Key Factors of the Cuban Missile Crisis Essay

The Cuban rocket crisis of October 1962 is verbalise to be the ne arst the world has ever so come to atomic war uttermoste, even now in invest ms when weapons are twain to a greater extent advanced and somewhat dispensable. It was the maven most dangerous crisis of the cold war era and centred around Cuba in which the Soviet aggregate were found by the joined States to put up secretly installed ballistic projectiles.For xiv days the fate of the world secular in the hands of the two world position leaders, namely the President of the get together States, nates Fitzjerald Kennedy, and the leader of the Soviet kernel, Nikita Khrushchev, while they deliberated whether or non to embrace military satisfy against one a nonher. Resolution of the crisis came about as a result of both leaders coming to an agreement that verbalise missiles would be dismantled and military serve would not be interpreted. Having said this there was participation, accent and complication t o endure prior to this agreement.It is master(prenominal) to take a shit a background instinct of what brought about the crisis before describing the resolving factors leaders up to settlement. Carroll Quighey describe how the pattern of a classic diplomatic crisis has 3 stages which are confrontation, recognition and finally settlement and we shall feel at the Cuban missile crisis with alleviate from this pattern. As mentioned above, the set-back stage of a diplomatic crisis pattern is that of confrontation, described by Quighey as a dispute- a mogul struggle in an area of strife.In the case of the Cuban missile crisis the power struggle was among the united States and the Soviet Union and the area of conflict was Cuba. At this time, the premier(a) of Cuba was Fidel Castro. Relations between Cuba and the United States were poor and on April 17th, 1961, behind F. Kennedy authorised an travail to subvert the Cuban authoritarian in an event cognise as the Bay of Pigs i nvasion. Kennedys anti-Castro ascension failed but made the Cuban dictator wary of another US set about to occupy or flame.It was then that the Soviet Union increased its support for Fidel Castros Cuban Regime and secretly installed the ballistic missiles in Cuba. Kennedy was left in the glooming about the missiles until Tuesday 16th October. McGeorge Bundy, the Presidents National Security Advisor, handed Kennedy photos taken secretly from U-2 formulatees which conveyed thermo atomic-armed missiles being set up on the island of Cuba by Soviet soldiers. It was cerebrate that said missiles were of an offensive nature and that challenge needed to be taken against this nuclear threat. tush Gaddis suggested it was the largest amphibious operation the Soviet Union had ever mounted. When confronted Khrushchev claimed that it was a form of humanitarian aid and his inaccents were to exc enforce Castros revolution from another Ameri stand invasion. Contrary to this is the opinion t hat the Soviet Union leader saw personal prospect in the missile instalment as a smasheds of amending the strategic instability between the Soviet Union and the United States.It was all part of the arms run and the presence of Russian missiles in Cuba had drastically altered the balance of world power . Having said this, Khrushchev did not want to nonplus a war and allegedly declared of the Americans Every idiot can vary a war but it is hopeless to win this wartherefore the missiles cause one exercise- to scare them. Whether motive for Cuban protection or self gain, the tension between the Americans and the Soviet Union worse and Kennedy recognised that something would induct to be done.This takes us into the next stage as described by Quighey- recognition. Kennedy was easily aware that action needed to be taken to break apart the growing conflict between the two superpowers but was unsure as to whether to take the diplomatic or military loftyway of resolution. John G addis claims that early critics went as far as to say that he (Kennedy) would have risked a nuclear war quite an than trade even worthless missiles in washout however as lead be revealed they could not have been more wrong.Choosing to declare nuclear war against the Soviets would have brought global devastation. The American Political scholarship Review stated that had the worst occurred, the final stage of ascorbic acid million Americans, over 100 million Russians, and millions of Europeans (as well) would make previous raw(a) calamities and inhumanities appear insignificantAlternatively Kennedy could convey not to act and allow the Soviets to push their collection of nuclear weapons yet this would mean that there would always be misgiving and uncertainty that the Soviet Union would attack at a later date. in that respect was also concern that should he not confront the Soviets and allow multiplication of arms in Cuba to continue there would be a backlash from the many c ountries of the horse opera Hemisphere whose safety would be in jeopardy. How the resolution of the crisis would come about was in the hands of the superpower leaders and Khrushchev was for a few days unaware both that the United States government knew the extent of blazon which was kept in Cuba and that they had photographic evidence.allegedly Georgi Bolshakov whom was relie upon by both leaders for passing sensitive communications even lied to the President face to face on the 18th October (about the missiles) by which time John F. Kennedy knew what was happening. The fact that Khrushchev was unaware of how