Essay, Research Paper: The Cuban Missile Crisis

THE CUBAN MISSILE CRISIS

Back in 1962 most people thought there could not be a nuclear war.
They were wrong. The U.S.A, Soviet Union, and Cuban countries were so
close they could feel it breathing down their necks. The people of the U.S.
were so close to being incinerated, and they didn't even know it. The Soviets
had such a build up of missiles in Cuba they could have wiped-out most of
the continental United States. The build up of these missiles, and the
problems faced in October of 1962 are known as the Cuban Missile Crisis.

On October fourteenth through October twenty-eighth 1962 the world
was never closer to a nuclear war, than the events that happened during the
thirteen days of the Cuban missile crisis (The Minds Treasure Chest). The
crisis involved three countries, with three leaders. The United States had John
F. Kennedy, the Soviet Union had Nikita Khruschev, and Cuba had Fidel
Castro, a dictator over Fulgenico Bftista. These three countries are linked
together in one of the most climatic movements in the cold war.

The Soviet Union and Cuba were together against the United States in
hope to damage the United States credibility to other countries, and to gain
greater influence over Latin America (Groliers).

On the twenty-fifth of October U-2 planes took pictures of the missiles
in Cuba (Morganthau, 36). President Kennedy ordered the missiles
withdrawn from Cuba, but Khrushchev would not withdraw (Mind's Treasure
Chest). The United States took an estimate and figured that the Soviets and
Cubans could only have about forty-four sub-launched polaris missiles and
about one-hundred bombers on Cuba, and the United States had one-hundred
fifty-six ICBM missiles ready to go along with one-hundred forty-four
sub-launched polaris missiles and one-thousand three-hundred bombers. The
United States had more missiles and bombers than the Soviet and Cuban
forces (Morganthau, 36). But that didn't matter much because the Soviet and
Cuban forces already had major cities, including New York and Washington
D.C., targeted with missiles. With these cities targeted the Soviets and
Cubans had the power to kill three-hundred-million people a day (Mind's
Treasure Chest).

One course of action taken was before the crisis, about twenty months
before (Morganthau, 36). The courses name was The Bay of Pigs. The
invasion started on April seventeenth 1961 and ended on April nineteenth.
The force used for the invasion wasn't United States soldiers, but about
one-thousand five hundred Cuban exiles (Groliers). The invasion was
unsuccessful because the transport ships of the invaders got caught on
seaweed in the bay. Three-hundred of the exiles were killed and the
remaining one-thousand two-hundred survivors were captured. After the
crisis, in December of 1962, the United States exchanged $53 million worth
of U.S. supplies to Cuba for the safe return of the exiles (Groliers).

Another course of action taken was a full naval blockade. The
blockade was established so the missiles could be taken out of Cuba by the
Soviets, and so the United States could learn about the situation.

On the twenty-eighth of October Castro panicked and said he was
going to have the missiles fired, Khruschev thought that was unnecessary and
gave into U.S. demands (Mind's Treasure Chest). On the twenty-eighth
Khruschev ordered the missiles out of Cuba, and the crisis ended without a
nuclear war. After the crisis was over Kennedy chose not to say or do
anything that might be degrading to Castro, Kennedy didn't want to humiliate
him any more (Mind's Treasure Chest).

In January of 1991 six of Kennedy's top aids with Fidel Castro, Rail
Castro, and some Russians. Met in a conference room in Havana Cuba to
discuss the crisis and other issues like: Castro's efforts to overthrow Central
American Governments, the Bay of Pigs invasion, and Operation Mongoose.
Also talked about was Cuba's guerrilla training on the aisle of youth. The
conference went well and the issues were better understood afterward
(Robinson, 15).

In conclusion the Cuban Missile Crisis was a huge conflict for the
world, the cold war, and the Soviet, Cuban, and United States countries. The
United States was so close to a nuclear war, but had the wits and brains to
prevent it. If the crisis did go nuclear chances are we wouldn't be here today,
or thirty-two years ago after the Cuban Missile Crisis.