Essay On Jfk Assassination Kennedy

In 1962, Cuba was convinced that the USA was planning to attack them and asked the Soviet Union for military assistance. The USSR sent Cuba materials to build missile bases and launch sites. When President Kennedy realized that Cuba could launch missiles into America, he demanded that the USSR remove its weapons and troops. The Americans formed a naval blockade as the world stood nervously on the edge of a nuclear war. The USSR removed its weapons despite protests from Cuban leader Fidel Castro.

On October 22, 1962, President John F. Kennedy “informed the world” that the Soviets were building secretive missile bases in Cuba, very close to Florida. President Kennedy decided to take the peaceful route in handling is major crisis. As

“Do everything in such a way that the U.S. public opinion will not be aware of this until November 4th or after November 4th…The Americans are going to have to swallow this the same way we have had to swallow the pill of missiles in Turkey,” stated Premier Nikita Khrushchev. He wanted to keep this a secret until the missiles would be operational. The Soviet Union eventually brought 45,000 troops, 80 missiles, some bombers, and several SAM sites to Cuba by sea, which were meant to shoot down U-2 planes that routinely flew over Cuba, so they would not discover the offensive missiles (Eubank 20-24). On October 15, a U-2 plane discovered offensive missiles and this was reported to President Kennedy the next morning at 9:00 AM. Kennedy didn’t seem too shocked. He simply discussed plans with his advisors, also known as the ExComm, about solutions including an invasion, air strikes, withdrawing missiles from Turkey, and blockades (Eubank 36-41). Kennedy finally came to a decision and decided to reveal it to the public through a speech on television. Kennedy’s speech on October 22, 1962 addressed the fact that he wanted Khrushchev to remove the missiles from Cuba and that Khrushchev claimed that there were no offensive missiles in Cuba. Kennedy further explained the fact that there was evidence from photographs that U-2 spy planes took over the island of Cuba. Additionally, Kennedy announced that a naval quarantine or blockade would take place on Cuba to stop ships from bringing in any offensive weapons (“Presidents Grave”). Everyone rushed to the supermarkets and stocked up on food in panic (Cullough). Soviet ships continued towards Cuba even after the speech. One of the members in the ExComm, McCone, stated, “Mr. President, we have a preliminary report which seems to indicate that some of the

Kennedy did his best to avoid an invasion of Cuba, like the CIA’s failed Bay of Pigs invasion which occurred only 1 year earlier and attempted to take over the Castro-led government. Because of Kennedy’s strong dislike for any sort of military action, he encouraged the members of the Executive Committee to devise different routes of handling the Crisis in Cuba. While Kennedy did not want to take action, he understood that he needed to protect the U.S. Several air units became positioned on the southern coast of the United States, to remain for 12 months unless changed (“PENTAGON LISTS AIR UNITS CALLED: Action Lasts for 12 Months Unless It Is Changed” 17). The President exchanged letters with Premier Khrushchev, usually daily, and often several pages in length (Kennedy 1). These letters between the two leaders ultimately determined the solution to the Crisis in Cuba, and could have even strengthened the diplomatic ties between the two countries (Finney 1). When the Executive Committee realized how well the daily letters between the American president and Khrushchev were going, they chose to not take drastic actions against Cuba, but to instead take a more calm role and negotiate with the Soviet Union. This more peaceful decision ended up being the best decision to make, and earned Kennedy a lot of respect and praise for his actions (“CAPITAL PRAISES KENNEDY'S STAND: Some Congressmen Caution on Khrushchev

Kennedy had given a speech to the American people where he has said “We have unmistakable evidence that a series of offensive missile sites is now being built on that island … Cuba has been made into an important strategic base by the presence of these long-range offensive weapons of sudden mass destruction… Our objective must be to prevent the use of these missiles against this or any other country. We must secure their withdrawal from the Western Hemisphere” (Doc 6). President Kennedy was trying to calm the society by explaining they will be prevent the use of the missiles by withdrawing the Western Hemisphere. During the year of 1962, October 27 Premier Khrushchev stated in a message “Mr. President, the Soviet government decided to help Cuba with means of defense against outside attack. These weapons were only meant for defensive purposes. We have supplied them to prevent aggression against Cuba … With respect and confidence I accept the statement you set forth in your message of October 27, 1962. You said then that Cuba will not be attacked or invaded by any country of the Western Hemisphere … We have given the order to discontinue building the installations. We shall dismantle them and withdraw them to the Soviet Union” (Doc 8). This message was sent to the U.S after ordering a blockade of all offensive military equipment being sent into

This was a problem for Kennedy because Cuba was within a 90 mile radius from the United States, easy sticking distance. The United States had missiles in Turkey, which were in striking distance from the Soviet Union, which Khrushchev used as a weighing option when deciding to place missiles in Cuba. Kennedy saw the missiles that were being held in Cuba as almost an act of war from the Soviet Union. Khrushchev assured President Kennedy that the missiles were not an act of war, but yet only a defense for Cuba, who was feeling Having Soviet Union missiles this close to the mainland was a problem for the United States. Kennedy decided that the only way to stop the Soviet Union from fully equipping Cuba with enough missiles to destroy the United States, was to stop the missiles from getting to Cuba. To stop them Kennedy dispatched U.S. warships into the Atlantic, which was able to prevent the Soviet missile fleet from reaching Cuba. Unfortunately there were already missiles in Cuba from earlier fleets and they were