clued up Kennedy actually was gave the President the advantage of time to weigh up his plectrums. In an attempt to come to a purpose as to how all could be resolved, Kennedy called for a brush with 14 of his most trusted associates and during their sermon they circled different strategies.This group was known as the Ex Comm. At this point his think was on military picka xes and how to mute the crisis for a period of time until they had made a plan. Khrushchev remaining in the dark gave them an advantage. The outset was to do nothing and to ignore the missiles in Cuba but this was ruled out as Kennedys concern for a Soviet surprise attack at a later date was great. The arcminute option was negotiation. The United States would occupy their nuclear missiles from Italy and Turkey in return for the Soviet Union dismantling those missiles in Cuba.The third option was to invade Cuba in an attempt to overthrow Castro and in doing so ensure the Soviet Union could no longer use Cuba as a military base. This plan was too much a monitor of the Bay of Pigs invasion failure besides and was also ruled out. In add-on they discussed the option of a ocean forbid whereby the United States would prevent Russian address of military equipment from reaching Cuba by employ naval forces.Finally considered was the bombing of missile bases via an air strike as well as simply using nuclear weapons against Cuba and/or the Soviet Union yet each of these were unappealing and seemed more apt(predicate) to result in failure than not. Gaddis describes how although the usual consensus was in favour of an attack preferably than a more diplomatic resolution, Kennedy could not be swayed. He secretly save his meetings and the tapes show him repeatedly pushing for a compromise by proverb we cant very well invade Cuba when we could have gotten (the Soviet missiles) ut by making a deal on the same missiles in Turkey. win clarifying his unwillingness to invade was a statement he made next his public statement about the Soviet missiles in Cuba where he was quoted as verbalize though a lot of wad want to invade Cuba. I would be opposed to it today. A naval debar was eventually decided upon. Kennedy organised a line of US navy ships vitamin D miles off the Cuban coast- this line was label a quarantine line. The purpose of the quarantine line was to i nhibit the sales pitch of nuclear arms from the USSR to the island.Once the decision had been made a speech was lively by Theadore Sorensen, an associate of Kennedy, explaining to the world the reasons for why it was necessary for the quarantine line to be in place. Even although the majority of Americans were buoyant with this decision, in many cities elsewhere Kennedys choice of action was unpopular. This resulted in demonstrations and protestation about the possibility of nuclear war. Having said this, the U. S. S. R seemed to accept the intercept without lather out.The low gear break in the tension-filled dead-end street camewhen a dozen of the twenty v Russian ships en route to Cuba any altered or reversed their cover Khrushchev and Kennedy contacted each other through garners. As mentioned previously Khrushchev did not want to image a nuclear war and precisely warned Kennedy against it as well. He wrote to Kennedy personally saying be careful, as we both draw at the ends of the rope in which we have tied the knot of war conveyancing that war was not what he had mean .On October 26th, after the naval deflect was put in place, Khrushchev wrote to Kennedy. In his letter he requested that the naval stuff be lifted and for Kennedys contrive that the United States would not invade Cuba. In return, the Soviet Union would dismantle and extirpate the missiles as well as immobilize shipments of weapons to Cuba. Carol Quighey described his letter as long and confused and stated that its tactile property clearly showed his personal panic . however if a day later Khrushchev direct another letter demanding that the United States remove their nuclear bases in Turkey. Prior to replying to either, Kennedy consulted his brother, lawyer General Bobby Kennedy. Bobby is credited for showing semipolitical astuteness needed to resolve the ever more complex situation by Robin Cross. Bobby suggested that Kennedy reply all to the first letter and disreg ard the second. Thus therefore, Kennedy wrote to Khrushchev agreeing not to invade Cuba and to lift the naval blockade if the missile bases from Cuba were removed.On Saturday 27th October the Soviet Foreign Officer published a very different text that suggested a deal had been made not only to take down the missile bases in Cuba but also those in Turkey. Kennedy had replied only to the first letter and ignored the second request involving Turkey. Despite the fact that said Turkey bases were to be dismantled regardless of Soviet interest, the White House rejected this publication and stated that they would remove the naval blockade in exchange for remotion of Soviet missiles in Cuba and promise not to invade Cuba.On the following Sunday, Khrushchev denote his acceptance. Work on missile sites was stop and dismantled under careful utterance of the UN. To conclude, ultimately Kennedy prevailed and resolved the deathly business organization of a nuclear war from inside Cuba. Walter Trohan wrote about the Cuban missile crisis in the New York Tribute in November 1962 that for the first time in twenty years the Americans can carry their head high because the President of the United States has stood up to the Premier of Russia and made him back down.