Message
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Mocking USSR and the impact of the CMC on Khrushchev
The removal of missiles impacted Castro more than Khrushchev, however, Khrushchev
is justifying his action by his statement that the removal of missiles “hurts me more than
it hurts you”.
The message of the source is that of Khrushchev justifying the removal of missiles to Castro by
stating that “this hurts me more than it hurts you”. As the patient whose “teeth” (missiles) are
going to removed, it is clear that Castro would feel the most pain. However Khrushchev (the
dentist) claims that the impact of removing the missiles would be worse for USSR. In fact, Cuba
was not consulted with regards to the removal of missiles, and Castro had felt greatly betrayed
by USSR who had placed missiles in Cuba with the intention of protecting/defending Cuba from
USA who had displaced aggressive tendencies (Bay of Pigs / Operation Mongoose).
Mock the USSR for mishandling the way in which the crisis was resolved – act of betrayal.
Khrushchev did not even consult or inform Castro regarding the negotiations with the
Americans. In fact, Castro learnt about the removal of offensive Soviet missiles only
through Khrushchev’s radio announcement.
Such an arrangement clashed with the aims of Castro, who pressed the USSR to
launch a pre-emptive nuclear strike against the USA. It was thus the willingness of both
superpowers to come to a compromise that marked the end of the crisis. The fact that
Castro was not even consulted nor included in the process of reconciliation proved that
Cold War considerations superseded and took precedence over Cuba’s national
concerns. This highlighted the dominant role that the superpowers played in the
resolution of the CMC, thereby showing that the CMC was indeed an expression of
superpower rivalry.
Yes, USA was the victor
Source A supports the view that USA was the victor because Khrushchev had to remove the
missiles from Cuba. The source shows Khrushchev as dentist removing the “teeth” (missiles)
from Castro’s mouth. The caption of the source states “This hurts me more than it hurts you.” At
the end of the crisis, Castro felt betrayed by the removal of the missiles, and Khrushchev’s
reputation among the communist bloc suffered as he was seen to have bowed down to the
pressure by the USA.
e.g. Source D also does not agree that Khrushchev won the CMC as it showed Khrushchev giving in to
the USA and removing the missiles from Cuba as shown in him pulling out Castro’s teeth which
represented the missiles.
e.g. This source is not useful as evidence about the outcome of the CMC as it is only from the American
point of view. The cartoon aims to show that Khrushchev had given in to American pressure. Khrushchev
is drawn as a dentist pulling out Castro’s teeth which represents the missiles. This represented
Khrushchev’s removal of the missiles from Cuba. As he was doing so he told Castro: “This hurts me more
than it hurts you.” That Khrushchev was not happy about removing the missiles in Cuba meant that
Khrushchev had lost in the standoff against the USA. However, this source does not provide information
from the SU’s perspective. In Source B, Khrushchev claimed in his memoirs that he agreed to remove the
missiles on condition that Kennedy “promised that there would be no invasion of Cuba by the forces of
the United States or anybody else”. Hence, to Khrushchev, he was victorious as he was able to save
Cuba. Hence, Source D is not reliable and not useful as evidence about the outcome of the CMC.