The Cuban Missile Crisis was a thirteen day military and political standoff between the two superpowers of the 20th century. Starting on the 16th of October 1962, the United States of America (US) discovered nuclear missile launch sites belonging to the Soviet Union in Cuba. For thirteen days the US attempted to remove these missiles, while the world was as close as it ever has been to global nuclear war and fallout. The Cuban Missile Crisis was caused by several different factors, and ended with multiple effects.
Batista came to power in 1933 as a dictator. The dictatorship held great economic relations with the US. The dictatorship exploited the Cuban population with a lot of the Cuban economy going towards US multinationals and increasing …show more content…
The war was fought by proxy. Each country sought out allies and spread their ideologies around the world. For New Zealand we were the democratic capitalist ally of the US. We had two security treaties with the US, ANZUS and SEATO. For the Allies this would protect the Pacific from communism. The cold war was also conducted with the threat of nuclear missiles. These missiles were never launched due to the ‘MAD’ theory. Mutually Assured Destruction is where if either the US or the Soviets were to launch nuclear missiles against the other nation there would be full retaliation, both on that nation and their allies, potentially leading to nuclear war and global …show more content…
On the 16th of October President Kennedy was briefed on the situation, and there the Cuban Missile Crisis started. The US took this as an immediate aggressive threat needing urgent action. “…Kennedy interpreted the installation of missiles in Cuba as a move preparatory to a showdown on Berlin.” - Historian Ernest May. Chief of Staff of the US Airforce, General LeMay, supporter of the US Military industrial complex proposed the bombing of the Soviet Cuban nuclear missile launch sites, but was quickly dismissed as there were fears it could provoke nuclear missile launches or repercussions in Berlin. Berlin was controlled by the Soviets in the East and France, Britain and the US in the West, subsequent of World War
Batista came to power in 1933 as a dictator. The dictatorship held great economic relations with the US. The dictatorship exploited the Cuban population with a lot of the Cuban economy going towards US multinationals and increasing …show more content…
The war was fought by proxy. Each country sought out allies and spread their ideologies around the world. For New Zealand we were the democratic capitalist ally of the US. We had two security treaties with the US, ANZUS and SEATO. For the Allies this would protect the Pacific from communism. The cold war was also conducted with the threat of nuclear missiles. These missiles were never launched due to the ‘MAD’ theory. Mutually Assured Destruction is where if either the US or the Soviets were to launch nuclear missiles against the other nation there would be full retaliation, both on that nation and their allies, potentially leading to nuclear war and global …show more content…
On the 16th of October President Kennedy was briefed on the situation, and there the Cuban Missile Crisis started. The US took this as an immediate aggressive threat needing urgent action. “…Kennedy interpreted the installation of missiles in Cuba as a move preparatory to a showdown on Berlin.” - Historian Ernest May. Chief of Staff of the US Airforce, General LeMay, supporter of the US Military industrial complex proposed the bombing of the Soviet Cuban nuclear missile launch sites, but was quickly dismissed as there were fears it could provoke nuclear missile launches or repercussions in Berlin. Berlin was controlled by the Soviets in the East and France, Britain and the US in the West, subsequent of World War