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WHAT IF?

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BEN BENDER ‘16Hello Delegates, I am a senior at Edgemont High School. I have been participating in Model United Nations for three years, and I can say without a doubt that it has been an incredibly enriching expe-rience. Personally, I joined MUN because I am very interested in world issues —past and present—and I enjoy listening to various solutions that could solve each problem. At this year’s EDGEMUN confer-ence, I will be co-chairing the Cuban Missile Crisis committee with my good friends Jeremy Goldstein and Maya Weber. I can’t wait until EDGEMUN to see how each delegation contributes to reshaping

history. Happy researching!

MAYA WEBER ‘16Hello, delegates! I am excited to chair my second EdgeMUN committee. I am a senior and this is my second year on Model UN. Being on MUN and attending conferences has been an incred-ible experience for me, and I’m so happy to be

able to share it with those who have never tried it before. Other than MUN, I enjoy singing vocal jazz, spending time with friends, and watching

Friends. I look forward to meeting all of you and hopefully preventing global nuclear war!

Fifty years ago, the world came to the brink of Armageddon. The Cuban Missile Crisis, the most emblem-atic event of the Cold War, could have resulted in the deaths of hundreds of millions of Americans and

Russians alike, and would have set world history on an unpredictable, perilous trajectory. Over an intense thirteen days, American President Kennedy and his Soviet counterpart Nikita Khrushchev confronted one

another, each poised with the power of mutually assured destruction. In a venture in diplomacy, we will recreate the events of these pivotal days, but some events have gone astray from the record of history. The world teeters on the brink of nuclear war, and it is your job to bring it back from the edge. Remember del-egates, your decisions in this convocation, as did those of your real-life counterparts decades ago, will have

an immediate and profound impact on the fate of humanity.

JEREMY GOLDSTEIN ‘16Hey everyone, welcome to EdgeMUN’s committee on the Cuban Missile Crisis! I am a senior at Edge-mont High School who loves watching movies, play-ing soccer and tennis, and writing. I joined Model UN last year to debate topics that have significance to people of all walks of life, regardless of gender, so-cioeconomic status, or ethnicity, and this debate is a perfect example of that. The fate of this earth lies in the capable hands of this delegation, and with your focus, ingenuity, and determination, this commit-tee’s innovative solutions will determine the course

of humanity. I can’t wait to see everyone there!

Nikita Khrushchev confronted each other poised with the power of mutual destruction. In a venture in diplo-macy, we will recreate the events of these pivotal days, but some events have gone astray from the record of history. The world teeters on the brink of nuclear war, and it is your job to bring it back from the edge. Re-member delegates, your decisions in this convocation, as did those of your real-life counterparts decades ago, will have an immediate and profound impact on the fate of humanity.

The Cuban Missile Crisis in Brief In October 1962, President Kennedy announced the discovery to the world of nuclear tipped-missiles on Cuba. Kennedy’s advisors presented him with the choice of either attacking or accepting Soviet nuclear missiles in Cuba; however, Kennedy, was determined to try diplo-macy to resolve the crisis. After nearly two weeks of stalemate, Kennedy and Khruschev reached a two-part agreement that included: a public deal, in which, the United States pledged not to invade Cuba if the Soviet Union withdrew its missiles and a secret promise that the US would withdraw missiles that were already sta-tioned in Turkey within six months.1

nuclear technology and cold war

ideology: a guide

The Manhattan Project In 1939, not long after the outbreak of the sec-ond World War, United States President Franklin D. Roosevelt received a letter from physicist Albert Einstein and his assistant stating that they believed a new, devas-tating weapon could be created using the power of nu-clear fission. The letter also stated that Einstein thought that Hitler and his Nazi regime were already working on creating a weapon with similar capabilities, thus advising