The Kennedy Doctrine, which was to “Respond flexibly to communist expansion, especially guerrilla warfare” (Roskin & Berry, 2010, p. 58), was executed in this history-making event to the letter. Kennedy could have, and had the power to cease the unfolding events with an all out air strike on the Soviet Union. Some say it is due to bureaucratic politics and the accessibility of information that was provided to the National Security Council by the CIA and air force that this did not occur. In responding flexibly to what The Soviet Union and Cuba were planning, America assessed the volatile situation, forethought possible outcomes and negated all their options albeit under a tight time constraint. America’s forces were mobilized and ready to strike, had word been given nuclear war was on the cards. Kennedy wanted to give The Soviet Union an out and put a halt to a possible war, rethink the situation and allow an alternative to occur. Due to this diplomacy, The Soviet Union entered into negotiations “the Kremlin offered a deal: no Soviet missiles in Cuba if Washington promised not to invade” (Roskin & Berry, 2010, p. 87). By using the flexible response tactic, Kennedy was

John F. Kennedy was born in Brookline, Massachusetts on May 29, 1917, the second of nine children. He was a US statesman and our 35th president. He came from a family with a history of good politics. As an infant he lived in a comfortable but modest frame house in that suburb of Boston. As the family got larger and the father's income and fortune increased, the Kennedys moved to larger, more impressive homes. Their first home was in Brookline, followed by the suburbs of New York City. John F. Kennedy had a happy childhood that was full of family games and sports. He attended many different private elementary schools, which were all non parochial. He later spent a year at Canterbury School in New Milford,

tried to attack, they used a quarantine line, and they faced missiles toward Turkey. The United States tried to attack Cuba called the Bay of Pigs. The U.S. knew that communism was spreading in that country by, Fidel Castro. This attack soon failed. Leaders of America were very disappointed at this action and we're ready to fight back again anytime. After this unsuccessful attack, the Soviets were secretly shipping in supplies and weapons to Cuba. Soon, the United States found out. The Americans decided to put a quarantine line around Cuba. The quarantine line meant that any ships that were sending offensive supplies to Cuba were going to be destroyed. That line sent a message to the Soviets, and many of the ships did not go in that area anymore. The Soviets and Cuba, shortly afterwards, started to face Nuclear missiles towards the United States. The U.S. then faced Nuclear missiles at Turkey. After moments of waiting, the Soviets removed their missiles and so did the United States. Everything was removed and nothing happened in this crisis (Doc

Each meeting among the Executive Committee members was essential to the case and had a great impact on the final outcome. President Kennedy deliberately composed the group of men with various positions and alternate viewpoints. The President’s intended to receive as many options and counter-arguments as possible before making a catastrophically uninformed decision again, referring to the Bay of Pigs debacle. Instead of a public relations defeat and loss of life among Cuban exiles, complete nuclear annihilation was on the table, which upped the ante of this decision enormously. President Kennedy relied heavily on the opinions of his brother Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy and Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara, whom adamantly supported the blockade option of which President Kennedy ultimately aligned with.

Imagine that you are John F. Kennedy in 1962, and you find out that your ally, Cuba, has your enemy, Soviet Union, has ICBMS (intermediate- range ballistic missiles) & Ilyushin Il-28 light bombers, that could reach the United States and aimed toward the United States. The Cuban Missile Crisis was a thirteen-day confrontation between the United States, Cuba, and the Soviet Union. Cuba had the missiles there for like three months before one of the U.S had a spy plane that figured out that Cuba had the Soviets Missiles. For a while, the U.S had Intel that Cuba had the missiles but JFK did not believe that Cuba was betraying them. These missiles were only ninety miles away from Florida the U.S. issued a military blockade to prevent further missiles from reaching Cuba. When all the offensive missiles and light bombers were taken from Cuba the blockade was initially ended on November 21, 1962. Although the Cuban Missile Crisis ruined relations with the United States of America and Cuba, it impacted the blockade between the United States of America and Cuba, the respect for the United States of America, and the Bay of the Pigs.

With President Kennedy’s advisers, he opted on a naval blockade to stop Russian ships from conveying the missiles for the sites in Cuba. Khrushchev cautioned that Russia would view the blockade as an act of war. The Russian militaries were put on vigilant and the US bombers were placed in the air sustaining nuclear bombs (Blight., et al 24). The arrangements were made to attack Cuba. There was enormous tension in both Moscow and Washington. The US secretly proposed an exchange of missile bases that is the Russian bases in Cuba and the US bases in

The late president John Fitzgerald Kennedy once said, “Sure it's a big job; but I don't know anyone who can do it better than I can” (“John F. Kennedy” BrainyQuote.com). Kennedy was a young and fresh political figure at the time of his election in 1960. The thirty-fifth president of the United States was born May 29, 1917, in Brookline, Massachusetts. He was the youngest president ever, as well as the first and only Roman Catholic president (Bass, et al.). His presidency was shortened by an assassin on November 22, 1963, in Dallas, Texas. Kennedy preceded his presidency with a term in the U.S. House of Representatives (1947-1953) and a term in the U.S. Senate (1953-1961) (“John F. Kennedy” History.com). Kennedy, a

John F. Kennedy was the 35th president of the United States (1961-1963). He was born

On one of the following days, Kennedy asked if the Air Force could take out all of the missiles in Cuba. The Air Force then told the President that with that process there would be 10-20,000 civilian casualties. Kennedy then decided to set up a blockade around Cuba. US ships prepared for a quarantine. The press then learned about the nuclear missles and questioned them about it, the President asked the reporters not to reveal the news so he could announce it to the American people on TV. The Soviets had instrustion to launch the missiles within minutes of Kennedy’s speech. After Castro listened to the President’s speech he moblized all of Cuba’s military forces.