Cold War Heats Up
Bay of Pigs and
Cuban Missile Crisis
Story of the Bay of Pigs…
1960 – President Eisenhower tells CIA to
secretly begin training Cuban exiles
 When Kennedy is elected, he finds out
only 9 days prior to election…
 Cautiously, he sends 1,400 exiles on April
17th, 1961 to Bay of Pigs…

False Info…
CIA reports claimed an air strike had been
successful 2 days earlier…they were
incorrect!
 20,000 Cuban troops and Soviet tanks and
jets are waiting…


Killed or taken hostage…ALL of them
Looking like a fool?

Kennedy – “We look like fools to our
friends, rascals to our enemies, and
incompetent to the rest!”


Warned that communist expansion in Western
hemisphere would not be tolerated!!!
Castro likely laughing; openly welcomes
Soviet aid…
Cuban Missile Crisis…

Castro receives aid from Nikita Khrushchev




Soviet Communist leader – will defend Cuba w/Soviet
arms
Summer 1962 – open flow of Soviet weapons
(missiles/nuclear arms) to Cuba
Warned by Kennedy again
U2 planes take photographs confirming missile
bases being built and targeting US cities
Kennedy Responds…

Any attack from Cuba will result in all out attack
from U.S. on the Soviet Union (“highest national
urgency” speech)



Brinkmanship – pushing a dangerous situation to the
verge of disaster to achieve wanted outcome
6 more days, Soviet ships head to Cuba
US Navy sends fleet to stop them in Atlantic;
200,000 troops in FL ready to invade Cuba
Result…

Khrushchev removes missiles if…

Kennedy agrees not to invade Cuba, ever!
Soviets prestige DOWN
 Kennedy criticized!!!


Lost Cuba to communism
 CONTAINMENT
FAILS AGAIN!!!