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COMMITTEE STRUCTURE

In this committee, all delegates will be repre-senting various countries both directly and indirectly involved in the missile crisis. In addition, the US and Russia will be played by multiple representatives, each having one of the crucial positions in the decision mak-ing process of their respective countries. These repre-sentatives, just as in the actual Cuban Missile Crisis, are not obligated to agree on every issue, but should try to work in tandem, keeping in mind that they all have their country’s best interest in mind. In this committee will be run as a crisis committee, wherein delegates will be pass-ing directives rather than resolutions; additionally, press releases will be used to update committee of the effects of their actions and communiques will be used to share private information between delegates in committee. Given the dire circumstances of the committee, it is the job of the delegates to reach a peaceful solution with carefully thought out directives. The committee will be voting on each directive, so it is imperative to com-promise with opposing nations while still maintaining your country’s position on the subject as well as taking into consideration the implications of each crisis that may arise in the committee. We understand that nuclear war would be an unconventional ending to a committee, we strongly urge you to look to all other solutions before considering it.

introduction

Fifty years ago, the world came to the brink of Armageddon. The Cuban Missile Crisis, the most emblematic event in the Cold War, could have resulted in the deaths of hundreds of millions of Americans and Russians alike, and would have sent world history on an unpredictable, perilous trajectory. Over an intense 13 days, US President Kennedy and his Soviet counterpart

1. “About the Crisis | Cuban Missile Crisis.” Cuban Missile Crisis. Harvard University Belford Center, n.d. Web. 20 Oct. 2015.

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for even further progress in creating the atomic bomb. The final total of expenses of the project was about two billion dollars. Once research was concluded, assembly of the weapon took place in Los Alamos, New Mexico3. The

first test of the atomic bomb occurred on July 16th, 1945, at Trinity Site near Alamogordo, in the barren desert of New Mex-ico. None of the scientists who worked on the bomb expected the overwhelming power of the weapon they had created. The power of this blast, the first nuclear explosion in history, was so powerful that it blew out the windows of a num-

ber of houses from the nearest residential area about one-hundred miles away. In addition, it created a mush-room cloud that reached a height of 40,000 feet and a massive crater with a diameter of half a mile2. Due to the public’s mounting curiosity and concern, a cover-up story was created that an ammunition dump had ex-ploded in the desert. It was not long before the news of the project’s success reached President Truman; almost ironically, by the time of this first test, the Germans had already surrendered. The First Display of Nuclear Power Although the Germans had surrendered—thus removing the potential threat of the atomic bomb being used against the Allies—the war in the Pacific raged on. Even though the Japanese were aware that their defeat was all but inevitable, they continued fighting fero-ciously, causing hundreds of thousands of casualties on

Roosevelt to begin funding a research project to create their own. Roosevelt agreed to start such a project out of desperation of defeating the Germans, but proceeded with caution and funded the program conservatively. He coordinated a top-secret development program of the weapon with the United Kingdom in which scien-tists would work diligently over the next four and a half years to create the first atomic bomb. The task was code-named “The Manhat-tan Project,” and enlisted the help of more than 120,000 American work-ers including thousands of scientists and engineers. Given that both sides were racing to create the bomb first, secrecy was of the utmost importance2. Involving a large number of workers would have meant that essen-tially impossible; therefore, only a small inner-group of scientists were involved directly with the construction of the bomb, and even fewer understood the gravity and ultimate importance of what they were working on. Even Vice President Truman was unaware of the task until he became President after Kennedy was assassinated. The operation took place at three universities: University of California at Berkeley, University of Chi-cago, and Columbia University. At first, progress moved slowly; however, in December of 1942, Italian physi-cist Enrico Fermi and his team in Chicago managed to create the first controlled nuclear chain reaction. After this breakthrough, Roosevelt was more confident in the success of the project and funded it more freely, allowing

2. “The Manhattan Project.” Ushistory.org. Independence Hall Association, n.d. Web. 23 Jan. 2016.3. “Nobelprize.org”. Nobelprize.org. Nobel Media AB 2014. Web. 23 Jan 2016.Image: http://www.atomicheritage.org/history/little-boy-and-fat-man

