Kennedy Flexible Response Essay

The Cuban Missile Crisis forever marked 1962 as the year the world almost witnessed a nuclear war. The Soviet Union, Cuba, and the United States were all teetering on the edge of a cliff that was crumbling from the weight of fear, tension, and secrecy. It also marked the official end of Americans innocent belief that they were safe in the glow of Lady Liberty’s torch. Yet amidst the dark shadow of nuclear threat one American president rose to this challenge and proved that peace through strength is the best strategy.

The Cuban Missile Crisis was similar to a game of chess, one miscalculated move could have ended up costing entire game. There were two main players within this conflict, the United States and the Soviet Union. Although the Soviets were the ones to have placed the missiles in Cuba, both the United States and the Soviet Union both sought a common goal, which was to avert war and make diplomatically resolve the crisis at hand. Each player took different and contentious moves so that in the end, they were able to gain as much as they were able to while avoiding war. Throughout the conflict, deception and decision making were extremely important to the outcome of the crisis. If there happened to be any sorts of leaked plans, or faulty decisions, there would have been an imminent war.

President Kennedy came to office with warnings of a missile gap. The Soviets had achieved or were achieving a significant advantage in strategic nuclear weapons. Though tensions ran even higher, "Eisenhower’s strategy of massive retaliation made little sense and did not account for the rapidly growing Soviet nuclear arsenal4. Kennedy's nuclear strategy became known as flexible response. The idea was to acquire the military forces that could deal flexibility with varying levels of Soviet Aggression3. The most serious confrontation between Russia and the US was the Cuban Missile Crisis. (Link to Stephanie's page) Soviet leader Khrushchev attempted to place intermediate range missiles in Cuba. Kennedy responded by imposing a quarantine on Cuba. This resulted in the removal of the Soviet missiles and led to Kennedy making the decision to dismantle U.S. missiles based in Turkey. Some analysts argue that the successful outcome was due to the United States’ nuclear superiority, which proved that strategic superiority offered important political advantages5.

Kennedy supported the country through foreign policy. One example includes the Cuban Missile Crisis. The Soviet Union started to construct missiles in Cuba, causing increased tensions between the US and the Soviet Union. The Joint Chiefs of Staff wanted to invade the island, but JFK was fearful of another World War. JFK decided to implement a naval blockade surrounding Cuba; this was to keep the US from invading and attacking Cuba. Eventually, the negotiations between the US and Soviet Union were successful. Similar to the Wild West, JFK stood his ground to protect the US from another possible world war (Document J). JFK’s act of confrontation and lawfulness highlights how he is a great

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

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.

had ever received. Instead of tactics such as “massive retaliation,” Kennedy had a different idea. This was called “flexible response.” Flexible response is the idea that instead of instant aggression, we try and use forms of diplomacy (talking it out) to fix our issues. (Ayers). This strategy worked a multitude of times and is still used today. Kennedy was constantly fighting to send economic aid to small countries that he feared were being slowly consumed by communism. He was also intent on sending supplies to war-torn and third world countries, showing his use of military aid. Though he tried his hardest to stay away from war, there was a very notable time in our history where he was forced to. This was known as the Cuban Missile Crisis. America had discovered Soviet missiles in communist Cuba pointed at the U.S. Kennedy ordered that the Soviets must remove their nuclear warheads. The Soviets refused, saying that Kennedy must remove the American nukes in Turkey. Kennedy refused and ordered a military blockade of ships to prevent Soviet ships from reaching Cuba. Kennedy stated that if a single ship crossed the blockade, they would open fire. In order to test us, the Soviets sent one ship slightly across. Kennedy was able to see through their tricks and ordered the U.S. fleet to stand down. Soon, the entire Soviet fleet left, showing that we had won. Kennedy kept us from the brink of nuclear war where it could have very well happened. This was the beginning of the end of the Cold War.

