Realist Perpective on the Cuban Missile Crisis Essay

The Cuban Missile Crisis all started in October, 1962, when an American spy plane spotted and secretly photographed missile sites being built on the island of Cuba by the Soviet Union. President Kennedy did not tell the Soviet Union right away that we had found their nuclear missile site. But days later, President Kennedy meet secretly with his advisors to discuss the situation. President Kennedy and his advisors though long and hard about what to do and the finally came up with an idea. Kennedy decided to put a naval blockade around the island of Cuba. The purpose of this was so Cuba could not get anymore military supplies for the Soviet Union. President Kennedy demanded that the missiles that were already there be disabled and that the sit be destroyed. Later on, Kennedy told America what was happening on a televised address. Everyone was anxious about what the Soviet leader, Nikita Khrushchev, would say about the naval blockade. But both President Kennedy and Nikita Khrushchev recognized that the devastation that a nuclear war will bring is too much.

The Cuban Missile Crisis was a dangerous and direct confrontation in the year 1962 between the Soviet Union and the United States over the existence of missile sites in Cuba. Nikita Khrushchev, the Soviet premier positioned Soviet military missile in Cuba that had come under the Soviet power since the victory of the Cuban Revolution (Lockwood, Lockwood and Lockwood 15). This crisis occurred during the cold war and was the instant when the two superior powers came nearer to the nuclear conflict. The crisis was distinct in a number of ways featuring miscalculations and calculations as well as secret and direct miscommunications and communications among the two sides. The dramatic catastrophe was also featured by the fact that it was mainly played out at the Kremlin level and the white house with relatively diminutive input from the respective bureaucracies normally included in the foreign policy process (Blight., et al 64). This essay will discuss the Cuban Missile Crisis and the impact of the United States and Russia.

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 while avoiding war. Throughout the conflict, communication and decision making was extremely important to the outcome of the crisis. If there happened to be any sort of miscommunication, or faulty decisions,

The Cuban missile crisis was a world-threatening event, that was successfully evaded by the two superpowers America and Russia. Most will agree that it was a combination of the actions that the two countries took that barely avoided the world from ending. However, depending on your viewpoint, the actions that each side took and the effects they had can be different. Two sources which have explained the crisis are 13 Days and How My Father and President Kennedy Saved the World. The two sources come from two separate viewpoints, one from that of Robert Kennedy, the brother of the President at the time and the acting Attorney General at the time as well. The other is the viewpoint that of Sergei Khrushchev, the son of Nikita Khrushchev, the acting leader of the Soviet Union at the time. Both sources layout the events of the missile crisis in great detail, focusing on what had occurred on their side of the story, whether American or Russian. However the two sources have some very apparent contradictions, that lead to separate conclusions on what happened during the Cuban missile crisis.

Ultimately emphasizing United States disapproval to any nuclear weapons being delivered to Cuba. As well as all Soviets take down any missile bases being established or completed and all weapons be returned. This was only the start of a long path of communication between the White House and the Kremlin throughout the crisis.This pledge signified a public deal in which the United States pledged not to invade Cuba if the Soviets withdrew missiles, as well as an ultimatum threatening to attack Cuba within 24 hours if the offer was rejected, and a promised agreement to withdraw U.S. missiles from Turkey within the following six

In 1962 United States intelligence discovers that the Soviet Union were building nuclear missile sites in Cuba. The american presidency believed that the soviets were protecting castro from an american invasion of Cuba. The challenge that the U.S. faced was how to force the soviets to withdraw the missiles from Cuba without starting a nuclear war. During this crisis several points will need to be discussed such as the U.S. and Soviets rationale for this crisis, the link to the “Bay of Pigs”, and the effect that the Cuban Missile Crisis had on President John F. Kennedy’s legacy as a president.

During the end of World War II, a political struggle existed between the Western World, North Atlantic Treaty Organization allies, and the Eastern Bloc. Lasting until 1991, this struggle was better known as the Cold War. At the helm of these sides was the United States of America and the Union of Socialist Soviet Republics or better known as the Soviet Union. Both of these nations were constantly competing amongst each other in order to demonstrate their superiority of their politico-economic system. This was also done through proxy conflicts such as political, development aid, and military just to name a few. Their focus went towards post World War II European nations in trying to win over these

