Cuban Missile Crisis Causes

The Cuban Missile Crisis bought the world closer to extinction than ever before. It was through the decisive actions of newly elected president John F Kennedy and then premier of the USSR Nikita Khrushchev that the confrontation did not escalate into all out nuclear war. The Cuban Missile Crisis lasted for 13 days, it was predicated on the fact that the Soviet Union was placing intercontinental ballistic missiles on the island country of Cuba which is just off the coast of the United States near the state of Florida. It can be assumed that the USSR was placing these missiles in Cuba as a response to the United States placing missile system in Europe encircling the Warsaw pact countries.

The Cuban missile crisis of 1962 was the thirteen-day political standoff between the Soviet Union and the United states. To my knowledge, the crisis took place over whether nuclear weapons placed inside of Cuba were a threat to the United States. Under tremendous pressure, we see the crisis play out in the hands of John F. Kennedy. Handled very strategically and meticulously, President Kennedy very well saved the world from a human catastrophe. What president Kennedy was able to do at such a critical moment in time, gives the reader a great view into how the policymakers of yesterday, today, and the future should handle critical events.

In October of 1962, the United States and the Soviet Union came closer than at any previous point during The Cold War to direct and open hostilities. The Cuban Missile Crisis was the direct result of Soviet expansion initiatives in Cuba and America’s nuclear armament in Europe, while both of the “Super Powers” involved attempted to out maneuver each other politically.

Knowing that communism is still existent, and recently having discover that a neighboring country by the United states, is harboring missiles for the Soviet, there is so much conflict that it almost brings war between United states and Soviet Union. During the Cuban Missile Crisis, leaders of the United States and the Soviet Union engaged in an intense, 13 days of political and military standoff. October 16-28, 1962 there had been the installation of nuclear-armed Soviet missiles on Cuban land, just 90 miles from United states shores was discovered and was the cause of the tension for the United states.

While it may be true that Fidel Castro had a strong impact on the uprising of the crisis, it is crucial to consider John F. Kennedy as the person most at fault for the Cuban Missile Crisis. Kennedy, America's president at the time, is often been called the most to blame because he overreacted to the missiles in Cuba. The question is if it was an overreaction or just a precaution for the safety and security of the American people. After the CIA spotted the missiles in Cuba, they informed Kennedy and he immediately called for a “quarantine” on Cuba’s eastern coast, setting up a blockade of ships along the coastline. Although many perceive this as an act of safety and protection, it is also easy to say that it was in fact “an act of aggression”

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 was a result of the lack of communication between Soviet Russia and the United States. It ultimately came to an end after multiple compromises and fear of Mutually Assured Destruction by nuclear missiles - absolute destruction of the world due to nuclear missiles.

In October 1962, the USSR and the United States of America were on the brink of a nuclear war that had devastating implications on a global scale. In the aftermath of the Second World War, both the USSR and the U.S. found themselves in a power struggle to become the prominent world super power. Subsequently, both states became involved in an ever evolving ‘arms race’ which saw an antagonistic approach towards defence and security measures. The reason for choosing this topic to research is that I am profoundly interested in global politics and interactions between states. The Cuban Missile Crisis brought the world to a standstill as they waited for potentially catastrophic repercussions as the consequence of two very dissimilar states clashing. At the centre of all this was President John F. Kennedy who is a leader that I deeply admire and one who fronted up to the challenges put before him and came out better as a result, engraining his legacy in the history books. In this research essay I intend to analyse and discuss the relationship between the USSR and the U.S. throughout the Cold War period, the build up to the Cuban Missile Crisis and ensuing tensions surrounding it. Whilst doing so, I will also look at President John F. Kennedy’s decision making throughout this period and the consequences of these decisions, in particular, his decision to blockade Cuba.

The Cuban Missile Crisis impacted the Cold War because it was a direct confrontation between the United States and the Soviet Union. The Crisis in Cuba was the closest the United States and the USSR came to nuclear war, and was one of the high tension points of the Cold War. The crisis was unique in a few ways, with calculations, miscalculations, direct and secret communications, and miscommunications on both of the two sides.

The Cuban missile crisis in 1962 nearly brought a nuclear confrontation between the US and the Soviet Union. This is due to the fact that the Soviet Union put nuclear missile into Cuba and US installing missile in Turkey. The Soviet Union made friend with Cuba’s President, Fidel Castro because the US wanted to overthrow Castro. After coming to a compromise a nuclear war was averted between Cuba and the US. The sequence of events occurred during the Cuban Missile Crisis begins on August 31, 1962 which eventually came to an end on October 28, 1962. However, it was not until July 1963 that the Atmospheric Nuclear Test Ban Treaty was signed.

The tensions that developed between Cuba and the USA almost led to a nuclear disaster during the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962. Tensions between these two countries brought about the perfect conditions for a nuclear confrontation between the USA and Soviet Union; occurring as a result of poor US-Cuban attitudes. This escalated tensions to the point where Cuba became the middle-man in a nuclear stand-off between the superpowers during the Cuban Missile crisis in 1962.

In order to understand the importance of the Cuban Missile Crisis in American history one must first understand the Cold War drama, Castro’s rise to power, and the American operations that set up the crisis. “The term Cold War refers

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

The Cuban Missile Crisis, also known as the Missile Scare, was a 2 week period in October of 1962 that was a result of increasing tensions amongst the United States and the Soviet Union. Tension between the US and the USSR is not new and is known as the Cold War, often stated to be a period between 1945 until the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. Intelligence gathered over the span of couple months all seemed to lead to the common conclusion that the Soviet’s are installing offensive nuclear weapons that will be able to reach continental US in mainland Cuba. The “initial” spark seemed to be the awfully failed attempt to invade Cuba, also known as the Bay of Pigs invasion under the Kennedy administration, and the presence of American Jupiter Ballistic missiles in Turkey and Italy. What is interesting about the Cuban Missile crisis is how the Kennedy administration confronted the issue. The Joint Chiefs of Staff, the top military officials of the United States pushed for a full on invasion, which could trigger a world wide nuclear war. Kennedy wanted to avoid a full on confrontation, making him seem “intelligent but weak”.

The Cuban Missile Crisis had a huge impact on society even years after it was resolved because the incident had brought our nation and the world so close to the brink of nuclear war. Before the Cuban Missile Crisis had occurred, many other factors had been piling up and building undesirable tensions between many countries. Along the way new allies and enemies were made causing more stress to the Cold War. The new bonds that formed after Cuba was taken over by Fidel Castro pushed nuclear war to the very edge.