Both the United States and the Soviet Union had strong military forces of aircrafts, ships, tanks, and soldiers. Both also had arsenals of thermonuclear hydrogen bombs that were capable of destroying entire cities and millions of people in an instant (Byrne 11). In addition to these weapons, both nations had intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) that could reach around the world (Byrne 42). So when the United States found Soviet missiles on Cuba, an island only 90 miles from U. S. shores, it posed a threat to the security of the nation.
So, over the course of thirteen days, U. S. President, John F. Kennedy and a group of advisors known as ExComm (the Executive Committee of the National Security Council) evaluated what to do with the missiles in Cuba. Start of the Crisis In October of 1962, President John F. Kennedy was informed that a U-2 Spy plane had found and taken pictures of Soviet nuclear missiles in Cuba. Furthermore, “the photographs showed that the Soviet Union was secretly positioning ballistic missiles in Cuba, just 90 miles (145 kilometers) off the coast of Florida” (Byrne 8).
The Cuban Missile Crisis was a moment during the Cold War, where President John F. Kennedy and Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev confronted each other, each with the power of mutual destruction. If a war were to happen, that would’ve meant the death of 100 million Americans and more than 100 million Russians (“History of the Cuban Missile Crisis”). Why it Happened Before the crisis, the two superpowers were allies, united to defeat Nazi Germany. But after World War II, their connections soured, as they competed for allies, power around the world, territory, in space, but the primary source of conflict was the divided city of Berlin, Germany.
Germany itself was divided into East Germany, who was allied with the U. S. S. R, and West Germany, which was partnered with N. A. T. O (the North Atlantic Treaty Organization) (Byrne 11-13). Additionally, America’s relations with Cuba were beginning to become weaker and weaker because of actions taken Cuba’s leader, Fidel Castro. Some of his actions included taking over American owned companies and territory. As Cuba’s ties to America were weakening, its ties with the Soviet Union strengthened. For instance, when the United States refused to buy sugar, which was vital to the Cuban economy, the Soviet Union agreed to buy sugar.
Furthermore, “Cuba’s ties to the U. S. S. R [the Union of Soviet Socialist Republic] were strengthened by two of Castro’s closest advisors- his brother, Raul Castro, and the legendary revolutionary, Che Guevara. Both men shared the communist ideology of the Soviets” (Byrne 22). Additionally, “another key factor in the Soviet missile scheme was… [that] the Kennedy administration had already launched one attack on the island- the failed Bay of Pigs invasion in 1961- and Castro and Khrushchev saw the missiles as a means of deterring further U. S. aggression” (“Cuban Missile Crisis”).
Castro allowed the Soviets to provide weapons and military aid to Cuba because he became paranoid that the United States would invade Cuba. He also tried not to appear too close to the Soviets because Castro knew this could provoke a U. S. invasion of Cuba (Byrne 22). The Soviets wanted a good ally against the United States because the Americans had allies surrounding the U. S. S. R. , such as Europe, Japan, and South Korea (Byrne 23). Unlike the Americans though, the Soviets had no military presence in the Western Hemisphere at all.
They did not even have their aircraft carriers within striking distance of the U. S. mainland (Byrne 24-25). So the Soviets saw positioning missiles on Cuba as a way of leveling the playing field. However, “from the outset of the crisis, Kennedy and ExComm determined that the presence of Soviet missiles in Cuba was unacceptable. The challenge… was to orchestrate their removal without initiating a wider conflict- and possibly nuclear war” (“Cuban Missile Crisis”). Ending the Crisis There were a variety of options to end the crisis, some of which consisted of a full-scale invasion of Cuba after bombing the missile sites.
Kennedy evaluated his options with his group of advisors, ExComm. Many of the members of ExComm wanted to destroy the missiles in a bombing raid without warning- it seemed the only logical thing to do (Byrne 32). But this option left the question of what they would do after they bombed Cuba. Soviet warplanes could threaten the southeastern states, like Florida. It also left the question of whether or not aircrafts and other targets should be bombed to prevent military retaliation, and if the raids should be followed by a full-scale invasion of Cuba (Byrne 32).
In the end, “… Kenedy ultimately decided on a more measured approach. First, he would employ the U. S. Navy to establish a blockade… of the island to prevent the Soviets from delivering additional missiles and military equipment. Second, he would deliver an ultimatum that the existing missiles be removed” (“Cuban Missile Crisis”). Despite the tensions between the nations, the two leaders worked it out by communications and letters. Khrushchev sent a letter to Kennedy and saying that he would remove the missiles from Cuba if the United States did not invade.
The next day, Khrushchev sent a letter that said that the U. S. S. R. would dismantle the missiles if the United States removed their missiles from Turkey. The Kennedy administration publicly accepted the first deal, but denied the second one, while secretly they did take their missiles out of Turkey. Aftermath The missiles were removed from Cuba, due to both the measures taken by the government, and also from letters the leaders of the nation’s exchanged. Nikita Khrushchev was forced out of power in 1964 in the Soviet Union, a little less than two years after the crisis.
The main charge against him was that he bungled the Cuban affair and harmed the Soviet Union’s global military strategy (Byrne 83). Furthermore, “President John F. Kennedy was assassinated after the crisis- on November 22, 1963, in Dallas, Texas. The assassin, Lee Harvey Oswald, was a communist and an open supporter of Fidel Castro’s Cuba” (Byrne 81). Moreover, “before he was killed, the president signed an important arms control treaty that helped ease tensions with the Soviets.
The president also helped create a telephone hotline, a direct line of communication between the American president and the Soviet premier that was used when dangerous situations arose” (Byrne 82-83). Conclusion The Cuban Missile Crisis was an intense thirteen day standoff where American President, John F. Kennedy, and Soviet Premier, Nikita Khrushchev, confronted each other on the brink of nuclear war. When President John F. Kennedy was alerted that a U-2 Spy Plane had taken photographs of nuclear tipped missiles on Cuba, he assembled ExComm and evaluated options of how to deal with the missiles in Cuba.
One of the main options was to attack Cuba in a bombing raid and then invade afterwards, but Kennedy declined and instead imposed a naval blockade. Khrushchev then made a deal with Kennedy, saying that if Kennedy didn’t invade Cuba, the Soviets would remove their missiles. They also said that they would do this if the United States removed their missiles from Turkey. Kennedy agreed and a full-out nuclear war was avoided. Also, as a result, the two nations established a hotline that would be used if any other confrontations came up and they could be worked out peacefully.
