• Home Page
  • Mishandling Of The Cuban Missile Crisis

Mishandling Of The Cuban Missile Crisis

Great Essays
Show More
The Mishandling of the Cuban Missile Crisis Some of the most nerve-racking moments in United States history happened during the Cold War. Every day, people worried that the Soviet Union was about to launch a full-scale nuclear attack on them. These types of worries peaked in the early 1960s because of the Cuban Missile Crisis. Castro’s growing relationship with Khrushchev started to really instill fear into not only the American public, but to the entire world as a whole. Not only was the Soviet Union forming an alliance with an unpredictable dictator, their nuclear weapons were now considerably closer to United States land. This meant that the United States would now have very little time to react if they were attacked. Now, despite the fact …show more content…
Because of this, their relationship with the Soviet Union immediately went south. Both sides were trying to exceed each other’s nuclear arsenal. In addition, the United States’ various attempts at stopping Communism from spreading, such as the Korean War, led to a countless amount of threats and false alarms. So, in late 1959, the United States sent “fifteen nuclear tipped Jupiter missiles” to Turkey to try and intimidate the Soviets (GWU, n.d., p.1). At this time, relations between the United States and Cuba started to get rocky as well. Fidel’s Castro’s Communist belief put him and the American’s hot list. So much so that in August of 1960, the US underwent their first assassination attempt on Castro with a poisoned box of cigars (GWU, n.d., p. 2). This, along with several trade embargos placed on Cuba, made Castro grow paranoid towards the United States. He believed that the capitalist leaders in America would do anything they could to get rid of him, and after seeing their failed assassination attempt, he knew that killing him was an option. This concern was strengthened with the failed Bay of Pigs Invasion. The CIA organized and trained around 1400 Cuban exiles and rebels to try and overthrow Castro’s government (GWU, n.d., p. 2). They were supposed to take out Castro’s air support around the Bay of Pigs so that US trained Cuban exiles could land on the beach and take out the government outposts as they continued through Cuba. But in an attempt to keep their involvement out of the invasion, they cancelled some of the previously planned airstrikes on local airfields. Because of this, Castro’s supporters were able to completely hold back the rebels and the United State’s involvement in the invasion was revealed. Nearly a year later, Castro began installing Soviet nuclear warheads on Cuban land. Then, in August of 1962, American spy planes spotted those

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    Analysis: How Did The US Contain Communism
    • 615 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Analysis: How Did The US Contain Communism

    On January 1959, Fidel Castro became the communist leader of Cuba. As a result of this inauguration, Soviet’s ship hundreds of thousands of warheads to Cuba. A map created from various sources state, “US announces a quarantine against ships carrying offensive weapons to Cuba.” The United States, once again, interferes to prevent the Soviet Union from installing weapons in Cuba that are in range of U.S land. As a result of this quarantine, the Soviets began to remove their missiles, five days later. This shows that the United States quickly ended the threat of Soviet bombs and prevented the expansion of the Soviet Nation.…

    • 615 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
    Read More
  • Improved Essays

    Cuban Missile Crisis 1960s
    • 461 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Cuban Missile Crisis 1960s

    One significant Cold War event of the 1960s included the Cuban Missile Crisis. Broadly, this crisis was a thirteen day conflict in 1962 involving the United States and the Soviet Union regarding the installment of Soviet airstrike missiles in Cuba. This situation was globally televised and was the nearest the Cold War had ever come to a nuclear war. Tension between superpowers, Fidel Castro, and the Bay of Pigs Invasion led this event to unfold as it did and the event took the Western bloc in an entirely new direction.…

    • 461 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
    Read More
  • Superior Essays

    Causes Of The Cold War Dbq
    • 1159 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Causes Of The Cold War Dbq

