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Cuban Missle Crisis Essay

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Cuban Missile Crisis

Nikita Khrushchev and the Cuban Missile Crisis The Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962 was the closest the world ever came to full-scale nuclear war. When the Soviet Union placed offensive nuclear missiles in Cuba, President Kennedy interpreted the act as one of hostility that would not be tolerated. However, the situation was blown way out or proportion by the president, American media, and ultimately the citizens of the United States. The Soviet Premier, Nikita Khrushchev, was reacting to the Bay of Pigs Invasion of Cuba, US Missile installations along the Turkey/Soviet border, and the clear anti-Communist policy of the United States. Khrushchev was born in Kalinovka in southwestern Russia. He was raised in a poor …show more content…

The Bay of Pigs invasion was a prime example. This overt military action took place when the CIA funded a paramilitary force of rebel Cubans to invade Cuba and overthrow Castro. Kennedy refused to give the invasion strong American military force so it ultimately failed, thus becoming a great embarrassment to the United States. Not only was it an incredible failure and embarrassment, but it was also a US sponsored military offensive against Cuba, a communist country and Soviet ally. It was a challenge to the governments of both the Soviet Union and Cuba. In addition to the attack on Cuba, Khrushchev was also faced with US missile installations in Turkey and Italy that posed a serious threat to the Soviet Union. The installations in Turkey were less than 150 miles from the Soviet border. The installations here were MRBMs, Medium-Range Ballistic Missiles, and were nearly identical to the missiles Khrushchev had installed in Cuba. He was merely trying to prevent the US from gaining the upper hand in a power struggle, which could have meant serious disaster for the Soviets. Khrushchev, just like Kennedy and the rest of the United States, didn’t want the enemy to gain a nuclear advantage. He was trying to protect his country and prevent nuclear disaster. The hysteria created in the United States as a result of the Soviet installations was immense. The US media was calling Khrushchev’s

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