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Cuban Missile Crisis Report

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The world almost came close to a nuclear war in 1962 as a result of the conflict between the Soviet Union and the United States. The Cuban Missile Crisis occurred for thirteen days during October of 1962. The crisis was a result of both the US and the USSR’s interest in expansionism in Cuba. The purpose of this report is to provide an extensive summary and a timeline of the events that happened before during and after the Cuban Missile Crisis.

The Cuban Missile Crisis was a part of the Cold War and happened because of an ideological distrust between the United States and the Soviet Union. This distrust escalated and was in the form of proxy wars and conflicts that took place in Cuba, Korea, the Middle East and Vietnam. In Cuba, …show more content…

On October 14, 1962, a U-2 plane discovered evidence of Soviet Missile bases in Cuba on film. In response, John F. Kennedy called for an emergency meeting on October 16th with the Ex-Comm to determine the next best course of action for the United States. On October 18th, Robert F. Kennedy met with Soviet Foreign Minister Andrei Gromyko who told him that the missiles in Cuba were solely for defensive purposes, not for battle. The US was not convinced and on October 19, after debate between air strikes or a quarantine, the Ex-Comm came to a consensus to put a naval blockade around Cuba. Kennedy publicly addressed American citizens regarding the quarantine around Cuba on October 22nd. When the quarantine took effect, most Soviet ships headed towards Cuba either slowed, stopped or reversed (Alice L. George 16). The blockade lasted for thirteen days and prevented further shipments of military weapons to and from Cuba. On October 27th, a U-2 plane flied off course into Soviet territory in Cuba but was rescued by US jet before the Soviets were able to shoot it down. In fear of a US invasion in Cuba, Fidel Castro appealed to the Soviets to reach a settlement with the US. Nikita Khrushchev demanded Kennedy to take down the missiles in Turkey and not invade Cuba and in exchange, he would remove the missiles in Cuba. Kennedy agreed to this arrangement and to secretly remove the missiles in Turkey (Alice L. George 16). A negotiation between the two nations was reached and on October 28, 1962, the crisis had ended as the world had survived a nuclear

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