scale nuclear war. Even though the event lasted a mere two weeks (from October 14-24, 1962), it played a significant role in international politics, and its effects can still be seen today. The Cuban Missile Crisis is significant to current international relations because it proved the importance of the need for information, and the importance of taking risks.

We’re eyeball to eyeball, and I think the other fellow just blinked. ~ Secretary of State Dean Rusk (LaFeber, p. 422).

The Cuban Missile Crisis has made a substantial impact on not only the U.S government and the Russian government, but as well as the occupants living in the countries clashing. The whole situation had the world on its toes because of the possibility of an all out nuclear war killing hundreds of millions. This entire affair not only impacted the world then but also left mental scars and disagreements between countries. The Cuban Missile Crisis is an event in which occurred after President Kennedy's attempt to overthrow Fidel Castro in the bay of pigs invasion. This incident impacted the relationship between Cuba and Russia. So much so, That Russian leader Nikita Khrushchev agreed to place nuclear missile sites in cuban lands aimed towards the U.S. The nuclear missiles in the eyes of Russia were there

The world stood still in October 1962, as it watched the two most powerful leaders at the time play a high-risk game of “Chicken” with nuclear weapons. One of the most dramatic episodes of the Cold War played out at this point between the two super powers - the Cuban crisis. The Americans act swiftly and demonstrate that they will not put up with the presence of Soviet nuclear missiles just 200 miles from their coast. American ships began to circle around Cuba and the US Army is raised on full alert for nearly two weeks as the world stood on the brink of nuclear war. The Cuban crisis was a consequence of a chain of false information, conclusions and analyses by experts and specialists from both sides. “The week the world stood still” is an excellent book in

The Cuban Missile Crisis was a frightening moment for the entire world. It started October 14th, 1962 after the Soviet Union planted nuclear missiles inn Cuba. The U.S. found out that these missiles were being planted without their knowledge, but the Soviet Union continued the construction of these nuclear missile sites, even after President Kennedy, the president of the U.S., sent out a warning against these weapons in Cuba. Even after this warning, Kennedy once again found out that the construction was still happening. Following the discovery of the ongoing construction, Kennedy wanted to meet with people at the White House to solve the problem that they were encountering. There were multiple sides during their talk about the missiles. Some of the people at the meeting wanted to take a more aggressive approach and destroy these missiles and then follow up with an attack. Kennedy eventually decided to quarantine Cuba. After Kennedy quarantined Cuba, there were many messages sent between the White House and the Kremlin to try and solve the problem. The Cuban Missile Crisis lasted for thirteen extremely tense days. At the end of these thirteen days, the Cuban Missile Crisis ended with an agreement between the United States and Soviet Union. The Cuban Missile Crisis greatly impacted history. It strengthened the bond between the United States and Soviet Union, showed people how to come to a

Amidst the Cold War, the Cuban Missile Crisis, a thirteen-day confrontation of October 1962, placed the world under an unprecedented threat of nuclear warfare. The Cuban Missile Crisis was caused by the aggressive policy of the United States to the Cuban government and their military pressure to the Soviet Union. It involved non-military conducts which efficiently curtailed further conflicts. Following the crisis, the US-USSR cooperation increased. This led to the developments of better communication between the two nations and the test ban of nuclear weapons, both of which assuaged the Cold War and other ongoing warfare, promoting global peace. Therefore, the Cuban Missile Crisis held significance in the Cold War to a great extent.