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withdrawn from Cuba, but Khrushchev would not withdraw (Mind's Treasure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.