Khrushchev Missiles Essay

The Cuban Revolution was touchy topic for the United States and Cuba. America’s alienation of Cuba didn’t help when communism from the USSR was brewing over the revolution. When the revolution gained Castro as its leader, the worry and hatred from the United States was unbearable, especially when the Soviet Union landed in Cuba to interest Castro in its aid. The US’s fear of communism, Fidel Castro, and aid from the Soviet Union was significant because it changed the US’s political role in Cuba during the Cuban Revolution.

You could ask Cuba, you could ask the Soviet Union, or you could ask the United States. Each country will tell you a different story, based on their points of view. Cuba would tell you that they were getting protection from the Soviet Union, but it turned out that they were part of a bigger scheme. The Soviet Union would tell you that they were getting even with America because of the missiles in Turkey that were pointed at them. They would tell you that, or that they were only anti-air missiles that proved no danger. America could tell you a number of different speculated reasons as to why they may have sent missiles to Cuba, but none of them will leave out how close we all came to a nuclear war. Because of these different viewpoints, were are able to fully understand nearly every action taken during the Cuban Missile Crisis, be it the strict secrecy of things, or each vital

By 1962, the Soviet Union was considerably behind the United States in the nuclear arms race. The Soviet Union had limited range missiles that were only capable of being launched against Europe, but the United States possessed missiles that were capable of striking anywhere within the entire Soviet Union. As it is often said, when it comes to national security, leaders sometimes make irrational decisions. In an effort to restore the balance of power Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev devised the idea of placing intermediate-range missiles in Cuba (14 days in October). This deployment of weapons in Cuba would double the Soviet strategic arsenal and provide a credible deterrent to a potential U.S. attack against the

During this time Nikita Khrushchev, the leader of the USSR during this time, and John F. Kennedy, the president of the US also during this time, were scared of the thought too. As said in Document A it states, “We are willing to remove from Cuba the [missiles]” this means that Mr. Khrushchev wouldn’t have made this claim unless he didn’t want any conflict with the US. See if he did want conflict he would have kept the missiles in Cuba. This is extremely vital to the idea of the Cuban Missile Crisis not ending in an incident because if Mr. Khrushchev didn’t remove the nuclear missiles then a nuclear World War III would’ve broken out. We would be living in a nuclear wasteland. If we would be alive that

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

The relationship between Castro and Khrushchev was cemented between 1959-1962 as the Soviets gained Castro’s trust by buying Cuban sugar crops two years in advance, as well as accepting trade and economic assistance (Nathan 38). The Soviet surface to air missiles (SAMs) began being shipped to Cuba in the spring of 1962, in response to the U.S. Jupiter missiles placed in Turkey (Nathan 75). Eventually, the two nations would sign the Russia-Cuba Pact in August, 1962, and the shipment of Soviet medium-range ballistic missiles (MRBMs) began (Nathan xxiv). “Fidel Castro accepted the Russian arguments that Cuba needed to accept missiles for its self-defense. Castro did not accept the logic but, as a member of the Soviet Bloc, felt Cuba had a duty to sustain socialism….(Nathan 76).”

Following World War II, Cuba experienced a communist revolution with the takeover of Fidel Castro. To make matters worse, America discovered the soviets had been supplying cuba with missiles. This meant that the USSR could bomb the US with nuclear power at any given moment. Document D illustrates the danger as it shows that the missiles range all the way from New York and Washington D.C. to Houston and Miami. The US proceeded cautiously by initiating a quarantine which stopped the flow of soviet ships to Cuba. This hindered the process and allowed the U.S. to eliminate a chance of communistic

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.

First off, the U.S planned an attack called the “Bay of Pigs,” which was one of their tactics to invade Cuba and overthrow Fidel Castro. Their plan was to train exiled Cubans so that they could be sent to Cuba in effort to overthrow Castro. (“The Bay of Pigs”).The installation of missiles were to further prevent any events like this of happening, so it gave the USSR every reason to continue to defend their ally who was being attacked. On top of that, the Soviets did not even retort in aggression, even though it would have been reasonable if they did. Why could they have not placed missiles in Cuba if they decided to not retaliate in violence? Months later, America scheduled “Operation Mongoose” yet another tactic to kill Castro. They attempted to have Castro removed, overthrown, and out of office in Cuba, but did not succeed (“The Bay of Pigs Invasion and Its Aftermath”). After the second time America tried to overthrow Castro it definitely justified the Soviet storing of missiles. The saying “The first time is a mistake, but the second time is a choice,” applies to this situation. Cuba being attacked by the Americans the first time was kind of like the ‘mistake’ in the saying but the second attempt of invasion can be compared to the ’choice’ in the saying. The final quote that proves the Soviet missiles were defensive comes from Khrushchev, “we were very grieved…that an attack on Cuba was committed, as a result of which many Cubans perished. You yourself told me then that this had been a mistake. I respected that explanation” (Khrushchev). A summary of Khrushchev’s word is that he responded kindly to the attempted attacks and did not try to overrun America after their acts of violence, even though he had the option to do so. The USSR was very fair and calm and reacted well to