    The United States financially supported the anti-communist nationalists led by Ngo Dinh Diem from 1954 to 1964. In 1965, the first United States troops arrived in south Vietnam. The Vietnam War was long and brutal. The United States ultimately lost the war. Communism spread from Vietnam to Laos and Cambodia. The United States experienced little to no success in Southeast Asia and that was not the end to the failures. The United States supported the Cuban leader Fulgencio Batista during the 1950s. In 1959, a revolution led by Fidel Castro took control of Cuba’s government. Castro implemented social reforms and improved the economy which satisfied the Cuban people. Castro also suspended elections, controlled press, jailed or executed opponents, and nationalized U.S. owned sugar mills and refineries. These acts of Castro prompted President Eisenhower to order an embargo on Cuba. Castro had to turn to the U.S.S.R. for economic and military aid. By 1960, all Cuban businesses were nationalized without compensation. The United States broke off ties with Cuba and Castro was seen as an enemy. 1961, a CIA trained group of Cuban exiles invaded Cuba in what is known as the Bay of Pigs. The invasion was a complete failure for the United States. The Bay of Pigs disaster made the United States look weak. Khrushchev, leader of the U.S.S.R., built missile sites in Cuba.…

    • 1159 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
    Read More
  • Superior Essays

    Compare John F Kennedy Response To The Cold War Response
    • 1040 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Compare John F Kennedy Response To The Cold War Response

    Kennedy suggest a different approach to communism, called the Flexible Response. In President Kennedy’s speech he brought attention to the many Americans fed up with the prolonged ending of the Cold War. Kennedy delivered his Flexible Response prior to the Cuban Missile Crisis, which was perhaps one of the closest introductions to war in all the Cold War era. He believed Americans must face the chances of war in order to keep the remaining peace between the United States and the Soviet Union. He admitted that ‘Americans should work with Nations that lack freedom in order to strengthen its cause (Kennedy). During Kennedy’s term throughout the Cold War, Cuba played a big part in the Communist Regime of the Soviet Union. In 1961, trained Cuban citizens had plans to demolish the communist government of the Cuban dictator, Fidel Castro (Kennedy). The Bay of Pigs Invasion was an epic fail for those on the side of freedom and democracy. Circumstances were not looking any better for frustrated Americans, and starting another world war was not an option at this point. President Kennedy believed that the weapons of the United States would not have been effective when up against the war tactics of the communists (Kennedy). Kennedy believed that America needed a new response to the undeclared war, because the United States was no longer superior to its enemies (Kennedy). The United States began to compete with the Soviet Union in what was known as The Space Race, Russia was no longer the only country to send something into orbit. Kennedy and his new response brought relief for Americans, and the threats of the Cold War began to…

    • 1040 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
    Read More
  • Improved Essays

    Cuban Missile Crisis Impact
    • 1221 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Cuban Missile Crisis Impact

    According to foreign policy analyst, Nina Harchigian (n.d.), all big emerging national powers share common concerns - free trade, economic growth, prevention of terrorism, and efforts to stymie nuclear proliferation - which would include the USSR. Finding such concerns within the USSR with communication with their national leader, the US President at the time of the Cuban Missile Crisis, John F. Kennedy, was able to come to a diplomatic resolution with the opposing nation. With effective use of diplomacy ultimately saving not only the US but the entire globe from nuclear war, there was a shift in international practice evident within the US foreign policy that can be largely attributed to the Cuban Missile Crisis. Examples of such a shift in the foreign policy include the newer alternative to threatening counterattack - diplomatic 'isolation ' of rogue states - and 'encouragement ' of an agreeable ideology rather than the 'containment ' of a disagreeable ideology (Shawn Grimsley, n.d.), which by nature concludes that diplomacy should be considered in higher priority than military action. While such evidence could be arguably a result of the Cold War as a whole, rather than the Cuban Missile Crisis alone, there was evidently a large increase in emphasis on the importance of quick and clear communication between nations,…

    • 1221 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
    Read More
  • Superior Essays

    What Are The Consequences Of The Cuban Missile Crisis
    • 1056 Words
    • 4 Pages

