Cuban Missile Crisis
Essay by 24 • November 23, 2010 • 584 Words (3 Pages) • 1,552 Views
Jay Cook 11/20/06
Prof. Goldman History 17B
The Cuban Missile Crisis
The Cuban Missile Crisis was a political confrontation during the cold war between the United States and the Soviet Union regarding the building of installations to house intermediate nuclear missiles in Cuba.
According to Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev's memoirs, in May 1962 he conceived the idea of placing medium-range nuclear missiles in Cuba as a means of countering an emerging lead of the United States in developing and deploying strategic missiles. The United States had a decided advantage over the Soviet Union in the years leading up to the crisis. He also felt this was a means of protecting Cuba from another United States-sponsored invasion, such as the failed attempt at the Bay of Pigs in 1961.
After obtaining Fidel Castro's approval, the Soviet Union worked quickly to build missile installations in Cuba, maintaining as much secrecy as possible. Many Soviet ships were already en route to Cuba, some with military equipment. U-2 flights showed evidence of sites being constructed and offloading of missiles. On October 16, President John Kennedy was shown reconnaissance photographs of Soviet missile installations under
construction in Cuba. After seven days of guarded and intense debate in the United States administration, during which Soviet diplomats denied that installations for offensive missiles were being built in Cuba, President Kennedy, in a televised address on October 22, announced the discovery of the installations and proclaimed that any nuclear missile attack from Cuba would be regarded as an attack by the Soviet Union and would be responded to accordingly.
He also imposed a naval quarantine on Cuba to prevent further Soviet shipments of offensive military weapons from arriving there. It was on October 27 that a U-2 was shot down by a Castro order. Kennedy did not retaliate like he said he would, and this probably averted a nuclear war.
During the crisis, the two sides exchanged many letters and other communications, both formal and "back channel." Khrushchev sent letters to Kennedy on October 23 and 24 indicating
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