Cuban Missile Crisis

Soviet Global Policy

Soviet foreign policy changes with the death of Stalin. The Soviet Union becomes interested in the Third World – backing national liberation movements

What was the background to the events in Cuba?

• Cuba, small island, 80 miles from coast of Florida

• US ally, US businesses & US military base (Guantanamo)

• 1959, Fidel Castro overthrows Battista (US-backed dictator)

• establishes Communist government.

Why was Cuba so important to the Americans?

How successful were early attempts at “Containment”?

• Castro takes over US businesses

• January 1961, US breaks off diplomatic relations

• April, 1961, Bay of Pigs – 1,400 anti-Cuban exiles attempted to overthrow Castro

• Autumn 1962, Cuba has received thousands of USSR missiles, jets, boats & personnel

The US committed $100 million to overthrowing Castro, the CIA tried to

sabotage the economy, they even planned to send him an exploding

cigar!

Why was the USSR interested in helping Cuba?

• Cuba was a new Communist state• Cuba provided a launch base for USSR inter-

continental missiles (ICMs)• Khrushchev wanted to test strength of new US

president, JFK• Khrushchev wanted to force JFK into bargaining

over US missiles in Europe

Why does this cartoonist think that

Khrushchev was interested in Cuba?

Cuban Missile Crisis

http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/history/mwh/ir2/whowonthecubanmissilecrisisrev3.shtml

Brief Chronology• May, 1962: Khrushchev makes veiled references

to a plot (How would the U.S. feel to have missiles pointing at them, as they have missiles pointed at us?)

• October 14: U2 recon. flight over Cuba spots sites installing nuclear missiles

• October 15: Presence of missiles is confirmed

Cuban Missile Crisis

Chronology of Events• October 16: President Kennedy notified• October 16-22: Secret deliberations on what

should be done• 3 possible options:

(1) Attack Cuban missiles

(2) Attack Cuban missiles and invade

(3) Quarantine

*Much pressure on JFK from “Hawks” after Bay of

Pigs

Chronology of Events

• October 22: Kennedy tells nation his plan for blockade and quarantine

• October 24: Naval quarantine begins and successfully changes course of many Soviet ships

Chronology of Events

• October 25: One Soviet ship challenges naval quarantine; Kennedy lets it pass

• October 25: At the UN, Adlai Stevenson directly challenges the Soviet ambassador to admit to the existence of missiles, when the ambassador refuses, Stevenson wheels out pictures of the missile sites

• October 26: Soviets raise possibility for a deal: if we withdraw missiles will America promise not to invade Cuba?

Chronology of Events

• October 27: Soviets demand that Americans withdraw missiles from Turkey

• Kennedy tells Khrushchev that he will accept the proposal of not to invade Cuba, but that the Turkey missiles would not be part of the bargain, they would be removed in time.

• October 28: USSR agrees to withdraw missiles

Outcomes From Crisis

Perceived as great humiliation for Soviet Union

Outcomes From Crisis

“Eyeball to eyeball, they blinked first” – Dean Rusk, US Secretary of State

Hotline between Washington and Moscow created

1963 - Limited test Ban Treaty

1968 – Non Proliferation Treaty

Outcomes From Crisis

US promise not to invade Cuba

1963 - Jupiter missiles removed from Turkey

1964 – Cuban Missile Crisis cost Khrushchev his job