The Cuban Missile Crisis OBJECTIVES 1 2 3

The Cuban Missile Crisis OBJECTIVES: 1) 2) 3) IDENTIFY THE KEY EVENTS OF THE CUBAN MISSILE CRISIS EXPLAIN THE ACTIONS CHOSEN BY KENNEDY AND KHRUSHCHEV JUDGE HOW CLOSE THE WORLD WAS TO WAR IN OCTOBER

Going Global In August 1962, Castro and Khrushchev secretly concluded a peace treaty allowing the USSR to place military forces, including missiles, in Cuba. The USSR began sending convoys of ships with “defensive aid” to the island. The US could not interfere with this process without risking massive escalation of tension. The forces despatched to Cuba included 40, 000 Soviet troops, anti-aircraft batteries and most seriously, medium range nuclear missiles. Pause for Thought: Placing missiles in Cuba was extraordinarily dangerous and provocative. Why would Khrushchev make such a move?

Khrushchev and the Deployment of Missiles in Cuba The historian James G. Hershberg considered several historiographical arguments about Khrushchev’s decision to place missiles in Cuba. He hypothesised that several factors contributed to the move: Khrushchev was trying to balance the Soviet Union’s inferior nuclear capability compared to the United States. This was the opinion shared by many senior US officials at the time. Khrushchev took his commitment to protecting Cuba’s revolution seriously. To this end he saw the missiles as a leash which could be used to restrain American aggression. Furthermore, Khrushchev was concerned by the emergence of China as a rival leader in the communist world. If he did not protect Cuba, it would hurt the USSR’s credibility as a leader of international communism. Khrushchev was also angered by US interventions against Communism in Laos, Thailand Vietnam. Although the Berlin wall had been put in place, the confrontation between East and West in Europe continued to trouble Khrushchev.

Detection On 14 October, 1962 and American U-2 spy plane discovered the Soviet missile installations under construction in Cuba. President Kennedy was informed two days later. US measures to respond were considered by the Executive Committee of the US National Security Council. (Excomm) There was little appreciation of possible Soviet reasons for the deployment. Kennedy privately commented on why the missiles had been deployed, “Well, it’s a goddamn mystery to me. ” Excomm considered several possible responses, including a surprise attack on the missile installations in Cuba before they became operational. CIA director John Mc. Cone went even further in his report to Kennedy, providing options ranging from inaction to global nuclear war. Ultimately, Kennedy decided to establish a quarantine zone around Cuba to bar any more Soviet shipments reaching the island. He announced both the crisis and the US response to it in a televised address on 22 October.

Why did Kennedy Choose a Quarantine? Khrushchev and Kennedy were both under pressure to act aggressively during the crisis. Despite this, Kennedy opted for one of the most peaceful initial responses available to him – a quarantine. Again, Hershberg considered that there were several factors provoking this response: Kennedy was indeed deterred by the idea that a single American city could be hit by a Soviet nuclear weapon. Several members of Excomm advised Kennedy that the USSR would not retaliate with military force elsewhere in the world (EG Berlin) if the US was to attack Cuba. Kennedy did not accept that this was true. Allies of the US in Europe had learned to live with the threat of a nuclear strike. To act recklessly and provoke war now that the US was facing the same threat might lose NATO support. Kennedy strongly disliked the idea of a “Pearl Harbour” style attack on Cuba. His brother Robert later commented, “For 175 years we had not been that kind of country. A surprise attack was not in our traditions. ” Pause for Thought: What are the strengths and weaknesses of Kennedy’s decision?

Eyeball to Eyeball Wednesday October 24 represented the tensest point of the crisis. At 10 AM the US quarantine was due to come into effect. Khrushchev and his representatives had indicated an intention to challenge to quarantine. Attempts to reach a back-channel agreement through Robert Kennedy and the Soviet ambassador to the US, Anatoly Dobrynin had yielded no success. Kennedy waited in “unbearable suspense” to find out if the USSR would actually attempt to cross the line and reach Cuba. Finally word arrived that the Soviet ships approaching the line had either stopped dead in the water, or reversed course. This decision averted a shooting conflict, however it still left the question of the nuclear weapons already in Cuba.

Defusing the Bomb On 25 October, the acting UN Secretary General, U Thant put forward a compromise proposal – the withdrawal of Soviet missiles in exchange for an American pledge not to invade Cuba. Khrushchev then adopted this as his own position and communicated this in an unusually personal telegram to Kennedy on 26 October. He implored Kennedy not to take any action which would lead closer to war saying, “What that would mean is not for me to explain to you, because yourself understand perfectly of what terrible forces our countries dispose… let us take measures to untie [the] knot. We are ready for this. ” Khrushchev was undoubtedly influenced by the visible and sincere preparations the US were making for war, however this did not mean he was willing to cave in entirely.

Back on the Edge The crisis was exacerbated by two further incidents involving U-2 aircraft. Firstly, one of these planes conducting a weather survey was forced off course and ended up in Soviet airspace over Siberia. Its terrified pilot was swiftly escorted back by US fighter planes. Secondly, over Cuba, a U-2 was shot down whilst conducting reconnaissance. Neither incident provoked a severe response, however it illustrated the delicacy of the crisis that they provoked a fear of immediate reaction. On October 27, only one day after his first telegram, Khrushchev sent a much more formal and aggressive message to Kennedy. This stated that a removal of Soviet missiles from Cuba depended on the removal of NATO missiles from Turkey. Kennedy was willing to consider this, especially as the missiles in Turkey were nearly obsolete and were soon to be replaced. However, he felt that making such a deal would be unacceptable to the American public, or to his allies in Europe. This had to be balanced against the likely neutral view that the Soviet demand for removal of missiles from Turkey in exchange for removal in Cuba was entirely reasonable.

Resolution Pause for Thought: Kennedy’s solution to the conflicting messages was straightforward but effective in the end. He responded to Khrushchev’s first telegram, agreeing to guarantee Cuba’s safety in exchange for Soviet withdrawal of nuclear weapons. Privately, however, he sent an assurance through back channels that the US would remove its missiles from Turkey within a few months, as long as that part of the deal was kept secret. Khrushchev felt that this achieved as much as he could hope for and agreed. Was there a “winner” of the Cuban Missile Crisis?

The Cuban Missile Crisis: Outcomes The crisis was a huge public relations and propaganda victory for Kennedy. From being the young, inexperienced leader that Khrushchev hoped to bully, he was now perceived as being the man who called Khrushchev’s bluff. Internationally, Khrushchev was bitterly criticised by Mao and Castro, the latter believing that Cuba had been betrayed. Internally, the crisis strengthened Khrushchev’s rivals. Although the crisis did not cause his removal from power in 1964, it certainly made him more vulnerable to criticism. Cuba adopted its own international strategy, supporting other third world revolutionary movements with surprising success. One objective of this strategy was to “distract” the US from plotting against Castro’s regime.

The Cold War: A New Phase The Cuban Missile Crisis was the culmination of the tensions which had characterised the first 15 years of the Cold War. The resolution of the crisis brought about a new phase in superpower relations – détente. The next stage of the Cold War saw the US and USSR try to manage their rivalry within the framework of “rules” and negotiation. Some of the first steps were taken in the aftermath of the Cuban Missile Crisis: A “hotline” was established between the White House and the Kremlin to allow direct communication in any future crisis. Both countries adopted the idea of “Mutually Assured Destruction” (M. A. D) that developed the idea that nuclear was not only unacceptable but guaranteed the destruction of both sides. However, this did not mean that the Cold War ended. Indeed, defence spending continued to escalate in both countries.