The Cold War: The Bay Of Pigs Invasion

The Bay of Pigs invasion has come to be known as the perfect failure in American history. The invasion only lasted two days but the effects of the invasion lasted for decades. One of the most significant consequences of the Bay of Pigs was the thirteen day standoff between the Soviet Union and the United States over the installation of nuclear armed Soviet missiles on Cuba a year after the Bay of Pigs. The standoff, known as the Cuban Missile Crisis, is the closest the world has come to nuclear war. The causes and the responsibility for the Cuban Missile Crisis are many. Was the Bay of Pigs just another event in a timeline that was destined for the Cuban Missile Crisis or did the Bay of Pigs cause the Cuban Missile Crisis? A historical analysis of the events leading up to the Bay of Pigs as well as the aftermath of the Bay of Pigs will substantiate the fact that the Bay of Pigs was a substantial critical event causing the Cuban Missile Crisis.

On April 17, 1961, 1400 CIA-backed Cuban exiles launched a botched invasion at the Bay of Pigs on the south coast of Cuba. This invasion was called The Bay of Pigs Invasion. This invasion "Was intended to provoke popularity for an uprising against Fidel Castro, who had overthrown American-backed dictator Fulgencio Batista" (Web).The goal of the unfortunately failed invasion was the overthrow of Castro and the establishment of a non-communist government friendly to the United States. Before John F. Kennedy took office, he was informed of this plan by the CIA. Developed during the Eisenhower administration, the plan was to train Cuban exiles for an invasion of their

Between 1945 and 1960, the United States was confronted with a colossal predicament. A Cold War had emerged between the U.S. and the Soviet Union. This war did not involve any direct attacks between the two, instead indirect confrontations. Subsequently, the war took a massive toll on the U.S. An era of high tensions between the U.S. and the Soviet Union posed a communist threat to America.

A Cold War is when there is a large amount of tension built up between two countries but no fighting occurs. The Cold War between U.S. and Russia started in 1947 and ended in 1991. It started over a race to build a bigger and better atomic bomb. Although the U.S. working class was able to live comfortably again, the Cold War affected the United States by increasing people’s fears of Communist spies, of nuclear war, and of losing to the Soviet Union.

The Bay of Pigs was a failed invasion by the United States to overthrow the communist government in Cuba run by the infamous Fidel Castro. The CIA-operated campaign attempted to use Cuban exiles as a Guerilla army in hopes of conducting a secret invasion. The objective was to remove the Cuban leader and establish a non-communist government that would benefit the United States. President John F. Kennedy, Commander in Chief during this time, wanted to prove to China, Russia, and even pessimistic Americans that he was determined to win the Cold War. Unfortunately, the campaign was extremely underprepared, which led to a disastrous outcome with Castro’s troops having the aggressors pinned on the beach under heavy fire. Soon after, the exiles surrendered in less than a single day of fighting, making the assault widely known as the CIA’s “perfect failure”. This topic was selected because the Cold War era intrigues me greatly; there is an abundance of covert operations, heightened tensions between the United States and the Soviet Union, as well as technological competitions such as the space race. The Bay of Pigs ties into all of this, which led to the Cuban missile crisis, causing one of the closest calls in history in regards to nuclear war. The information found for this paper is from sources including the History Chanel website, the JFK Library, the CIA website, and the United States History website.

The Cold War was fought because of many political conflicts along with military tension and wars that existed after World War II. The war was between the communist world and its states and allies. The war lasted for a total of 45 years (source B.) By July of 1950 American troops had entered the War on South Korea’s behalf, where in October of 1950 China joins North Korea and attacks the American

The Cold War was a state of political hostility, lasting from 1946 to 1991, between Communists Soviet Union and Capitalist Western powers. Two generations worth of tension was filled with propaganda, hot wars, threat of nuclear attacks, and developments in missiles and space technology. Domestic policy and American society changed in the years of the Cold War: more money was being allotted to the defense budget, committees were being created to root out any communists working in Hollywood or the government and Americans were living their life around the fact that they could enter into a nuclear war at any moment.