John F.Kennedy got us out of the Cuban Missile Crisis.The Cuban Missile Crisis happened on October 14,1962.John F.Kennedy got us out by doing a peaceful agreement with Khrushchev during the time the 13 days of communication they had with each other.According to a book written about what happened during the Cuban Missile Crisis “Kennedy telegram got to Khrushchev,he agreed to an agreement that he will withdraw the missile from cuba in exchange for Kennedy’s promise not to invade within that the conflict ended.”(Hamen 36)John F.Kennedy indeed got us out of the Cuban Missile Crisis by having communication with Khrushchev instead of it being an outraged.With great reluctance John F.Kennedy chose to send a telegram to Khrushchev with lead up to bringing the two countries in peace and in a mutual feeling.However some people are convinced The Bay Of Pigs was his fault.During the The Bay Of Pigs the CIA restricted the flow of information to John F.Kennedy and people with different views were blocked from communicating with the

On the one hand, there was tension internationally with soviet Russia. As their manifesto spread, tensions grew higher. This was a huge topic of interest during the 1960 presidential election. Both Nixon and Kennedy understood the importance of preventing the spread of communism, and domestic tranquility. Shortly after Kennedy won the election, tensions peaked. As communism spread in nearby Cuba, Kennedy decided to try and slow the spread by sending armed Cubans in to the country to overthrow the new regime. The troops surrendered almost as soon as they had landed. This disaster became known as the “Bay of Pigs.” Fueled by this moral victory, the Soviets attempted to move nuclear missiles to Cuba. This attempt was met by a blockade from the United States Navy. This “Cuban Missile Crisis” was the peak of the international tension.

The Cuban Missile Crisis could be known as President Kennedy’s greatest success. Due to the Cold War, tensions were high between the Russia and the United States. Kennedy discovered that the Soviet Union was constructing nuclear and long range missiles at a site in Cuba, which was dangerously close to America. Kennedy handled a difficult situation that could have had devastating effects on the U.S.

President John F. Kennedy entered the White House in 1961 with confidence that instability in the developing world posed the greatest risk to the national security of the United States (Nuemen). Kennedy planned to resist Soviet expansionism in Latin America, Asia, and Africa by abandoning Eisenhower's policy of massive retaliation in favor of a flexible response, combining economic support with military assistance (Nuemen).

Kennedy learned various lessons from Cuba and Berlin such as: looking for diplomatic solutions, being skeptical of his advisors, and to not act without plausible deniability. Kennedy would carry over those lessons for the rest of his term as President. Had Kennedy remained President from 1964-1968, the lessons acquired from Cuba and Berlin would have prevented an escalation in Vietnam. Kennedy viewed getting involved in Vietnam as a disruption to his foreign policy goals. One of Kennedy’s primary concerns during the Cold War was preventing escalation with the Soviet Union, it was a larger concern to him than to his advisors. The United States lacked support from other major countries and by interfering in Vietnam, the relationship with China that Kennedy wanted would have been negatively impacted. Kennedy’s priority during the Cold War was to defuse conflicts in Europe, and Vietnam would have been a secondary struggle with no real benefit. Kennedy demonstrated his skepticism to his advisor’s proposals by rejecting Rostow’s Berlin proposals. As a second term President, Kennedy would only have more freedoms when making foreign policy decisions. Kennedy did not want militaristic escalation in Vietnam, and would ensure that escalation would not take place. Although Kennedy did want to prevent the spread of communism in Southeast Asia, sending ground troops was not the way he wanted to accomplish his goals. Kennedy would carry over his diplomatic intentions or quick action

     When the revolution in Cuba started, Dwight Eisenhower took the lead in telling his advisors what he wanted done. First off, arms were given to Batista’s militia through Eisenhower’s orders and then after Batista turned them upon his own countrymen, it was Eisenhower’s decision to place arms sanctions against them. This meant that they would not be sent anymore of the US’s artillery. The President only made decisions when there was a heightened awareness of what was going on in Cuba and it affected the US in some way. Another time this model was shown was during the Cuban Missile Crisis. Kennedy took matters into his own hands when it

For this reason, I would like to investigate the extent to which John F. Kennedy’s decision-making process changed from the Bay of Pigs Invasion to the Cuban Missile crisis during his presidency. I chose the Bay of Pigs Invasion and the Cuban Missile Crisis because the first is an event in John. F. Kennedy’s presidency before he gained experience from this job and the latter is an event from after he was acquainted with the presidential role.