Cuban Missile Crises

Thirteen Days of Chaos

Ð'ЃgAlthough it may seem that the events of the seven days between October fifteenth and the twenty eighth unfolded at a blinding pace, the entire incident known as the Ð'ЃeCuban Missile CrisesÐ'Ѓf, was the culmination of a longer process.Ð'Ѓh (1). This longer process was known as The Cold War which lasted roughly thirty years starting around the year nineteen fifty. Though there were many scary times during this nuclear struggle between America and The Soviet Union, The Cuban Missile Crises was the height of Cold War. America was on the brink of a nuclear war. There were many people and events that played a large role in how the missile crises was worked out. (4).

In June of nineteen sixty one, upon recently taking office as president of The United States, John F. Kennedy attended a summit with Premier Khrushchev, the ruler of the Soviets at the time. In this summit they discussed Cold War issues between the east and west, in particular the situation in Berlin. After failing to come to any agreements, Khrushchev began to view Kennedy as a weak president who lacked the power and support to negotiate any useful agreements in the arms race. (1). In other words, the Soviets thought that fair and just agreements were going to be impossible and that it was a perfect time to go after the United States. Fueled by concerns that the United States had more weapons than the Soviets at the time, the Soviet leadership grew increasingly desperate to somehow tip the balance of power in its favor. Since Kennedy had placed several medium-range nuclear missiles in Turkey, which were just across the Black Sea from the Soviet Union within sight of Khrushchev's summer home, they knew that Cuba would be a perfect spot for their weapons. (5). This is basically how the whole crises began in Cuba.

Ð'ЃgIt is not surprising that the Soviets chose Cuba as their stage of operations against the U.S. Ever since his rise to power in 1959, Cuban Premier Fidel Castro struggled to survive America's efforts to "encourage" his political demise.Ð'Ѓh (1). After General Castro came to power in Cuba, the United States stopped buying sugar and other products. Even more so, America refused to supply its former trading partner with oil that the Cubans needed badly. After stopping U.S. troops and Cuban exiles at the Bay of Pigs, Castro watched the American armed forces stage a mock invasion of a Caribbean island. Ð'ЃgThe purpose of the invasion was to overthrow a leader whose name, Ortsac, was Castro spelled backwards. Although Ortsac was not a real name, Castro got the message that the U.S. was serious about invading Cuba. Sensing an opportunity to gain a strategic foothold in America's "back yard," Khrushchev eagerly extended an offer to help the desperate Cuban general. He offered Castro new trade opportunities, to ease the effects of U.S. sanctions, and also promised protection from the U.S. if it was needed. The communist alliance, between Castro and Khrushchev, laid the ground for what started in a Soviet missile base in Cuba which began the Cuban missile crisis.Ð'Ѓh (1).

The missiles that were sent to Cuba by the Soviets were first found on October the fifteenth of nineteen sixty-two. A U2 reconnaissance plane that was being flown by Richard Heyser spotted the SS-4 nuclear missiles. (1). This was just before the CIA found out that five thousand Russian military technicians were in Cuba, and many other military weapons were being unloaded onto the island. Some reports showed the presence of SAMs (surface-to-air missiles) and torpedo boats with ship-to-ship rockets. A day later President Kennedy found out about this and immediately ordered his Executive Committee to come up with all possible options for America. There were basically only two reasonable options, to invade Cuba and destroy the missiles or negotiate with the Soviets. Previous negotiations had been very unsuccessful though. (6). Neither course of action looked very favorable. A nuclear war would devastate the world while negotiations could be useless. Khrushchev sent his first of two letters to Kennedy on October 24, 1962 in which he explained his reasons for installing the missiles. He said that his actions were not aggressive, and that they would remove them immediately if the US missiles in Turkey were dismantled. This seemed fairly reasonable to Kennedy and he publicly promised not to invade Cuba after these letters. (3). Kennedy did though inform the Soviet ambassador Anatoly Dobrynin, that the United States would closely watch all military activity in Cuba. He also warned that there would be severe consequences if the Soviets attempted to launch any offensive weapons. Khrushchev apparently did not believe KennedyÐ'Ѓfs message. According to American intelligence the missiles armed and ready to be fired. This forced Kennedy to ask Congress for the authority to mobilize over one hundred thousand reservists into active duty. The Soviets response was that they could fire rockets from the Soviet Union just as easily as from Cuba, but America knew that they could defend from an attack from the Soviet Union much easier. (6). The constant battle back and forth between the two countries lasted throughout the thirteen days.

The American media did not ease the situation either. They were calling KhrushchevÐ'Ѓfs actions Ð'Ѓgaggressive and militantÐ'Ѓh. This started a nationwide panic while Kennedy and his advisors were debating whether or not to invade Cuba or to negotiate with Khrushchev. At this point the situation was turned into a crisis, there was total panic. (4). It might have been much easier for the President to deal with the situation if the public was not in such a panic.

At this point a few days into the crises, after all hell has broke loose, John McCone, the CIA director, was regularly sending President Kennedy reports of missiles that were capable of launching a nuclear warhead being sent to Cuba. Even more scouts and U2Ð'Ѓfs were sent to the west end of Cuba. On October fourteenth, the CIA reported that construction had begun in yet another sight for even more missiles. Despite the increased state of readiness in the United States, many people did not realize that the Soviet Union had done nothing on its home territory during the crisis. Its own fleet of missile launchers was not even mobilized and neither were their reserves. This is part of what the public did not know. If the soviets were prepared for war then they needed to be prepared in their own country as well. There were not any threats against Berlin during this time either and regardless of what the Soviets said, the United States were still far ahead in the nuclear