The Cuban Missile Crisis was the most terrifying thirteen days in the history of American. The Cuban Missile Crisis is the closest that the world has ever came to the nuclear war (Boyd). On October 15, 1962, a U-2 found the missiles in Cuba (“Cuban Missile Crisis Timeline”). On October 16, 1962, more photos were shown that proves Cuba has long ranging missiles from the Soviet Union. Robert Kennedy meets with Soviet Foreign Minister Andrei Gromyko. Gromyko explains to Robert Kennedy that the Soviet Union is helping Cuba in advancing their agriculture. Gromyko also explains to Robert Kennedy that the nuclear weapons are for protection (“Cuban Missile Crisis Timeline”). Since Cuba is closer than the Soviet Union to America, it makes more sense for the Soviet Union to keep their nuclear weapons in Cuba. If the Soviet Union had missiles that could launch from the Soviet Union to America, why else would they have them in the Soviet Union. Therefore, the Soviet Union put their nuclear weapon into Cuba. America’s weapons were strong enough to launch from America into the Soviet Union from America. Therefore, America was farther ahead in the arms race than the Soviet Union (Boyd). In the Excomm meeting on October 19, 1962, they member suggest to send ships from the United States to Cuba to stop the Soviet Union (“Cuban Missile Crisis Timeline”). They called this act a quarantine instead of a blockade. Since a blockade in used as a war tactic, the Excomm members did not want to call the quarantine a blockade to give people the wrong idea. A simple mistake, like that, could have been enough to start another war (“Cuban Missile Crisis Timeline”). In this Excomm meeting President John F. Kennedy was not able to attend. When President John F. Kennedy finds out what the Excomm suggest, he heads back to Washington to deal with the Cuban Missile Crisis (“Cuban Missile Crisis

The Cuban Missile Crisis was the only devastating event in U.S. to ever bring the country into DEFCON-2. Ever since World War 2, the U.S. and the Soviet Union have been rivals(Jeffery, Riley, 4). The Soviets later aligned themselves with the small country of Cuba. It is a small piece of land in enemy territory, but it is very important to them because they have to protect their allies at all times. For this reason, The USSR placed missiles in Cuba to keep them prepared for an invasion. In 1962, The two huge superpowers brought the Cold War to a nuclear crisis in Cuba which led to DEFCON-2, the closest point to a nuclear war(The Choices Program)

In response, Kennedy ordered a ‘quarantine’ around Cuba to make sure no ships were containing missile components, and the US forces were put on alert. The Soviet leader, Nikita Khrushchev, said that the quarantine was “an act of unjustified aggression” (Chrisp 39). Khrushchev declared that he would ignore the quarantine, but actually, Soviet ships did not cross the quarantine line. Kennedy and Khrushchev started to exchange a series of letters, to try to resolve the conflict. Khrushchev’s first offer, sent via letter, was that if the US promised not to invade Cuba, then Khrushchev would promise to remove the missiles in Cuba. Khrushchev’s second offer, relayed via radio, demanded that the US remove the Turkey missiles, and Khrushchev would remove the Cuban missiles. The two leaders managed to negotiate a peaceful compromise. The US would promise publicly that they would not invade Cuba, but not announce that they are removing the Turkey missiles, and Khrushchev would remove the Cuban missiles. However, the two leaders did not think to ask for Castro’s demands. The crisis ended on October 28, 1962.

In his article, “The Influence of Nuclear Weapons in the Cuban Missile Crisis,” Marc Trachtenberg considers three historical approaches to the role that nuclear arms played during the 1962 conflict: first, the view that nuclear arms played no role at all, with U.S. and Soviet weapons cancelling each other out, second, the interpretation that the risk involved with nuclear warfare heavily influenced policy making, and finally the view that the strategic imbalance of nuclear force, characterized by a substantial American advantage, significantly impacted the outcome of the crisis. In weighing the three interpretations, Trachtenberg dismisses the first in supporting the existence of the second, using a variety of primary sources to identify instances when decision-makers were influenced by the risk of nuclear warfare. The focus of the article, however, is on advancing and complicating the third approach, which Trachtenberg claims is congruous with the second. In this third section, Trachtenberg advances the approach that the imbalance of nuclear capabilities impacted Soviet strategy but not American decision making. Accordingly, Trachtenberg’s article is characterized by two central claims: that risk of nuclear war influenced policy during the Cuban Missile Crisis and that American nuclear superiority disproportionately affected Soviet decision-making.

Realism states that humans by nature are self-interested and seek to maximize gains and minimize losses, this helps explain the reason that the US placed the missiles on Turkey, to maintain their own power over Cuba and try to get the USSR to stay out of it. It also helps in understanding why North Korea wanted to invade South Korea, to show their dominance in the world. Realism argues that states are the key actors in international relations. In such case, the key actors during the Cold War were the US and the USSR.

It wasn’t until early October 1962, when it had come to my attention that the decisions I were to make in the future had never been valued with such crucial importance. These decisions could essentially result in the mass destruction of entire societies and inescapably produce a nuclear war. Looking back now, I realize the Cuban Missile Crisis was an extreme pivotal moment in the Cold War. 6 months ago my own country, the United States of America, had never been so close to Armageddon with the Soviet Union.

The Cuban Missile Crisis of October 1962 was the closest the world has ever come to nuclear war. The crisis was a major confrontation between the United States and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. The confrontation was caused by the Soviets putting missiles in Cuba, just 90 miles off the coast of the United States of America. The world was in the hands of President John F. Kennedy and Premier Nikita Khruchchev. These two men would have to reach a compromise or else the results would be fatal.

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