Cuban Missile Crisis

The Cuban Missile Crisis

The closest the world ever came to its own destruction was the event known to Americans as the Cuban Missile Crisis. In Cuba this event is known as the October Crisis of 1962, and in the former Soviet Union it was known as the Caribbean Crisis. The Soviets had installed nuclear missiles in Cuba, just 90 miles off the coast of the United States and the U. S. armed forces were at their highest state of readiness. The Soviet Union field commanders in Cuba were authorized to use tactical nuclear weapons if invaded by the U.S. The fate of millions literally hinged upon the ability of two men, President John F. Kennedy and Premier Nikita Khrushchev, to reach a compromise.

During the next two weeks of deliberation and negotiation, the two countries edged as close to nuclear devastation as the world has ever come. The Cuban Missile Crisis was the most serious U.S.-Soviet confrontation of the Cold War; this crisis was so intense that it absorbed the entire attention of President Kennedy and his closest advisers for nearly two weeks while the nation stood paralyzed on the brink of nuclear war.

In the first weeks of September 1962, American U-2 spy planes discovered that the Soviet Union was building surface-to-air launch sites. In addition to this discovery there were a growing number of Soviet ships arriving in Cuba. The United States feared that these ships were carrying a new supply of weapons to Cuba. President John F. Kennedy, upset by these findings, complained to the Soviet Union about these developments and warned them that the United States would not allow offensive weapons in Cuba. (NSA, http://www.nsa.gov/publications/publi00033.cfm)

With the SAM sites now actively installed, Cuban's possessed the ability to shoot down U-2 spy planes, putting Kennedy in a difficult position. Elections for the United States Congress were only two months away and with America's waning support of the President it was crucial for Kennedy to make the right decision. President Kennedy's ratings had fallen to their lowest point since he took office in 1961 and the polls suggested that after the congressional elections, support for Kennedy would continue to decline. Kennedy began to restrict U-2 flights over Cuba and pilots were told to avoid flying the whole length of the island. The President hoped this would ensure that a U-2 plane would not be shot down, and would prevent Cuba from becoming a major issue during the congressional election campaign. (Smith, The Polls, 1-5)

While there was scatted evidence starting as early as July in 1962 of increased Soviet military assistance to Cuba, the presence of air defense missiles was not confirmed until August 29. By October 10 the United States military was aware that median-range bombers were shipped to Cuba, however absolute proof of these medium-range ballistic missiles did not become available until the examination of photographs taken on October 14 was completed on the following day. Schaller states that the photographs taken by a U-2 spy plane "showed the construction fifteen miles south of Havana of a launching site for missiles with a range of about two thousand miles." Further photographic evidence on the size and type of the Soviet buildup was obtained during the following days as high altitude air surveillance was greatly increased by the President. (NSA,http://www.nsa.gov/publications/publi00033.cfm) (Schaller, Present Tense, 189.)

In reaction to the information about the missiles in Cuba, President Kennedy immediately called for a meeting to discuss what should be done. Under the direction of Robert S. McNamara, Secretary of Defense, the Executive Committee of the National Security Council was formed. Over the next seven days guarded and intense debate took place in the United States administration to discuss various strategies for dealing with the crisis. During this time Soviet diplomats denied that installations for offensive missiles were being built in Cuba. (History, Cuban, http://www.answers.com/topic/cuban-missile-crisis )

Many tactics were considered. One reaction was to do nothing and ignore the missiles under the pre-text that the United States had several nuclear missiles in countries close to the Soviet Union therefore the Soviets had a right to place missiles in Cuba. The U.S. also considered negotiating a deal with the soviets requiring them to dismantle her missiles in Cuba and in exchange the U.S. would take their missiles out of Turkey and Italy. Some members of the Security Council proposed to invade Cuba and overthrow the government disengaging the Soviet's ability to use the missiles. Bombings and nuclear weapons were also considered as means to dismantle the Cuban and Soviet threat. Lastly, a Navel blockade was proposed to stop the Soviet Union from shipping military equipment to Cuba. (Trueman, Cuban, http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/cuba.htm )

When discussing these strategies President Kennedy and his advisers had to take into consideration how the Soviet Union and Cuba would react to decisions made by the United States. The initial response among most of the participants was that the missiles had to be bombed, but Kennedy was not convinced that this was the best route to take. Throughout the next couple of days the security committee became more and more divided. Eventually the majority of the committee favored a navel blockade of Cuba and Kennedy accepted their decision. (Marxists, The Missile, http://www.marxists.org/history/cuba/subject/missile-crisis/ch03.htm )

In a televised address on October 22, President Kennedy announced to the American public the discovery of the missile installations and proclaimed that the United States will "regard any nuclear missile launched from Cuba against any nation in the Western Hemisphere as an attack by the Soviet Union on the United States, requiring a full retaliatory response upon the Soviet Union." Kennedy imposed a strict quarantine on all Cuban-bound military equipped ships to prevent the arrival of more missiles. The United States naval forces would intercept and inspect ships to determine whether they were carrying weapons. For several tense days Soviet vessels on their way to Cuba avoided the quarantine zone, and Khrushchev and Kennedy communicated through diplomatic negotiation. (Marxists, The Missile, http://www.marxists.org/history/cuba/subject/missile-crisis/ch03.htm ) Kennedy, Cuban, http://www.presidentialrhetoric.com/historicspeeches/kennedy/cubanmisslecrisis.html )

In addition to the naval blockade, a tremendous amount of nuclear firepower was deployed to discourage any