Cuban Missile Crisis By: Logan Haller

Geography

Cuban Missile Crisis Pictures and Map

Summary/History of Conflict

On October 14 1962 a secret American spy plane obtained pictures of the Soviet Unions nuclear missile sites in Cuba. After President John F. Kennedy had secret meetings with Excom, he broadcasted his plan to put a naval blockade around Cuba to stop the Soviet ships, on October 22, 1962. The Soviets leader, Nikita Khrushchev, responded to the blockade by telling the United States they were risking war, and their blockade would be ignored. The US obtained this message on October 23rd, and they went into def-con 2, which is the highest nuclear alert in history. This meant the United States was only one step away from launching their nuclear weapons. On October 27 an American plane was shot down over Cuba, and therefore a US invasion force was prepared in Florida. US Secretary of Defense said “I thought it was the last Saturday I would ever see.” Both Kennedy and Khrushchev knew nuclear war would cause death of 100 million Americans and 100 million Russians. A KGB agent, Fomin, came in and proposed an agreement that if the United States would leave Cuba alone, then the Soviet Union would take their missiles out of Cuba. Therefore Khrushchev and Kennedy publicly agreed on this, but there was an additional agreement that the United States would take their missiles out of Turkey. This deal was kept secret for 25 years. The Cuban Missile Crisis was a thirteen day standoff between the Soviet Union and the United States, which started on October 14th 1962 and ended on October 28th 1962.

Key Institution Perspective #1 The United States

The United States was concerned of the nuclear warfare planted in Cuba by the Soviets just 90 miles off of Florida. One of their biggest concerns was that if these missiles became operational these missile sites would be able to hit targets in the eastern United States. This brought up complications of nuclear rivalry between the United States and the Soviet Union, which at that point had been controlled by the US. President Kennedy meet with his advisors when some f them told him it would be a good time to take out the Cuban Government with a US invasion. Kennedy said no because then Russia might think to attack the United States which could lead to nuclear war. Therefore he proposed to put a naval blockade around Cuba.

Key Institution Perspective #2 The Soviet Union

Nikita Khrushchev, the Soviets leader, took a gamble on sending missiles to Cuba. His goal was to improve the Soviet Union’s nuclear strike ability. The Soviets had been uneasy for a while because of the nuclear weapons implanted in Turkey. They thought putting nuclear weapons in Cuba was a way to level the power. In addition Castro, the leader of Cuba, and Khrushchev saw the missiles as a way to prevent US aggression toward Cuba. This aggression was shown when the United States launched an attack on them, also known as the failed Bay of Pigs invasion in 1961.

Suggestion For Peace

I suggest that the United States take missiles out of Turkey and stop aggression toward Cuba. In addition I suggest that the Soviet Union leave Cuba completely, and tear down their missile sites. Furthermore I suggest the UN be kept informed on the updates between them, and approve of their agreements and advise the countries on what to do. In addition the UN should see to it that all the requirements on the agreement were fulfilled by both countries. Finally I suggest to the United States and the Soviet Union to be tactical and smart on where they place warfare and what problems could occur from their missile sites.