armed forces, Castro felt a second attack was inevitable. Although he was reluctant to accept the missiles at the beginning, he was finally persuaded. It could be argued that Castro pursued closer relations with the Soviet Union mainly for the protection of Cuba, and therefore was more open to Soviet suggestions such as placing nuclear weapons in Cuba to ensure its security. Che Guevara, a major figure to play a central role in training the military forces for the Bays of Pigs invasion and in bringing the Soviet nuclear weapons to Cuba, stated that "all the Cuban people must become a guerrilla army, each and every Cuban must learn to handle and if necessary use firearms in defence of the nation.1" Guevara's statement suggests that if the Cuban people had to fight, they were willing to fight, which shows the Cuban enthusiasm towards protection and, therefore, towards the Soviets. The Soviets, seeing an opportunity to make their international position feel close to the one of the US, rushed to aid Castro in order to double their military strength. Having said that, it could be argued that the Cuban-Soviet relationship was inevitable due to the poor U.S.-Cuban relationship. Placing the missiles in Cuba was a huge military step for the Soviets as it could enable them to reach and destroy most of the continental U.S. And, for that reason, the Cuban Missile Crisis was an event of a very high international importance.

Cuba is the country best known for being at the center of the Cold War conflict between the U.S. and Russia because of the Cuban Missile Crisis. The Soviet Union’s strategy, and the anticipated U.S. response to the Russian strategy, is described in an October 19, 1962 telegram from Andrei Gromyko, Russia’s Foreign Minister, to the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union [Virtual Archive]. The Central Committee was the highest organization within communist Russia. Gromyko seems to have written the telegram to inform the Central Committee that the Russian strategy in aligning itself with Cuba seemed to be working. In the telegram Gromyko expressed his belief that “a USA military adventure against Cuba is almost impossible to imagine” because of “assurances given to us that the USA has no plans for in Cuba (which undeniably commits them in many respects)” (Gromyko). Instead, Gromyko believed that the U.S. efforts would be to try weakening Cuba by obstructing its economy, thinking that over the long term Russia would not be able to continue supporting Cuba with foreign aid in order to offset U.S. economic sanctions against Cuba (Gromyko).

With the U.S now embarrassed by a failed invasion in Cuba, Fidel and Nikita Khrushchev allied forces. As a means to establish a level playing field during the Cold War, Khrushchev agreed to send arms and military support to Cuba. The arms would include nuclear warheads capable of inflicting immense damage to much of the United States. This plight would reestablish Russian dominance within the Cold War and deter further violence from U.S to Cuba. Under near complete secrecy, Khrushchev was able to move many SS-4 ballistic missiles and establish nuclear warhead sites across Cuba. Using high-resolution reconnaissance aircraft, American spy planes documented several areas of significance. These areas would be studied intensely over the next few

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”

39 United States, Congress, Guided Missile and Astronautics Intelligence Committee. “Supplement 8 to Joint Evaluation of Soviet Missile Threat in Cuba” (CIA, 28 Oct. 1962). 40 Carter 34. 41 John F. Kennedy Presidential Library & Museum, “Day 13: Oct. 28.” (Cuban Missile Crisis - John F. Kennedy Presidential Library & Museum). 42 Frederick A. O. Schwarz, Democracy in the Dark: the Seduction of Government Secrecy. (The New Press, 2015). 43 Carter 35.

Soviet leader Krushchev quickly agreed to protect Cuba. Cuba was in a strategic location to place missile launch sites that could strike nearly all of the continental United States. During the Cold War the United States had many missile launch sites placed all over the world and pointed at the Soviet Union. The United States was allied with Turkey, so the American military had a base there to work their U-2 from and many missile sites pointed at the Soviet Union. These missiles in Turkey made Krushchev want to build surface to air missile sites on Cuba to balance the power and show his force. Krushchev would soon start sending ships and submarines loaded with equipment to start building medium and intermediate range ballistic missiles. In May 1962, Krushchev wrote in his memoirs: “This will be a means of protecting Cuba from another U.S. Invasion of Cuba like the Bay of Pigs in 1961, also to counter the U.S. emerging lead of deploying strategic missiles.”