IQ: Why did Soviet support for Castro provoke a major crisis within the US? Key words Guerilla war Monroe Doctrine Non-alignment ExComm Hotline Bay of Pigs Arms race ICBM Learning Objectives: Describe the main events of the Cuban Missile Crisis. Explain the social, political and economic causes of the Cuban Missile Crisis. Assess the role of Kennedy, Castro and Khruschev in the Cuban Missile Crisis. What was the Cuban Missile Crisis? The Cuban Missile Crisis of October 1962 was a direct and dangerous confrontation between the United States and the Soviet Union during the Cold War. It was the moment when the two superpowers came closest to nuclear conflict. Source C – An extract from We Now Know by John Gaddis, 1997. [The crisis over Cuba was] the only episode after World War II in which each of the major areas of SovietAmerican competition intersected: the nuclear arms race to be sure, but also conflicting ideological aspirations, ‘third world rivalries’, relations with allies, the domestic political implications of foreign policy, the personalities of individual leaders. The crisis was a kind of funnel – a historical singularity if you like – into which everything suddenly tumbled and got mixed together. Fortunately no black hole lured at the other end… According to Source C, what was the cause of the Cuban Missile Crisis? Fidel Castro Cuban nationalist Not communist Nikita Khrushchev USSR Pro-communist John F Kennedy USA Democrat Cause 1: The Arms Race • 1949 - The USSR produced its own atomic bomb. This started an arms race with the USA: • 1952 - Hydrogen Bomb produced by the USA; the USSR followed suit the next year. • 1957 - ICBM (Inter-continental ballistic missile) developed by the USSR, which could reach the USA from a firing point in the USSR; The USA responded with their own ICBM (the Atlas) soon afterwards, which they placed in Turkey. • 1958 - Sputnik 1 (the first earth satellite) launched by the USSR; the USA launched their own a few months later. By 1960, Khrushchev, felt like a man boxed in by enemies. For example, he cited the U.S. missiles in Turkey just 150 miles from the U.S.S.R. Cuba is only 90 miles off the coast of Florida but the 60 mile difference is "nothing for a missile," Khrushchev said. Most of all, Khrushchev feared a firststrike by the U.S. If the Soviet Union lost the arms race so badly, he worried, it would invite a first-strike nuclear attack from the U.S. Consequently, Khrushchev began looking for a way to counter the United State's lead. Cause 2: The Cuban Revolution • In the 1950s, the USSR accepted that South America was in the US sphere of interest. • The US’ domination caused resentment amongst intellectuals and nationalists. • This was one of the factors which influenced Fidel Castro to launch a guerilla war against the government of Fulgencio Batista in December 1956. • January 1959 – Castro’s forces took control of Cuba. • There was growing opposition from the Cuban middle classes for his economic policies. • Castro decided to adopt Marxism-Leninism in order to address Cuba’s economic needs. He hoped this would also provide protection from the USSR against the US. • There was increasing friction with the US caused by Castro seizing firms and property belonging to the US. • 1960 - Castro invited Anastas Mikoyan (USSR Deputy Chairman of the Council of Ministers) to visit Havana. Mikoyan returned to Moscow with a glowing account of the Cuban Revolution. • March 1960 – Eisenhower ordered the CIA to begin training anti-Castro Cuban refugees for operations against Castro. • The US put the Cuban economy under great pressure by no longer buying Cuban sugar and not supplying them with oil. • July 1960 – Khrushchev threatened to send Soviet troops to Cuba and suggested that the US should end the Monroe Doctrine. Cause 3: Failure of The Bay of Pigs Invasion (April 1961) • Four months after Kennedy became President, a force of 1,400 CIA-trained Cuban exiles landed at the Bay of Pigs in South Havana. • It was hoped this would trigger an uprising against Castro. • Castro imprisoned thousands of suspects. • At last minute, Kennedy cancelled both bombing raids by US aircraft and a landing by US marines, thus dooming the invasion to failure. • He feared that Khrushchev may retaliate by causing a crisis in Berlin. • The Cuban exiles were rapidly defeated and it was a miserable failure for Kennedy. • Khrushchev was delighted at the failure but saw it as a warning and knew they would try again. • He was correct; the CIA continued to devise plans for Castro’s assassination. • September 1961 – Castro asks Khrushchev for weapons to defend Cuba against the US. The USSR agrees. • 1962 - The US Armed Forces conducted a mock invasion of a Caribbean island to overthrow a fictitious dictator whose name, Ortsac, is Castro spelled backwards. Additionally, the U.S. is drafting a plan to invade Cuba (Operation Mongoose). The mock invasion and invasion plan are devised to keep Castro nervous. Cause 4: Secret Soviet-Cuban accord August 1962 – a secret Soviet-Cuban treaty was signed permitting the USSR to place missiles in Cuba. Over the next few weeks, the Soviets began secretly deploying medium-range nuclear missiles in Cuba, defended by 40,000 Soviet troops. The reasons for this were: 1. To gain a threatening US base which could reach the US. 2. Defend Cuba’s socialist movement against Castro. 3. Correct the strategic imbalance caused by the construction of NATO missile bases in Turkey. By October, the Soviets had brought enough warheads to equip at least 158 nuclear missiles which could reach the US in minutes. The height of the Crisis, 14-28 October 1962 On 14 October an American U2 spy-plane took pictures of a nuclear missile base being built on Cuba. Kennedy’s advisers told him he had 10 days before Cuba could fire the missiles at targets in America. The options open to the US government were explored by a small crisis committee, the ExComm (Executive Committee of the US National Security Council). The decided against: 1. Launching a surprise air attack without previous warning to the USSR 2. Appealing to the UN as the USSR had a right to veto. This diagram shows the range of the missiles based in Cuba. The situation now looked deadly serious. Plans were created for a possible full-scale invasion of Cuba which would be activated after an ultimatum was given to the Soviets demanding the withdrawal of the missile. Source F – An aerial reconnaissanc e photograph showing a medium-range ballistic missile launch site in Cuba, October 1962. What information does Source F convey about the causes of the Cuban Missile Crisis? What was Kennedy’s Ultimatum? • In the meantime, the US established a quarantine zone (blockade) 1300km off the coast of Cuba. • One they entered this area, Soviet ships would be stopped ad searched for any weapons bound for Cuba. • 22nd October – Kennedy announced on US TV the news of the existence of Soviet missiles on Cuba and the quarantine zone. • He said that if any nuclear missiles were fired from Cuba that he would order a massive nuclear attack (massive retaliation) on the USSR. • Khrushchev ordered Soviet ships to challenge the blockade. It now looked as though naval confrontation was inevitable. Published in a US newspaper How did the Crisis end? Soviet decision to withdraw missiles: • October 25th – the acting secretary General of the UN suggested a compromise: the US would not invade Cuba if the USSR withdrew its missiles. • Khrushchev adopted the proposal and communicated it to Kennedy. • A second proposal was sent to avoid accusations of weakness from the USSR and PRC, saying that the removal of soviet missiles was dependent on the US removing its NATO nuclear missiles bases in Turkey. • Kennedy ignored the second letter. He publically agreed not to invade Cuba but secretly consented to remove missiles from Turkey in future. • He said if the Soviets made the offer public that he would revoke it. • Effectively, this ended the crisis. Do you think Kennedy made the right choices? Homework – Due Sunday th 29 March. 1. What is the message of this source? 2. Who do you think was to blame for the Cuban Missile Crisis?