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peror Hirohito announced his country’s surrender on a radio broadcast. The formal surrender agreement was signed on September 2nd, aboard the United States battleship Missouri, anchored in Tokyo Bay. Over the course of the next few years, the death toll as a result of the bombs rose to about 340,000 people7. These acts of war can be considered the most inhumane ever commit-ted by a nation not only due to the immediate amount of desecration and loss of life but also because of the indis-criminate nature of the bomb, which killed thousands of civilians. The closing of the second World War was in many respects a hollow victory because of the means that were necessary to achieve those ends. The US and its Allies, often viewed by history as a force fighting for peace and humanity, hypocritically engaged in immense destruction of life as evidenced by the sheer number of casualties that were required to bring about the War’s end on their terms. However, the US’ vision of the post-war world was almost immediately thrown into uncertainty; in fact, the next tumultuous and perilous stage in world history was to be dictated by the nuclear bomb, the very device that the US had created under the pretense of stability. Role of Nuclear Threats in the Cold War After the tragedies of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the whole world recognized the gravity of the usage of nuclear weaponry. Throughout World War Two the Soviet Union also had a development similar to the “Manhattan Project,” and successfully tested their first atomic bomb on August 29th, 1949, at a remote test site in Kazakhstan8. Due to both countries possessing nuclear capabilities, tensions between the United States and the Soviet Union during the Cold War were raised to a new level that the world had not seen before. One

both sides4. The battles were so bloody that the Japanese killed an additional 50% of the number that they had in three years of war in the Pacific, in a span of only three months (mid-April, 1945 to mid-July, 1945). To end the war once and for all, United States President Harry Tru-man decided to use the bomb on Japan. On July 26th, the United States government issued the Potsdam Declaration calling for Japanese surrender, which stated that “The Japanese Government shall remove all obstacles to the revival and strengthen-ing of democratic tendencies among the Japanese peo-ple. Freedom of speech, of religion, and of thought, as well as respect for the fundamental human rights shall be established.”5 On August 6th, the world witnessed one of the most devastating acts of war committed in history: an atomic bomb codenamed “Little Boy” was dropped by an American B-29 bomber on the city of Hiroshima, Japan, instantly killing approximately 80,000 (approximately 90%) of its inhabitants. An additional 70,000 deaths were noted by the end of the year due to extreme radiation6. Nevertheless, Japan still refused to surrender due to that fact that Emperor Hirohito did not want to comply with the section of the Potsdam Decla-ration quoted above. This persistent refusal of surren-der led Truman to drop another bomb three days later on August 9, this time on the city of Nagasaki. One of Truman’s justifications (though his decision is still not universally accepted) for deploying these two weapons is that military strategists estimated that continuing to fight the japanese with infantry would result in roughly one million US casualties. The immense destruction of infrastructure, population, and morale force forced the Japanese military leaders to surrender after the second bombing. At midday on August 15, 1945, Japanese Em-

4. “World War II: The Fall of Imperial Japan.” The Atlantic. Atlantic Media Company, n.d. Web. 24 Jan. 2016.5. “Potsdam Declaration.” Potsdam Declaration | Birth of the Constitution of Japan. National Diet Library All Rights Reserved, n.d. Web. 6. “Bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.” History.com. A&E Television Networks, n.d. Web. 24 Jan. 2016.7. Njølstad, Olav. “The Development and Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons.” Nobelprize.org. Nobelprize.org, 19 June 2003. Web. 24 Jan. 2016.8. “Soviets Explode Atomic Bomb.” History.com. A&E Television Networks, n.d. Web. 24 Jan. 2016.

