The Cold War: The Cuban Crisis

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.

People on both sides wondered if this would cause World War III. On October 22, 1962, President Kennedy appeared on national television to speak about the crisis; the people need to know what was going on directly (Edwards, 9). President Kennedy said the missiles stationed in Cuba could strike Washington, DC, or the Panama Canal. They could also strike Cape Canaveral, Florida, or Mexico City; nowhere in the US was safe. He explicated that he warned Cuba not to strike any American cities; this meant cities in Central American and South America, too (Edwards, 9). President Kennedy also shared with the American people his plan of surrounding Cuba with the US Navy. Now, it was just a matter a

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

One of the scarcest events in American history happened during the month of October 1962. The world was about to enter a new phase of world warfare, using nuclear weapons to destroy the oppositions. This event affected everyone in the world, it was the possibility of nuclear death. It affected American citizens like my uncle, Walter Neal Woodruff. He was a solider working in the Administrate branch of the Army, stationed at Fort Huachuca, Arizona on call during this moment in American history. This event was called the Cuban Missile Crisis and it was the closest the world had ever been to WW3. Looking back on history now, knowing the crisis was resolved, it would have never been possible without President Kennedy’s nationally televised speech on October 22, 1962. The presidential speech was a key moment in ending the Cuban Missile Crisis and leading to actions taken by both, Soviet and American government to de-escalate tensions of the Cold War.

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

The Cuban Missile Crisis began in October of 1962. During a dismaying 13 day standoff, people were on the tip of their toes not knowing if they would see their children again as they dropped them off for school. They wandered when they laid down at night to go to sleep, if they would wake up to see another day. They did not know if they would wake to see a country obliterated by an atomic bomb. As the United States was on the brink of a nuclear war with the Soviet Union and Cuba, nobody was certain what laid around the corner, in five minutes the world could be devastated and millions of people could be dead.

“The most terrifying moment in my life was October 1962, during the Cuban Missile Crisis. I did not know all the facts we have learned only recently how close we were to war but I know enough to make me tremble” (Joseph Rotblat). During the Cuban missile crisis, leaders of the U.S. and the Soviet Union engaged in a tense, 13-day political and military standoff in October 1962 over the installation of nuclear-armed Soviet missiles on Cuba, just 90 miles from the U.S. shores. To keep news of the crisis from leaking, a concocted cold was blamed for President Kennedy’s cancellation of public events. Also president Kennedy notified all the

The first seven days the information is kept between Kennedy and his advisors. Those thirteen days that encompassed the Cuban Missile Crisis stand out as a particularly terrifying moment in American history. However, Kennedy did everything he could to stop this crisis from turning into something worse. On day one, (October 16) Kennedy and his advisors began to discuss how they would respond to this challenge. Two possible strategies were an air strike or naval quarantine. He wanted to avoid arousing public concern so he kept this information between him and his advisors. On day two, the American military began moving to bases in the Southeastern and U-2 flight shows images of more missiles being installed. On day three, President Kennedy was visited by Soviet Foreign Minister Andrei Gromyko, who asserted the Soviet aid to Cuba was purely defensive and does not represent a threat to the United States. However, JFK did not reveal his information on the existing missiles in Cuba. On day four in Washington, JFK's advisers continued the debate over the necessary and appropriate course of the action. Day five, Kennedy decided on a quarantine. He also planned a speech to notify the American people of the crisis. On day six Kennedy met with General Walter Sweeney of the tactical Air Command who tells him that an air strike could not guarantee complete destruction of the missiles. Kennedy continues to determine the

The Cuban Missile Crisis was October 16th through the 28th in the year of 1962, and it was one of the scariest situations that could have ended in a nuclear war. Earlier that month John F. Kennedy send a plane to spy on them and see if they were doing anything they were not supposed to and he saw that Cuba had nuclear missiles set out and they could fire them at any given moment if they wanted to. John F. Kennedy saw this and the next day he immediately went to talk to the leader of the Soviet Union. The leader of the Soviet Union was named Nikita Khrushchev and it was very hard for John F. Kennedy to make a deal with him so that he would put his nuclear missiles away. The deal was that if John F. Kennedy would remove his nuclear missiles from Turkey and Italy then The Soviet Union would have to remove their nuclear missiles from Cuba. John F. Kennedy also had to make an agreement that he would never invade Cuba again without direct provocation. This agreement also set a

The Cuban missile crisis of 1962 was the thirteen-day political standoff between the Soviet Union and the United states. To my knowledge, the crisis took place over whether nuclear weapons placed inside of Cuba were a threat to the United States. Under tremendous pressure, we see the crisis play out in the hands of John F. Kennedy. Handled very strategically and meticulously, President Kennedy very well saved the world from a human catastrophe. What president Kennedy was able to do at such a critical moment in time, gives the reader a great view into how the policymakers of yesterday, today, and the future should handle critical events.

In October of 1962, the United States and the Soviet Union came closer than at any previous point during The Cold War to direct and open hostilities. The Cuban Missile Crisis was the direct result of Soviet expansion initiatives in Cuba and America’s nuclear armament in Europe, while both of the “Super Powers” involved attempted to out maneuver each other politically.

The book covers and observes the events that took place from October 16th, 1962 to October 28th, 1962. It shows how ExComm was able to, with quick and intuitive thinking, persevere through even the toughest moments in the crisis. The book only covers the American point of view, from Robert Kennedy’s eyes and into the meeting room of Excomm. Robert Kennedy John F. Kennedy’s younger brother and attorney general, and soon senator. Robert Kennedy was assassinated on June 5th, 1968 by Sirhan Sirhan.From the Russian point of view, Max Frankel writes that one day, while the Soviet leader, Nikita S. Khrushchev wasn’t doing anything in particular, when suddenly, the idea of sending missiles to Cuba popped in his head. His reasoning was that if the Americans could have missiles pointed at Russia from Turkey, it should be acceptable that they could have missiles in Cuba pointed at them. So it began, missiles were sent to Cuba as inconspicuously as possible. For about a month, they secretly assembled and built up missiles in Cuba. Only a few people were told of the plan. Khrushchev planned to reveal the missiles in November, after the congressional elections, because the Americans would “make a fuss, make more fuss, and then accept.” (11,

In Thirteen Days, Robert Kennedy recollects his time with President John F. Kennedy in handling the Cuban Missile Crisis. The Cuban Missile Crisis, as described in Thirteen Days, started on October 16, 1962. President John F. Kennedy was provided with a photograph that gave little evidence of a missile base. The whole area was about the size of a football field and, to many of the cabinet, seemed like nothing. Kruschev, the chairman of the USSR said that there was nothing to worry about. When real proof was provided, the lies of Kruschev were exposed, and Robert Kennedy said, “I now know how Tojo felt when he was planning Pearl Harbor” (Kennedy, 25).

On one of the following days, Kennedy asked if the Air Force could take out all of the missiles in Cuba. The Air Force then told the President that with that process there would be 10-20,000 civilian casualties. Kennedy then decided to set up a blockade around Cuba. US ships prepared for a quarantine. The press then learned about the nuclear missles and questioned them about it, the President asked the reporters not to reveal the news so he could announce it to the American people on TV. The Soviets had instrustion to launch the missiles within minutes of Kennedy’s speech. After Castro listened to the President’s speech he moblized all of Cuba’s military forces.

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