The Cold War could be described as one of the most 'distant' wars in history because there was no direct military fighting involved, only threats and fights through other countries. Although, many lives and money was lost, it was not as fatal and severe as World War II. In 1947, or right after World War II, the Cold War began due to conflict between the United States and Soviet Union. It ended on December 26, 1991 and the United States endured most of the damage that was a result of the war while Russia became a larger territory through the countries they gained power over. The war took place in the U.S., USSR, Europe, Cuba, Vietnam, Greece, Korea, East Asia and South America and lasted for over forty years. Although both contributed to the war, the United States should be blamed for the increasing tensions of the Cold War because of the NATO, Marshall Plan and Truman Doctrine.

The Cold war began after World War two and ended in the early 1990s. The cold war was a series of events that occurred because the United States and Soviet Union fighting for power. Both superpowers fought for who would have the biggest influence on the nations. The United States was democratic while the Soviet Union was communist thus they tried to contain the spread of each other’s beliefs while dragging other countries into the cold war including Europe, Latin America and Asia. The cold war had a big impact on both Asia and Europe.

The Cold War was not much a war, but rather a time of tension after World War II between the Capitalist bloc and Communist bloc between 1945-1991. Some important nations during the Cold War were the United States, Soviet Union, and Japan, and there was much tension between especially the Soviet Union and the United States. One of the important wars during this period of tension was the Korean War, lasting from June 1950 to July 1953. This war began due to North Korean forces launching an attack on South Korea, and the United States aiding the Southern nation. The North Korean forces marched to Seoul, and the United States called for military aid for South Korea. This resulted in the prompting of Chinese Communist Forces, which increased the

During the time of the Cold War (1947-1989(), America’s foreign policies were entirely centered on the fight against communism. It was during the 1960s that the US intervened deeper and deeper into the Vietnam War (1955-1975). The war, often considered the peak and turning point of the Cold War, was fought between North

The Cold War took place after World War II between the years of 1947 and 1991. It was a struggle for supremacy between both the United States and the Soviet Union. The Cold War was to dominate international affairs for decades. Major crises occurred such as the Cuban Missile Crisis, Vietnam, Hungary and the Berlin Wall being just some of the resulting issues. For many, the growth in weapons of mass destruction was the most worrying issue because it is always unknown as to what they could be used for. Neither side ever fought the other because the casualties would be tragic, but they did ‘fight’ for their beliefs using client states who fought for their beliefs on

The Cold War took place during 1947-1991 and was a war fought with words. The war was fought mainly between the United States and the Soviet Union, using Cuba as a pawn in their war plans. During the Cold War the alliance between the United States and the Soviet Union was broken. The Cold War was fought from the mainland of the two powers. There were instances where the United States had missiles located in countries around the Soviet Union and the Soviet Union having their missiles in Cuba, but there was no real acts of war. The Cold War began with the break of the alliance between the Soviet Union and the United States and the methods used were new alliances and nuclear powers leading to the Cuban Missile Crisis.

When discussing the Cold War, there are two questions that never fail to come up: When did it start? And, when did it end? While the latter is more difficult to pinpoint, there is a clear starting point for the Cold War. Most arguments for the beginning are in fact post WWII events and nothing more. As the Cold War progressed there is much blame to go around, but it started with President Truman. With fear of the United States falling back into the Depression, President Truman used post WWII fallout to justify the Soviets as and enemy and in turn start the Cold War. By looking at the progression of events, and Truman’s actions, it cannot be clearer that he manipulated his citizens to march forward into a war that would last for many years

The Cold war dated from 1947-1991. It was characterized by both political and military superiority between United States, which was backed by its NATO allies, and Soviet Union that led the communist side. The cold war was mainly started after the success of the alliance that was formed against Nazi Germany. This competition supremacy on nuclear warfare attracted other countries that also started making nuclear weapons due to the tension that existed in the world. Both sides directed huge sums of money to their military budgets with each side trying to outdo the other.