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thrown by the guerrilla army led by Fidel Castro, in the hopes to address urgent social reform. Initially president Dwight D. Eisenhower’s administration welcomed the Cuban revolution, not only because Batista had long been an unpleasant ally, but also because a friendly, democratic government in Cuba, would be far more sta-ble and reliable. However, the problem was that Castro could only address problems of poverty, ill-health and illiteracy by harming US interests. Indeed to Castro, and to a large proportion of the Cuban people, American domination was a root cause of Cuba’s problems. Castro in fact articulated a widespread revulsion against their exploitation by US interests. Castro not only abandoned his democratic promises by postponing elections, but resorted to vi-cious methods to enforce his power, including treating defeated enemies mercilessly. While ever more vicious anti-American diatribes came from the new leader, and his popularity in Cuba grew; in the United States, he became increasingly unacceptable. Eisenhower decided that Castro was a com-munist. Whether this was true then is debateable, but Castro was certainly to turn to communism in the face of US hostility. Eisenhower ordered the Central Intel-ligence Agency to overthrow him, and the CIA orches-trated sabotage raids on Cuba to destabilise the regime. Attempts were made to assassinate Castro, reputedly using the mafia (the first of at least eight assassination attempts was planned as early as August 1960). Eco-nomic sanctions were imposed, especially against Cuba’s sugar crop, which was its main export. Yet rather than undermine Castro, this hostility made him more secure, and an increasingly bitter and vocal enemy of the United States. In the logic of the Cold War, this made him a po-tential partner of the Soviet Union. Steadily growing ties with the USSR made him appear a growing threat to US

principal that historians use to describe this stalemate of immense military power is “Mutually Assured De-struction” (MAD). MAD is the idea that if one of the nations decided to drop an atomic bomb on the other, then the whole world would be plunged into a nuclear war, resulting in the total destruction countless cities and lives. This concept played an extremely large role because neither nation desired to aggravate the other to point where an atomic bomb would be dropped; for this reason, the U.S and the Soviet Union never engaged in physical combat, giving the long battle between democ-racy and communism the name, the “Cold War.” There-fore, the war was a matter of which nation could build up a more superior stockpile of destructive weapons; to outpace soviet military expansion, President Truman approved National Security Council Paper 68 in April of 1950, which recommended massive military buildup in addition to foreign aid from allies9.

historical background

Cuba For America, Cuba provided a naval base at Guantanamo; it was an exotic, but conveniently close, tourist resort; and low paid Cuban labour made it an attractive investment area since a large portion of the is-land’s agriculture and industry being American-owned. For all these reasons, officials in Washington had never hesitated to intervene to protect American interests. Cuba was ruled by the American-backed Ful-gencio Batista (1901-1973), soldier and political leader ruled Cuba—first from 1933–44—with an efficient gov-ernment, but beginning in 1952 he assumed the powers of a dictator: jailing political opponents, using terrorist methods to maintain power, and making fortunes for himself and his associates10. In January 1959, Fulgencio Batista was over-

9. “Truman Library: Ideological Foundations of the Cold War Online Research File.” Truman Library: Ideological Foundations of the Cold War Online Research File. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Jan. 2016.10. The Editors of Encyclopædia Britannica. “Fulgencio Batista | Cuban Dictator.” Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Encyclopedia Britannica, n.d. Web. 24 Jan. 2016.

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“payload,” to a predetermined target12. The information was presented to White House officials the following day, thereby beginning the Crisis from the U.S. perspective. Kennedy urgently called upon his closest advisers to consider their strategy in forming a plan for the United States that would bring an end to the crisis without escalating it further. Several of Ken-nedy’s advisors—every one of the Joint Chiefs of Staff among them—advocated for a preemptive airstrike to destroy the missiles, and afterwards, invade mainland Cuba with U.S. troops. On the other side of the spec-trum, others advised a cautionary approach by issuing stern warnings to Cuba and the Soviet Union. After days of deliberations, President Kennedy, neither wanting to fan the flames of the crisis, nor to put US safety in jeopardy, ordered a naval “quarantine” of Cuba. Kennedy purposefully identified the action as a “quarantine” to legally distinguish it from a military blockade. Blockades occur during, and are an act of, war; therefore, the use of “quarantine” instead of “blockade” enabled the U.S. to acquire the backing of the Organization of American States. Kennedy also sent the Kremlin a message, the first in a series of both direct and indirect communica-tions between the U.S. and the Soviets that guided the actions of both sides throughout the crisis. The message stated to Khrushchev not only declaring that the United States would not accept these powerful offensive weap-ons to be taken to Cuba, but also demanding that the Soviets dismantle the missile bases and remove offensive weapons. Thirdly, the President addressed the nation by television that night to inform the American public of the situation. In a grave address, the President detailed the developments in Cuba, his decision to initiate and enforce a “quarantine,” and the potential global conse-quences if the crisis continued to escalate: “It shall be the policy of this nation to regard any nuclear missile

