The Role Of Leadership In 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

“I know there is a God--and I see a storm coming; If he has a place for me, I believe I am ready,” is the Abraham Lincoln quote, written on a slip of paper, that President John F. Kennedy kept in his pocket (Dobbs 14). And if ever there was a storm coming, it was evident to Kennedy the morning of October 16, 1962: the date Kennedy was made aware of Soviet missiles in Cuba. This was the testing ground, the closest the world has ever been to nuclear war, the Cuban Missile Crisis, 16-28 October, 1962. The future for millions of lives depended upon the ability of United States President John F. Kennedy and Russian Premier Nikita Khrushchev to reach an agreement in which both did not lose face, and more importantly, the world survived.

This Cuban Missile Crisis was one of the biggest events in American history. After World War II, much of Europe was left in ruins. Europe had been divided into two sections: eastern and western by the Iron Curtain. The Soviet Union and many new governments in Eastern Europe were communists, controlling everything from businesses to schools and people. As a result, the Cold War began with the Soviet Union and the United States became rivals competing to recruit other countries to their side.

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.

Explanation: Like what it is said. North Korea can and will be a threat, and we need to keep a close watch on them before it is too late. Everybody needs to be ready. Kim Jong Un looks like an innocent man but behind closed doors, that is where he is most dangerous. He can be planning and preparing an attack that nobody even know.

In October of 1962, Bill Doman was living the American dream in Salt Lake City Utah. He had a wife, three small children and a steady job. He had recently graduated from the University of Utah and was awaiting his formal release from the military reserves, having served briefly in the Korean War some nine years earlier. Bill is a proud American, a history buff, which cultivated his love of this county. Then, in just thirteen days, his way of thinking concerning the security of the United States and his very own family was changed forever with the advent of the Cuban missile crisis (Doman).

Thirteen Days: A Memoir of the Cuban Missile Crisis by Robert Kennedy is a book that details those almost fateful 13 days in October of 1962 that could have resulted in the destruction of mankind. Robert Kennedy was the brother of President John F. Kennedy; he served as the United States Attorney General and “closest cabinet advisor and confidant” during JFK’s presidential administration. The book sets out to provide you detail of just how difficult of a decision the president was tasked with regard to the missiles that Russia was placing in Cuba. It details the difficulty that the Executive Committee was tasked with. The decision whether to invade Cuba in a full on air strike or whether they should establish a blockade, preventing the Russians from placing any additional nuclear weapons on Cuban soil.

John F. Kennedy once said “It is insane that two men, sitting on opposite sides of the world, should be able to decide to bring an end to civilization”. This was related to the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962. The Cuban Missile Crisis was a brief but important confrontation between the United States and the Soviet Union. This was the closest the two ever came to a nuclear war. During this time the U.S. had to make many plans to try to not end up in a nuclear war. This was done with the help of a group called ExComm put together by President John F. Kennedy. There was much communication between the U.S. and the Soviets during this time which led to many problems but eventually a solution to the whole problem. During the Cuban Missile Crisis,

After learning the American history in from 1960s to 1970s, During John F. Kennedy administration, the Cuban missile crisis is attractive for me, but only did because the Cuban missile crisis was a watershed in the Soviet-American relationship, but also the brinkmanship is a special military policy, which was created in the crisis. The Cuban missile crisis also was considered as John F. Kennedy’s finest hour. Since we are living in a world where so many potential and uncertain nuclear deterrence and threats surround us, we still should strengthen our awareness to study the Cuban missile crisis. After I did some researches about this topic, I found that during more than fifty years, the Cuban missile crisis has been one of the most intensely

“Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe, in order to assure the survival and the success of liberty.” The words of the 35th president John F. Kennedy. During the 1960’s the Soviets were looking to have world power. So they decided to expand their power towards the America’s. while in Vietnam they always had trouble keeping independence and now communism is splitting the North and South and causing a civil war. Both the Cuban Missile Crisis and the Vietnam War illustrate the United States attempt to combat communism. The Cuban Missile Crisis in the prevention of a nuclear war. Whereas the Vietnam War ultimately curtailed the spread of communism.

The Cuban Missile Crisis was a crucial moment in American history. As tensions between the United States and the Soviet Union rose, so did the risk of nuclear war. The Soviets, under the leadership of Nikita Khrushchev, were in a position to strike the United States with nuclear missiles based in Cuba. This uncertain time caused much concern for the citizens of the United States and its President, John F. Kennedy (Brubaker, 2001).

During 1939-1945, the United States and Soviet Union were involved in the Cold War. When Cuba accepted communism, the United States tried to drive out Cuba’s leader, Castro, during the Bay of Pigs, but it failed (Kauffman). The U.S. were concerned even more when they discovered Soviet Missiles in Cuba. Kennedy had established a quarantine to try and stop weapons coming to Cuba, but it was still a mystery when it came to what Kennedy’s response would be. Many Americans were in favor of using military action to remove the missiles, while critics of military action wanted to negotiate with the Soviets instead. During the Cuban Missile Crisis, John F. Kennedy chose the best course of action to end the crisis because he was able to prevent war, get the Soviet’s to remove their missiles from Cuba, and avoid alienating the United State’s allies.

The Cuban Missile Crisis remains as a solitary occasion amid the Cold War and reinforced Kennedy's picture locally and universally. It additionally may have relieved negative world feeling with respect to the fizzled Bay of Pigs intrusion. Two other imperative aftereffects of the emergency came in novel structures. To begin with, notwithstanding the whirlwind of immediate and backhanded correspondences between the White House and the Kremlin—maybe as a result of it—Kennedy and Khrushchev, and their counselors, battled all through the emergency to obviously see every others' actual expectations, while the world held tight the verge of conceivable atomic war. With an end goal to keep this from happening once more, an immediate phone interface

The Cuban Missile Crisis The Cuban missile crisis was the most dangerous of the Cold War, but

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