The Cuban Missile Crisis 1962
Nuclear
Holocaust
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Diplomatic Match of
Chess
Assess the causes and effects of the
Cuban Missile Crisis
• Three Men Go to War
• https://www.pbslearni
ngmedia.org/resource/
72b4fbe3-5b9a-4f35a58c8894486a6527/cubanmissile-crisis-threemen-go-to-war-clip2/?#.WprA4pPwa3I
•
The rivalry of Personalities: Frame of
Refernces
Be Khrushchev
https://www.youtube.co
m/watch?v=N8hLWD
dvBm8
Be Castro
https://www.youtube.co
m/watch?v=NHVpuh
ApSC0
Be Kennedy
https://www.youtube.co
m/watch?v=KJuKpf_8
IJ0
Why did Soviet support for Castro provoke a major
crisis with the US?
•
•
•
Although the Cuban Missile Crisis
was a direct confrontation between
the US and the USSR, involving
neither NATO nor the Warsaw Pact,
it had a profound impact on the
Cold War both in Europe and
throughout the world.
Both sides came to the brink of war
but a nuclear conflict was averted.
•
CMC is the only episode after World
War II in which each of the major
areas of Soviet–American
competition intersected: the
nuclear arms race to be sure, (
1)but also conflicting ideological
aspirations, ( 2)‘third world
rivalries’( 3), relations with allies,(
4) the domestic political
implications of foreign policy,( 5)
the personalities of individual
leaders. The crisis was a kind of
Compare and contrast the causes,
significance, and impact of the
Cuban Missile Crisis and the Berlin
Blockade.
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 …
•
An extract from We Now Know by
John Gaddis, published by OUP,
Oxford, UK, 1997, p. 261.
Official Causes
•Castro’s Revolution in Cuba
•Deterioration in US-Cuban relations
•Failure of Bay of Pigs
•Secret Soviet-Cuban accord, August 1962:
medium-range missiles installed and defended
by Soviet troops
Cold War Arms Race:
• “You cannot
simultaneously prevent
and prepare for war." -Albert Einstein
• http://www.armageddon
letters.com/
Cold War Arms Race:
• "I know not with what
weapons World War III
will be fought, but World
War IV will be fought
with sticks and stones." - Albert Einstein
Location
Jupiter Missiles in Turkey
History of “Nukes”
• From 1945-1949 USA
was the only nation to
have Nuclear Bombs.
The Arms Race Begins
• In 1949, the Soviets
developed the atomic
bomb.
THE SPACE RACE
History of “Nukes”
• In the 1950’s Britain,
France, and the USSR all
have nuclear weapons.
“Trinity and Beyond”
Chronology of First Five Nations With Nuclear Weapons
1945 July 16
U.S.  U.S. explodes the world's first atomic
1949 August 29
U.S.S.R. Soviet Union detonates its first
1952 October 3
UK  First British atomic bomb, ‘Hurricane’,
bomb, the ‘Trinity Test’, at Alamogordo, New Mexico.
atomic bomb, ‘Joe 1’, at Semipalatinsk in Kazakhstan. It’s a copy of the
Fat Man bomb and had a yield of 21 kilotons.
was tested at Monte Bello Islands, Australia, with a yield of 25 kilotons.
1960 February 13
FRANCE  First French nuclear test occurs at
Reganne, Algeria, in the Sahara Desert. ‘Gerboise Bleue’ had a yield of
60-70 kilotons.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
1964 October 16 CHINA  China explodes its first atomic bomb
at the Lop Nor test site on the northeastern edge of the Tarim Basin in the
XinJiang Province. It was an uranium 235 implosion fission device
named ‘596’and had a yield of 22 kilotons.
What was the space race?
• The space race was a race
between the United States and the
Soviet Union to explore outer
space.
• Many Americans felt that it would
be dangerous to lose this race.
• They realized that if the Soviets
could work or travel in space, they
could easily spy on or attack the
United States.
Definitions of the Crisis
• Today, it is known to Americans as “the
Cuban missile crisis,” to Soviets as “the
Caribbean crisis,” and to Cubans as “the
October crisis.” At no other time in history
has the world come so close to nuclear war.
June 3-4, 1961, Vienna
Summit
Vienna, June 1961
Jackie was
truly
entertained by
K’s jokes and
asked K for a
space dog’s
puppy. She
got one soon
after returning
to Washington
The Vienna Summit
1. Easy agreement on neutralization of Laos
2. Fierce debate on the terms of peaceful coexistence – right
to a revolution? ( China 1949, Cuba 1959)
3. Germany, Berlin. Major Soviet worry about growing West
German potential and East German weakness
• Khrushchev repeats his ultimatum to sign a peace treaty
with GDR and give it full control over East Berlin
• JFK warns of consequences: NATO will act if necessary
• Khrushchev says he’s ready for war
How was the Cuba crisis linked to the Berlin
Crisis?
• An added dimension of this crisis was that Kennedy also
believed that Khrushchev’s actions were part of a Soviet plan
to put pressure on America to get out of Berlin.
• Kennedy said to British Prime Minister Harold Macmillan on
22 October, ‘I need not point out to you the possible relation
of this secret and dangerous move on the part of
Khrushchev to Berlin’; and to his advisers he pointed out
that, ‘Our problem is not merely Cuba but it is also Berlin.’