hegemony in the western hemisphere which could not be tolerated11. The Crisis The 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis was not only a pivotal moment in US-Soviet relations during the Cold War, the confrontation stands alone in history as a moment in which the world came closest to nuclear conflict. The crisis has also become a topic of scholarly importance around the world because of its political and diplomatic uniqueness several ways. Not only did the entire crisis unfold in a matter of days, nearly all of the decision making was undertaken by a handful of key White House and Kremlin officials who were acting with relatively little guidance and supervision from the respective bureaucracies that usually govern the foreign policy process. In the wake of the Bay of Pigs invasion of July 1962, an unsuccessful U.S. attempt to overthrow the Castro regime in Cuba, Nikita Khrushchev, the leader of the Soviet Union, reached a secret agreement with Fidel Castro, the premier of Cuba, in which, Soviet nuclear missiles would be placed in Cuba in order to deter any future invasion attempt by the U.S. In the following months, U.S. intelligence during routine surveillance flights became alerted to the construction of several mis-sile sites on the island, indicating that the Soviets were engaging an arms build-up that Soviet IL–28 bombers. In response, on September 4th, 1962, President Kennedy issued a public statement prohibiting the introduction, and stationing, of offensive weapons to Cuba. The Sovi-ets ignored the warning, and on October 14th, a U.S. air-craft identified medium-range and intermediate-range ballistic nuclear missile sites under construction in Cuba. These weapons, MRBMs and IRBMs respectively, are types of ballistic missiles, which are rockets fired on a ballistic trajectory that transport their warhead(s), or

11. Swift, John. “The Cuban Missile Crisis.” The Cuban Missile Crisis. HistoryToday, Mar. 2007. Web. 24 Jan. 2016.12. “What Is a Ballistic Missile? - Missile Threat.” Missile Threat. MISSILE THREAT A Project of the George C. Marshall and Claremont Insti-tutes, n.d. Web. 24 Jan. 2016.

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missiles from Turkey, and a private ultimatum to invade Cuba within twenty-four hours if Khrushchev did not accept the offer. On the same day, the U-2 reconnaissance plane of Air Force Major Rudolph Anderson was shot down by Soviet forces over Banes, Cuba. The Soviets were acting under General Georgi Voronkov, who was believed to be acting under orders from Khrushchev. Taking it as a clear act of war against the United States, Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara insisted on carrying out the bombing of Soviet missile sites and military bases in Cuba. Tensions between the USSR and the United States were at their height, and with the first casualty due to combat and no word from Khrushchev, Kennedy gave the order to invade Cuba on October 28th, 1962. The move shocked the world as it teetered on the brink of the first nuclear war in history, and quite possibly the only one. The first airstrike successfully destroyed about half of the missiles and launching equipment stationed at an SS-4 construction site in San Cristobal, Pinar del Rio Province, Cuba. The Soviets on the ground, armed with tactical nuclear weapons, opened fire and eliminated about a third of the incoming United States Air Force planes. With both sides suffering losses, the Pentagon implemented its plan for the invasion of Cuba. However, on the morning of October 30th, 1962, the invasion fleet was struck by a Soviet tactical nuclear weapon, effec-tively destroying it and killing nine hundred troops. The Soviet tactical nuclear weapon was deployed in the air to maximize blast effects and reduce nuclear fallout, as the United States had done at Hiroshima and Nagasaki. For the next forty-eight hours, the world held its breath as it waited for a response from the United States. In the Pentagon, ExComm members debated the benefits and shortcomings of retaliating against the Soviets, eventually coming to the consensus that having Soviet warheads so close to to the borders of the United States was too high of a risk in the present situation, and the Pentagon ordered a nuclear strike on Cuba to de-

launched from Cuba against any nation in the Western Hemisphere as an attack by the Soviet Union on the United States, requiring a full retaliatory response upon the Soviet Union.” 13