    What Are The Consequences Of The Cuban Missile Crisis

    Nuclear missiles are one of the most dangerous weapons made by man today. Want to know how the end of the world would look like. Just imagine living in a radioactive wasteland in a global nuclear war era where there is no sign of life ever existing again, dead trees, burnt grass, the extinction of all humans, and wildlife ceasing to exit. Every edible crop, or source of drinking water would be completely contaminated. This would have been the results of our Earth if Premier Kruschchev, and President Kennedy did not come into an agreement. The Cuban missile crisis is an event that would have led to possible human extinction, due to high tension between the U.S., and Russia and is important to us today because it illustrates the sometimes pivotal role of personality in politics, in addition to also being a case of study for future presidents that might have to make similar decisions in a time of high crisis.…

    • 1056 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Superior Essays
    Read More
  • Great Essays

    Cuban Missile Crisis Compromise
    • 1826 Words
    • 8 Pages

    Cuban Missile Crisis Compromise

    The Cuban Missile Crisis marks one of the most important events not only in our country but also the United States. It is important that we define, rather explain, what the Cuban Missile Crisis was. The Cuban missile crisis was a so called “pivotal” moment in the cold war. The two great superpowers at the time (The United States and the Soviet Union) were at the brink of war. The cold war seemed to be tilting toward a nuclear war. The crisis was nothing more than a direct and dangerous confrontation. The entire world ran danger. Two great superpowers racing for superiority in every sense of the word. Economic, military, and scientific progress. One country standing…

    • 1826 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Great Essays
    Read More
  • Superior Essays

    Essay On Mass Hysteria
    • 1180 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Essay On Mass Hysteria

    and the Soviet Union with a global nuclear holocaust at stake. The U.S. and Cuba had been far from allies leading up to the crisis. Even before Kennedy took office, Eisenhower had attempted to assassinate Cuba’s leader, Fidel Castro, by training Cuban exiles for an invasion of their own country. Kennedy inherited the conflict which soon led to the failed Bay of Pigs invasion, attempting to overthrow Castro’s regime. Castro was now turning to the Soviets for protection against the aggression coming from America at the…

    • 1180 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
    Read More
  • Improved Essays

    Why Did John F. Kennedy Use The Cuban Missile Crisis?
    • 545 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Why Did John F. Kennedy Use The Cuban Missile Crisis?

    October 1962 marked the beginning of a massive standoff between two powers in the wake of Cold War hostility. The American government was informed that a nuclear capable Soviet Union had established a weapons silo in Cuba. With nuclear weaponry only a mere 90 miles from American shores, a political uproar would soon ensue. President John F. Kennedy announced such news on the twenty-second of October, along with his plan of enacting a naval blockade around the coastal island. This plan demonstrated American readiness to bestow military action to prevent any and all potential threats to national security. The Cuban missile base simply could have been catastrophically devastating had the proper precautions been in order. A base so close to American shores could easily prove advantageous, should President Kennedy allow it. Either fortunate or unfortunate, Kennedy acted very…

    • 545 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
    Read More
  • Superior Essays

    Theories Of The Kennedy Assassination
    • 1527 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Theories Of The Kennedy Assassination

    When Fidel Castro took power in the 1959 revolution, thousands of Cubans defected and sought shelter within the United States. Even though Castro implemented positive policies such as expanding healthcare and education, his regime instituted state control of the press and actively worked to suppress internal dissent. Though popular with students, workers, and peasants, Fidel 's policies drained the economy and caused discontent within the middle class. Any opposition to Fidel and his party was met with swift and violent retribution, raising concerns of human rights abuses. As they shared similar views, Fidel Castro befriended the Soviet Union and began trade agreements with them. When US corporate owned refineries refused to process Soviet crude oil, Castro nationalized and took over the refineries. In response the US cut trade ties with Cuba, and Castro took over the many industries US corporations owned in the country further taxing its economy. As anti-Castro exiles continued to settle in the United States, the US military began manipulating their hopes of overthrowing Castro and returning to Cuba. The military began training and arming Cubans to turn them into a militant army. This army was used in an effort to assassinate Castro in the Bay of Pigs operation, when it faltered and Kennedy did not provide direct US support the militia was captured. Though Kennedy paid a…

