Perceptions, Bias, And The Cuban Missile Crisis

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

“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

The Cuban Missile Crisis bought the world closer to extinction than ever before. It was through the decisive actions of newly elected president John F Kennedy and then premier of the USSR Nikita Khrushchev that the confrontation did not escalate into all out nuclear war. The Cuban Missile Crisis lasted for 13 days, it was predicated on the fact that the Soviet Union was placing intercontinental ballistic missiles on the island country of Cuba which is just off the coast of the United States near the state of Florida. It can be assumed that the USSR was placing these missiles in Cuba as a response to the United States placing missile system in Europe encircling the Warsaw pact countries.

The crisis began when the United States discovered the existence of offensive Soviet Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles (ICBMs), nuclear capable, barely 90 miles from the southern coast of Florida, in Cuba. U-2 spy plane reconnaissance missions over Cuba captured the

To discuss about the conclusion of the Dodge’s case study, I think I should explain the concept of brinkmanship first. As we know, Brinkmanship is deliberately put crisis to the brink of disaster. At some point of using brinkmanship, will be able to increase the players ' negotiating leverage - -participants. For example, the struggle between National political and military, if a long-term military confrontation between the two countries, both sides have nuclear weapons, the weaker side in order to avoid a conventional war can be used to launch nuclear weapons to threat another one which side is stronger. However, this threat may be considered to be incredibly for strong side. The question is coming that how it can threaten by one of the weak side becomes confidence and let stronger side believe in weak side? Perhaps the country 's leader can devolve control of nuclear weapons - nuclear weapons are arranged at the border, targeting the enemy and by a general to grasp the nuclear button. This seems to be more dangerous, but in fact may produce a real strong deterrent. Once the outbreaks of war in the border, despite the weak leaders do not want to start nuclear button, finally the general who faced death may also start nuclear button to meet them death together. This is most famous case in history happened in the Cold War of Cuban Missile Crisis. I will pay attention to this case in the following paragraph.

The year is 1962 and American surveillance planes discover that the USSR is in the process of placing nuclear ballistic missiles in Cuba. The missiles have a said capability to reach 80 million Americans

During discussion of the findings, there was proposals to invade Cuba to remove such missiles. However, after about a week of President Kennedy and

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 event of the Cuban Missile Crisis of October 1962 was the closest the world has ever come to nuclear war. Fifteen years into the cold war, the two superpowers continued the fierce competition to increase their military strength. In 1962, the Soviet Union was desperately behind the United States in the nuclear arms race. Soviet missiles were only powerful enough to be launched against Europe, whereas the US missiles were capable of striking the entire Soviet Union. In late April 1962, Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev conceived the idea of placing intermediate-range missiles in Cuba which would double the Soviet strategic arsenal and provide a real deterrent to a potential U.S. attack against the Soviet Union. The fate of millions

In daylight of President Eisenhower’s policy on containment of communism, the Soviets feel they have no choice but to resist any such efforts. While we have successfully positioned ourselves as the number one nuclear power on the planet, Nikita Khrushchev has built up a nuclear power of his own. I have gathered classified information leading me to believe that Khrushchev has landed these weapons of mass destruction in Cuba as part of a “nuclear pressure” policy, code named “Anadyr” (Zubok, 144). I am disappointed to say that we have underestimated the Kremlin. It is crucial to inform President Kennedy of the situation immediately in order to make timely decisions on how to handle the situation and to ensure the security of the United States of America.

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

Secret meetings involving malpractices and miscommunication will lead to global destruction. Senior Enlisted Leaders will understand the importance of acquiring proper intelligence through the right channels before making decisions that will impact mankind around the world. This essay will discuss the history, evolution, and the effects of the Cuban Missile Crisis.

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.

The Cuban Missile Crisis was a frightening moment for the entire world. It started October 14th, 1962 after the Soviet Union planted nuclear missiles inn Cuba. The U.S. found out that these missiles were being planted without their knowledge, but the Soviet Union continued the construction of these nuclear missile sites, even after President Kennedy, the president of the U.S., sent out a warning against these weapons in Cuba. Even after this warning, Kennedy once again found out that the construction was still happening. Following the discovery of the ongoing construction, Kennedy wanted to meet with people at the White House to solve the problem that they were encountering. There were multiple sides during their talk about the missiles. Some of the people at the meeting wanted to take a more aggressive approach and destroy these missiles and then follow up with an attack. Kennedy eventually decided to quarantine Cuba. After Kennedy quarantined Cuba, there were many messages sent between the White House and the Kremlin to try and solve the problem. The Cuban Missile Crisis lasted for thirteen extremely tense days. At the end of these thirteen days, the Cuban Missile Crisis ended with an agreement between the United States and Soviet Union. The Cuban Missile Crisis greatly impacted history. It strengthened the bond between the United States and Soviet Union, showed people how to come to a

The Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962 is undeniably a major confrontation of the Cold War. Lasting for 13 days it is arguably the pinnacle of the Cold War. This crisis was a decisive factor in the United States’ (US) decision process of whether to engage in a nuclear war with the Soviet Union (USSR). However the essential fault of both state leaders (J. Kennedy and N. Khrushchev) which created the inevitable crisis was miscommunication. Today we recognise actions taken by both states during the crisis as consistent with a realist point of view. Realism holds great emphasise on the obstacles enforced by human nature and the non-attendance of an international government. Creating international politics an area focused on power and state-interest.