The Cuban Missile Crisis

Fidel Castro – CUBA (1959)

China Cuba USSR = allies

I love you guys No, I love you guys No, I love you more.

U.S tries to overthrow Castro in the Bay of Pigs invasion

MISERABLE FAILURE!!! This makes the TOP 10 list of the things the U.S. should never have done

Situation 1

• October 14, 1962 – U2 spy planes photographed a missile launch pad on Cuba.

• Khrushchev lied and said he would not place missiles in Cuba but obviously did.

• There could be up to 20,000 Soviet bomb technicians in Cuba.

• Soviets have installed a ring of SAMs that can take down American aircraft used to survey Cuba.

• The U.S. has twice the number of ICBMs missiles. We also have our missiles in Turkey and the Mediterranean Sea to provide quick-strike capabilities.

• We are not sure of the Soviet’s actions just yet but we should be careful to remain superior.

You are a presidential EXCOMM member for Kennedy.

1) Should the president be concerned about the Soviet Missiles in Cuba?

2) What do you advise the President to do?

Brainstorm the possible U.S. responses to the Soviet missile threat in Cuba.

Situation 2

• Soviet buildup of missiles has grown exponentially.

• The missile launcher in San Cristobal will be ready in 10 days. Once fired, a missile can reach Washington D.C. in 2-3 minutes.

• By November, they will have missiles that can reach everywhere in the U.S. besides Seattle.

• The President must get missiles out of Cuba, avoid a nuclear war, and not lose face.

• Here are five options you have to choose:– Ignore missiles– Invade Cuba– Naval blockade of Cuba to stop USSR Ship– Send emissary to talk matters w/ Khrushev– Launch airstrike against the missile sites

As the EXCOMM, how would you prioritize these 5?

• 1) Ignore missiles

• 2) Naval blockade to stop Soviet Ships from getting more missiles into Cuba

• 3) Invade Cuba

• 4) Launch airstrike against missile sites

• 5) Send emissary to discuss matters with Khrushchev

Situation 3 – From President JFK

• I ordered a naval blockade of the island of Cuba.

• I didn’t want an airstrike because I did not want to kill innocent people which would trigger WWIII.

• A USSR boat started to steam toward Cuba in defiance of the blockade.

• One of our U2 spy planes was shot down and an American pilot was killed in Cuba

What should I do if…?

• 1) The Soviets fire on American naval vessels enforcing the blockade?

• 2) The Soviets attempt to break the blockade?

• 3) The Soviets wait it out for weeks or months until the crisis subsides?

• 4) Cuban commanders launch a missile from Cuba to the U.S.

The Cuban Missile Crisis (1962)