By a vote of 20 to 0, the Organization of Ameri-can States also recommended that member nations take necessary measures to stop the flow of offensive weapons to Cuba. The Joint Chiefs of Staff announced a military readiness status of DEFCON 3 as U.S. naval forces began implementation of the quarantine and plans accelerated for a military strike on Cuba14. On October 24, Khrushchev responded to Ken-nedy’s message with a statement that the U.S. “blockade” was an “act of aggression” and that Soviet ships bound for Cuba would be ordered to proceed. Nevertheless, over the next two days, some ships turned back from the quarantine line, while other cargo ships were stopped by U.S. naval forces, and were only allowed to proceed since they contained no offensive weapons14. Meanwhile, U.S. reconnaissance flights over Cuba indicated the Soviet missile sites were nearing operational readiness. With no apparent end to the crisis in sight, U.S. forces were raised to DEFCON 2—meaning war involving the Strategic Air Command was imminent. Although on October 26 Ken-nedy admitted to his advisors that it appeared only an attack on Cuba would ensure the removal of the missiles, but he was not ready to begin an assault until the the diplomatic channel had been exhausted15.

THE crisis situation at hand

On October 26th, Kennedy received a private message from Khrushchev stating his willingness to remove Soviet missiles from Cuba in exchange for a promise by the United States to never invade Cuba. The following day, Khrushchev sent another letter demand-ing that United States make a pledge not to invade Cuba and to remove its missiles stationed in Turkey. In re-turn, the Soviet Union would withdraw from Cuba. On October 27th, Kennedy extended a formal offer not to invade Cuba, a secret agreement to withdraw the nuclear

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address that he fully expects America’s NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) allies to come to the sup-port of the U.S. in its time of need, as the U.S. had done for other nations in previous conflicts. However, with major world players such as Britain and France involved in internal affairs after decimation due to World War II, it is doubtful that they will be able to turn their atten-tions outside of their respective borders. Without the clear initiative of these two nations, others are hesitant to take sides in such a high-stakes showdown, particularly France, the only other country that has demonstrated nuclear capability. Turkey is one such nation, with a locational disadvantage as the NATO nation that lies closest to the Soviet Union. Previously used to harbor United States missiles, Turkey has pledged its support to the U.S. in the case of nuclear war, putting itself in dan-ger more than other nations. Other communist nations, including China, have declared their neutrality, unwill-ing to throw their support to either superpower. Though a developing communist nation, China hesitates to back the Soviet Union due to economic rifts in the past de-cade. Almost all trade has been cut off between the two nations, though each independently trades exclusively with other socialist or communist nations. Cuba’s remaining government and the nation’s people are reeling from the merciless bombardment by the U.S. There has thus far been no word from Castro, though reports are circulating relating to the possible lo-cations of a bunker. With its tactical advantage in Cuba almost obliterated, the USSR has withdrawn most of its troops. American forces remain on the ground, offering aid. Humanitarian aid is pouring in from around the world, and there is a growing resentment towards the United States. In an interview, a civilian heartbreakingly stated, “This is not the first time we have seen the ruth-less power of America. First in Japan, now here, when will it stop? I would not wish this on my worst enemy. Families are torn apart, homes are gone, everyone is missing someone. This is not the solution.

stroy any remaining Soviet missiles. The United States bombarded Cuba with eight nuclear missiles, believing to have destroyed any and all Soviet nuclear capability based in Cuba. While the U.S. had been deliberating, Khrushchev ordered the transport of eighty nuclear missiles and ten thousand troops to the coast of Cuba, where they sat as the remainder of their land-based mis-siles were destroyed. Losing the geographical advantage that Cuba offered was a hit that Kennedy did not expect him to take sitting down, as Khrushchev proved true. With an arsenal of twenty-five intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBM) versus America’s one hundred and eighty, Soviet General Issa Pliyev recognized that the USSR’s tactical advantage now laid in striking first. Pliyev persuaded Khrushchev to take immediate action, and on November 4th, the American city of New Orle-ans was struck by nuclear missiles. The strike cost the United States over two hundred thousand civilian lives instantaneously; many more came over the following days due to nuclear fallout. Kennedy addressed the na-tion, “We are not only in a state of war, but in a state of grief.” Such a blow from the Soviets inspired a renewed effort to curtail the confrontation before it reached a higher magnitude. Quick messages were exchanged between the United States and the Soviet Union to try to reach an armistice before the world tilted toward nuclear war, but both superpowers were unwilling to relinquish their access to nuclear warheads in fear of the opposing nation. On November 8th, the Pentagon raised U.S. forces to DEFCON Level 1 and prepared for international nuclear war, but was stayed at the hand of Kennedy.

