The Jupiter Missile Crisis

World War III is an alarming event to ponder on right? Especially if that war would be nuclear. This event almost happened on multiple occasions, but this is going to be about a nerve-racking time in 1962. What happened in 1962 you may ask? The Cuban Missile Crisis. Just as the year was coming to an end an American spy plane took pictures of missiles in an island 103 miles off the coast of Florida, Cuba. Can theorize who put the missiles there? The USSR put them there because Cuba was a neighboring communist country to the US, so if the US were to do something the USSR could shoot the missiles. Mind you, these weapons are nuclear and as we should all know that is never excellent. After this very stressful time for the US and the USSR how did

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

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

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

On October 22 JFK announced that the Soviets had long range missiles in Cuba, which posed a dangerous threat to the United States. Kennedy ordered a naval blockade to stop Soviets from delivering more missiles. The Soviets on the other hand were heading right for the blockade and Americans prepared for war. Kennedy and the Soviets had secret negotiations were at the end the Soviets offered a deal. The deal was the Soviets would remove missiles from Cuba if the US promised to not invade Cuba and they had to remove their missiles from Turkey. On October 28 both Kennedy and Khrushchev came to an agreement because neither one wanted nuclear war. Kennedy’s quick thinking and his willingness to negotiate with the Soviets was the only reason the US was able to avoid going to nuclear war. Kennedy after the Cuban missile crisis had many ideas that he wished to implicate but sadly he was assassinated before he could do

The Missile Crisis developed in 1962 because Fidel Castro believed that America would soon try again to invade his country. He asked the Soviet Union for help in defending his island nation. The Soviet Union replied by sending small arms, tanks, and infantry units to Cuba, as well as secretly transferring nuclear missiles to missile silos that were under construction in Cuba. The Americans were shocked when one of their U-2 spy planes discovered the nuclear silos under construction in Cuba because it meant that for the first time the Soviet missiles were within range of most major U.S. cities, including Washington, D.C. This created a very difficult problem for American President John F. Kennedy for which he needed to find a solution. He could not allow the missile silos to finish being constructed because that would place the United States in danger. That meant that either he would have to try diplomatic means to attempt to negotiate the removal of the weapons, or he would have to use the might of the American military to remove the weapons by force. Neither option looked particularly favourable. The Joint Chiefs of Staff (the President's military advisors) urged a swift and strong military invasion to destroy the silos before the Soviets could react. Kennedy was concerned, however, of the possibility of Soviet nuclear retaliation for the invasion because invasion was clearly an act of war. Up until that point, neither side had been willing to risk direct

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

On October 15, 1962, the United States viewed reconnaissance photographs of Cuba and discovered Soviet missiles which were under construction. The next day President John F. Kennedy was informed of the discovery and the President formed a group of twelve advisors to plan and handle the crisis. The advisors met for seven days to plan a strategy on how to handle the crisis and on October 22, 1962, President Kennedy revealed the crisis to the American public and of his decision to surround and blockade Cuba. President Kennedy also made the announcement that the Soviets would need to remove their missiles from Cuba and any missiles fired from Cuba would be considered a direct threat to and attack on the United States.

After obtaining Fidel Castro 's approval, the Soviet Union worked quickly and secretly to build missile installations in Cuba. On October 16, President John Kennedy was shown reconnaissance photographs of Soviet missile installations under construction in Cuba. After seven days of guarded and intense debate in the United States administration, during which Soviet diplomats denied that installations for offensive missiles were being built in Cuba, President Kennedy, in a televised address on October 22, announced the discovery of the installations and proclaimed that any nuclear missile attack from Cuba would be regarded as an attack by the Soviet Union and would be responded to accordingly. He also imposed a naval quarantine on Cuba to prevent further Soviet shipments of offensive military weapons from arriving there.During the crisis, the two sides exchanged many letters and other communications, both formal and back channel. Khrushchev sent letters to

It's hard to think that the press of a button by any world leader at any moment. You and everyone you knew would would disappear without any notice. Each country had their own nuclear weapons during the cold war and knew they could destroy each other but during the cuban missile crisis this was the closet both countries came to having an all out nuclear war. Destruction was feared the most for the 13 days it took place. After the failed attempt at attacking cuba known as the bay of pigs, cuba asked for help from the ussr and they happily agreed. They secretly set up nuclear missiles in cuba to protect cuba and the soviet union took it as an advantage.

Only a few months after the United States’ sponsored Cuban invasion at the Bay of Pigs, Fidel Castro had declared himself to be Marxist-Leninist, obligating the Soviet Union to protect his vulnerable communist nation. After Fidel asked the Soviet Union for weapons, trade alliances, and even Soviet soldiers, the Soviets suggested a different approach - medium-range ballistic missiles. Castro agreed, and in 1962, Cuba was the center of world focus when the United States discovered the construction sites of Soviet nuclear missiles on Cuban soil. Posing an obvious threat to American safety, the Cuban Missile Crisis, brought the world the closest it ever came to nuclear war. As the tensions of the Missile Crisis grew, Castro wrote Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev urging him to use the missiles and to sacrifice Cuba if necessary. Being only 90 miles from the US mainland, President Kennedy urged a need for the missiles to be dismantled. The Soviet Union finally agreed to remove the missiles on the condition that the United States dismantles its nuclear weapons deployed in Turkey and that they sign a pledge not to invade Cuba. Significantly,

While the meeting was still taking place, a US aircraft was shot down by a missile launched from Cuba. The news of this intensified current negotiations going on between the US and the Soviet Union. President Kennedy decided not to launch a counter attack upon discovering this news because it would lead to a greater conflict. The Soviet Union denied claim that it was they who ordered the aircraft to be shot down and stated that the Cuban acted on their own accord under the direction of Military leader Raul Castro. Kennedy was feeling pressured to take the Soviets counter offer of a missile exchange although the NATO and the Turkish government were strongly against it claiming it would undermine their power. However, during a meeting by emissaries

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.

A 13-day political and military standoff on October 1962 over the installation of nuclear armed Soviet missiles on Cuba, just 90 miles from U.S. shores was the Cuban Missile Crisis. The US responded after news that Cuba obtained nuclear power the US performed a naval blockade making it clear that the US was prepared to use military force to neutralize the threat if necessary. Huge tensions were created because of this as the idea of a nuclear war was very possible. Both superpowers the US and USSR wanted more nuclear capabilities than the other and were reluctant to give out their advantage over. However through the enormous tensions that were built up both sides managed to make a deal. Khrushchev sent a message to Kennedy in which he offered