    • 1527 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Superior Essays
    Read More
  • Improved Essays

    Cuba's Role In The Cold War
    • 391 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Cuba's Role In The Cold War

    Cuba played a large role in the Cold War between the Bay of Pigs invasion and the Cuban Missile Crisis. The Bay of Pigs, occurring in 1961, was prompted after Fidel Castro overtook a American supported president of Havana. The invasion was poorly planned and due to the small numbers, the troops fighting for America were defeated after twenty-four hours. America had initially gotten into this predicament because while they did not believe that Fidel Castro was a real threat, they believed that they could prove to Russia, China and other others that the American officials were serious about winning the Cold War. The invasion was initially kept a secret but, when it was was finally let out of the bag – due to the radio – from there the plan began to fall apart. Ships were sinking,…

    • 391 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
    Read More
  • Improved Essays

    Why Was Castro Justified The Cuban Revolution?
    • 945 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Why Was Castro Justified The Cuban Revolution?

    This explicitly exposed Castro’s opposition to the US, further rupturing US relations, U.S. suspicious grew of Castro’s political inclinations, Eisenhower hoped his suffocating hostility would force Castro into abandoning his plan to cut ties with the U.S. Tightening restrictions, and imposing an embargo, however, only facilitated Castro’s vilification of the US. Castro was able to point the finger at the U.S. to explain the island’s tough times, painting his revolution as noble and justifiably anti-American. Castro began signing trade agreements with the Soviet Union and, shortly after the Bay of Pigs invasion, Castro declared Cuba a communist nation. The Soviet Union became Cuba’s powerful ally but its wasn’t until the 70’s that it also became its lifeline. Because of the amount of support it provided for Cuba, the Soviet Union was in a better position to influence Cuba and police its socialism to better conform to its own model. It was during this time that Cuba truly fell under the Soviet Union sphere and became dependent, as seen in the nation’s economic collapse after the fall of the Soviet…

    • 945 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
    Read More
  • Improved Essays

    Cuban Missile Crisis Research Paper
    • 694 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Cuban Missile Crisis Research Paper

    In the era of the Cold War had many inspiring and great events happened from a tragedy like The one I'll be talking to you about today. The Cuban missile crisis is a period of time where many people assisted into helping this event that could've sparked a nuclear War.…

    • 694 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
    Read More
  • Improved Essays

    Cuban Missile Crisis
    • 1356 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Cuban Missile Crisis

    The Cuban Missile Crisis of October 1962 was a dangerous confrontation between the US and the Soviet Union during the Cold War. This is when the US and Soviet Union came the closest to nuclear warfare. The situation was different in a number of ways, featuring confirmations and non supported directions as well as direct communications and miscommunications between both the US and Soviet Union (Office). The overwhelming conflict was also being judged by the fact that it was basically played out at the White House and the Kremlin level with very little say from the respective organizations typically involved in the foreign policy stages (Office).…

    • 1356 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
    Read More
  • Improved Essays

    The Success Of Khrushchev And The Cuban Missile Crisis
    • 1356 Words
    • 6 Pages

    The Success Of Khrushchev And The Cuban Missile Crisis

    Since the beginning of the Cold War in 1947, tensions had been gradually increasing between the Soviet Union and the United States. However, in 1962 tensions reached an all-time high when the United States found evidence of Soviet missiles in Cuba. In this tense period, the entire world held its breath fearing global disaster. The Cold War at times threatened to become a direct confrontation between the superpowers. Looking back, a victory in terms of the Cuban Missile Crisis alludes to achieving foreign policy goals, and although both succeeded in the short term, Khrushchev was the ultimate victor in the long run. While Khrushchev may have exaggerated his statement in calling the Cuban Missile Crisis a ‘victory’ as he had backed down and removed…

    • 1356 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
    Read More

Related Topics

Ready To Get Started?
Discover
Company
Follow
©2023 Cram.com
Privacy Policy |  About Ads |  Site Map |  Advertise  | 
  • Cookie Settings