International Involvement Warsaw Pact nations, including East Germany, Czechoslovakia, and Hungary, remain in support of their ally and have promised to provide aid and support should the USSR declare war on America in exchange for the aid that the USSR had provided over the past decade. Similarly, President Kennedy announced in an

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conclusion

Remember delegates, the fate of the world is in your hands. For the sake of the world’s people, the delegates should try to prevent a full-scale nuclear war. As President Kennedy said in June 1963, “For, in the final analysis, our most basic common link is that we all inhabit this small planet. We all breathe the same air. We all cherish our children’s future. And we are all mortal.”13

13. Clymer, Adam. “When Presidential Words Led to Swift Action.” The New York Times. The New York Times, 08 June 2013. Web. 24 Jan. 2016.

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PARTICIPANTSNATO Allied Countries:

United States of America*BritainFrance*Turkey

West GermanyBelgium

Netherlands

Warsaw Pact:Soviet Union*

HungaryRomania

CzechoslovakiaEast Germany

BulgariaPoland

Other International RolesChina

CanadaCuba

*countries with nuclear capabilities

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QUESTIONS TO CONSIDER

1. How can the United States and Soviet Union work to reduce tensions? On what conditions should each

nation surrender?

2. What stance does your historical persona take in the issue?

3. Is it right to involve other countries, including those without nuclear capabilities? If yes, in what ca-

pacities?

4. What legislation, if any, should be put into place to prevent the threat of global nuclear war?

5. What immediate steps should be taken by each na-tion involved in the conflict?

6. Is war on any scale the answer?

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WORKS CITED

1. “About the Crisis | Cuban Missile Crisis.” Cuban Missile Crisis. Harvard University Belford Center, n.d. Web. 20 Oct. 2015.2. “The Manhattan Project.” Ushistory.org. Independence Hall Association, n.d. Web. 23 Jan. 2016.3. “Nobelprize.org”. Nobelprize.org. Nobel Media AB 2014. Web. 23 Jan 2016.4. “World War II: The Fall of Imperial Japan.” The Atlantic. Atlantic Media Company, n.d. Web. 24 Jan. 2016.5. “Potsdam Declaration.” Potsdam Declaration | Birth of the Constitution of Japan. National Diet Library All Rights Reserved, n.d. Web. 6. “Bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.” History.com. A&E Television Networks, n.d. Web. 24 Jan. 2016.7. Njølstad, Olav. “The Development and Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons.” Nobelprize.org. No-belprize.org, 19 June 2003. Web. 24 Jan. 2016.8. “Soviets Explode Atomic Bomb.” History.com. A&E Television Networks, n.d. Web. 24 Jan. 2016.9. “Truman Library: Ideological Foundations of the Cold War Online Research File.” Truman Library: Ideological Foundations of the Cold War Online Research File. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Jan. 2016.10. The Editors of Encyclopædia Britannica. “Fulgencio Batista | Cuban Dictator.” Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Encyclopedia Britannica, n.d. Web. 24 Jan. 2016.11. Swift, John. “The Cuban Missile Crisis.” The Cuban Missile Crisis. HistoryToday, Mar. 2007. Web. 24 Jan. 2016.12. “What Is a Ballistic Missile? - Missile Threat.” Missile Threat. MISSILE THREAT A Project of the George C. Marshall and Claremont Institutes, n.d. Web. 24 Jan. 2016.13. Clymer, Adam. “When Presidential Words Led to Swift Action.” The New York Times. The New York Times, 08 June 2013. Web. 24 Jan. 2016.

Image: http://www.atomicheritage.org/history/little-boy-and-fat-man

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