Cuban Missile Crisis

• Cuban Missile Crisis


  A major Cold War confrontation between the United States and the Soviet Union over the installation of Soviet nuclear missiles in Cuba
• Fidel Castro


  A Cuban nationalist who returned to Cuba in 1956 with Che Guevara and 79 supporters, and conducted a guerrilla campaign against the Cuban President Fulgencio Batista, who was anti-communist and received economic support from the US.
• Batista's regime collapsed and Castro rode into Havana victoriously


  1st January 1959
• Immediately after the Revolution, America did little to intervene, as long as there was no external aid in the revolution.
• In 1958, Vice President Richard Nixon conducted a goodwill visit to many other Latin American states, leading to a shift in US policies towards the region where economic stability was seen as a fundamental.
• The US supported the creation of the inter-American Development Bank and regional cooperation.
• Eisenhower had agreed to not supply arms to dictators like Batista.
• Facing the inevitable reduction in aid from the US


  Castro had to consolidate his own power
• Castro introduced a program of agrarian reform where American property was seized by the state.
• The Soviet first deputy premier visited Cuba and arranged 100 million dollars in economic aid


  1960
• The relationship between Cuba and the Soviet Union

  Tied Cuba to the Soviet Union both economically and politically, which worried the US
• For the Soviet Union, Castro's Cuba

  Was a welcomed new revolutionary ally whose geographical proximity to the US made them very interesting
• For Castro, the Soviet Union


  Were an essential source of economic aid
• The first shipment of crude oil came in April 1960, yet US-owned oil companies refused to refine it, so Castro nationalized them.
• The US placed economic sanctions on Cuba and reduced their sugar imports by 95%.
• Instead, the Soviet Union started buying Cuba's sugar, which accounted for 80% of Cuban exports.
• The relationships between Cuba and the US worsened when Castro seized 1 billion dollars worth of US assets.
• The US decided it was time to remove Castro and his regime from Cuba

  1961
• Bay of Pigs invasion

  1. Eisenhower had ordered the CIA to train and equip a force of Cuban exiles for an attack on Cuba

  2. When JFK came into power, he inherited this program and the plan was to send 1,500 anti-Castro exiles to launch a military coup to remove Castro

  3. The invasion was a disaster as the exiles were met by a fierce counter-attack from Castro's military, with no uprising by Cuban citizens

  4. The attack only solidified Castro's power in Cuba
• Kennedy attempted to redeem himself by publicly accepting blame for the Bay of Pigs incident, making the young president look vulnerable and inexperienced.
• Operation Mongoose


  1. The SGA committee, chaired by Robert Kennedy, had the job of overthrowing the Castro government

  2. On November 4, 1961, they called for an operation based on covert operations to destabilize the regime in Cuba and facilitate an anti-Castro revolution

  3. Covert operations are ways of undermining a government through economic sabotage and propaganda

  4. On November 30, 1961, Kennedy gave authorization to Operation Mongoose, choosing General Edward Lansdale to control the operation

  5. The operation was unable to achieve anything significant
• The US developed an airstrike plan called Operation Plan 312 and a land-based invasion plan called Operation Plan 314.
• US military maneuvers in the Caribbean started, known as Operation Quick Kick


  March 1962
• By this time, the Soviet defense minister Malinovski concluded that Cuba would not be able to stand a week in the face of a large US attack.
• Khrushchev concluded that he would place Soviet nuclear missiles on Cuba, in an operation called Operation Anadyr.
• The Soviets provided 14,000 ground troops, bombers, and fighter planes, along with nuclear missiles that could reach up to 2,800 kilometers from their launch site.
• The decision to place Soviet nuclear missiles on Cuba

  Can be seen as either a defensive measure to counteract potential aggression from the US towards Cuba, or an aggressive alternative to conventional troops which would not have a significant threat to the US
• Other reasons for the deployment of nuclear missiles included the geostrategic importance of Cuba towards the Soviet Union and the fact that it would help reduce the missile gap, which Khrushchev recognized was a process that could take 10 years.
• Operation Anadyr consisted of 200 trips by 85 ships over three months, often conducted in hellish conditions, with several members dying on the journey.
• Cuban Missile Crisis


  Events surrounding the discovery and resolution of the Soviet deployment of nuclear missiles in Cuba in 1962
• Discovery of the missiles

  1. U-2 spy plane photographed missile site on October 14

  2. Kennedy briefed on presence of missiles on October 16

  3. EXCOM deemed presence of missiles unacceptable
• EXCOM members


  • Hawks (preferred military action)
  • Doves (looked for diplomatic solution)
• Proposed military action


  • Surgical strike on Cuba to take out weapons (considered too dangerous)
  • Worried actions could affect NATO alliance and lead to Soviet nuclear retaliation
  • Too many missiles to destroy before Soviet response
• Quarantine


  Naval blockade of Cuba to prevent missile entry (not considered an act of war)
• Quarantine


  Enabled Kennedy to buy time and seek diplomatic solution
• Soviet ships were either forced to stop or turn around, but found to contain no offensive weapons
• Cuban Missile Crisis nearly brought the world to nuclear war, but both leaders attempted to avoid direct confrontation
• Khrushchev failed to keep Cuba out of danger


  Rethought position, saw Jupiter missiles in Turkey as bargaining chip
• Resolution of crisis


  1. Kennedy responded to Khrushchev's first proposal

  2. Agreed to remove missiles from Turkey within 6 months

  3. Khrushchev issued public statement to remove missiles from Cuba

  4. Kennedy stood down naval blockade and pledged not to invade Cuba
• Castro was initially incensed that Soviets had removed missiles, but backed down under Soviet pressure