Cuban Missile Crisis

Cuban Missile Crisis

Introduction

The Cuban Missile Crisis was the finale of a series of occurrences that transformed Cuba from a dependable and trustworthy ally of the United States to an implacable enemy. The opening of these occurrences was the victory of the 1959 Cuban Revolution, which brushed away Fulgencio Batista (who was a pro United States strongman) from power and set up a communist government ruled by Fidel Castro. The United States president Dwight D. Eisenhower's administration, which was principally committed to combating the rise of communism, designed an invasion to overthrow Castro. The consequential 1961 Bay of Pigs incursion, launched and approved by the successor of Eisenhower, John F. Kennedy, confirmed to be a thwarting failure. Subsequent to the Bay of Pigs disaster, Fidel Castro fell back on the Soviet Union for financial aid, in addition to military help in opposition to any further violence or aggression by the U.S.

Discussion

The October 1962 events are generally regarded as the most horrific moment in human history when, had all-out nuclear war took place, hundreds of millions of people would have been killed. Without a doubt, the climatic and environmental consequences could have led to the extermination of human life in the northern hemisphere. Yet the crisis is also commonly seen as a defining moment in the cold war that helped bring detente between the superpowers, collaboration in arms control, and decline in the risk of nuclear war. Over many decades, an immeasurable amount of historical research has been carried out into the crisis. Still the debate remains in relation to the interpretation of occurrences and the implications for understanding the power and role of nuclear weapons in global politics.

This crisis began on October 16th, 1962, later than the United States spy planes explored the construction of Soviet nuclear missile bases in Cuba. The Soviet leader, Nikita Khrushchev, had assured U.S. President John F. Kennedy that the Soviets would not place offensive weapons on the island. Later than a week's consideration, on October 22nd, Kennedy proclaimed the obligation of a partial naval barricade and threatened a “full retaliatory response” in opposition to the Soviet Union if missiles were fired from Cuba. On the morning of October 24th, U.S. warships stood all set to seize Soviet ships. The crisis reached its high point on the weekend of October 26th, when both leaders maneuvered to reach a diplomatic resolution. An agenda was agreed ...