• This, of course, increased the tension further, as Kennedy
believed that his decisions would affect not only Cuba, but
also Berlin, and thus Europe.
The crisis took the terrifying form that it did because … of a simple American misunderstanding that can
stand as a metaphor for much of the early cold war.
• The officials in Washington thought that their Soviet opponents were
playing a complicated game of diplomatic chess, with the various pawns on
the international board – Czechoslovakia, Korea, Germany, Egypt,
Indochina, and now Cuba – being subtly moved around to the calculate
advantage of the Moscow principles. In fact, however, the Soviet leaders –
first Stalin now Khrushchev – were not playing chess. They were playing
poker. They had a weak hand and they knew it … So they bluffed. The
outcome of the Cuban crisis would not have been very different if the
Americans had realized sooner which game they were in; but the risks
encountered along the way would have been much reduced.
• Tony Judt, The Crisis: Kennedy, Khrushchev and Cuba in
Reappraisals, Reflections on the Forgotten
Czechoslovakia, Korea, Germany,
Egypt, Indochina, and now Cuba
Korea
Germany
Indochina
Czec
hoslo
vakia
Cuba
Players: Soviet Side
Andrei Gromyko,
Minister of Foreign Affairs
Nikita Khrushchev
Soviet Premier
Anatoly Dobrynin
Ambassador to the U.S.
Soviet
Union
Deputy
Premier
Players : Cuban Side
Fidel Castro
Premier of
Cuba
Raul Castro
Head of Military
Deputy Foreign Minister
Players: American Side
John Kennedy
U.S. President
Robert Kennedy
Attorney General
Robert McNamara
Secretary of Defense
Dean Rusk
Secretary of State
Historical Context
–Soviet Insecurity
•Missile capability NOT balanced.
–Cuban Invasion
•Bay-of-Pigs-1961, Operation Mongoose-1962.
•Castro nervous.
–Build-up
•April 1962, Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev
conceived the idea of placing intermediate-range
missiles in Cuba to provide a real deterrent to a
potential U.S. attack against the Soviet Union or
Cuba.
•Operation “Anadyr “ Little support from Mikoyan
and other members of Politburo
How successful were early attempts at
‘containment’?
The US committed $100 million to
overthrowing Castro, the CIA tried to
sabotage the economy, they even planned
to send him an exploding cigar! Why did
they go to such lengths after April 1961?
• Castro takes over US
businesses
• January 1961, US breaks off
diplomatic relations
• April, 1961, Bay of Pigs – 1,400
anti-Cuban exiles attempted to
overthrow Castro
• Autumn 1962, Cuba has
received 1000s of USSR
missiles, jets, boats & personnel
638 ways to kill Castro
•
•
•
•
Part of the operation Mongoose
The poisoned cigar
The Mafia ice cream plot
The exploding seashell plot and the
poisonous diving suit plot
• The paramour
• The poison pen
• Character assassination through LSD-like
drugs or debearding
Khrushchev admired Castro as a true, real-life revolutionary
Solidarity with revolutionaries across the world
Personality
•
•
•
•
Boorish (rude and impolite)
Interrupting speakers
Humiliated people
He once describe Mao (leader of Communist China)
as an “old Galosh” translated to “old boot” which
means Prostitute or immoral women
• He once took off his shoe during an UN General
assembly and banged it off the table repeatedly.
• WE will show you Kuzkin’s mother ( we will bury
you )
Why was the USSR interested in helping
Cuba?
• Cuba was a new Communist state
• Cuba provided a launch base for USSR inter-continental
missiles (ICMs)ICBM engin balistique à portée
intercontinentale
• Khrushchev wanted to test strength of new US president,
JFK
• Khrushchev wanted to force JFK into bargaining over US
missile in Europe
Why does this cartoonist
think that Khrushchev was
interested in Cuba?
The arms race begins….
•Both countries began developing their weapons so as to be able to
‘outgun’ their opponents. This meant:
• developing more powerful weapons
•Having more of one weapon than the other side
• WHY NUCLEAR WEAPONS?
• Cheaper than having a large army
• They were a deterrent.
•The idea was to have so many missiles that they could not all be destroyed.
If one side attacked then it knew that the other could retaliate. This was
known as MAD – MUTUAL ASSURED DESTRUCTION.
•For some the Arms Race was a test of the
strengths of Capitalism v communism
1961
•
REVIEW THE CHRONOLOGY
January 3rd: US severs diplomatic ties with Cuba
January 20th: John F. Kennedy inaugurated as US president, after defeating
Richard Nixon in the November 1960 election.
April 12th: USSR launches the first man in space, cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin.
April 15th: CIA-backed invasion of Cuba via the Bay of Pigs is defeated.
June: The US begins installing nuclear-capable Jupiter missiles in Turkey,
increasing its capacity to launch against the USSR.
June 4th: Khrushchev issues another ultimatum on Berlin, giving the Allies six
months to withdraw from the city.
July 25th: John F. Kennedy calls for increases to the US military, in response to
Khrushchev’s ultimatum.
August 13th: East German troops close the border with West Berlin and begin
construction of the Berlin Wall.
October 27th: Beginning of a tense two-day stand-off between US and USSR
tanks at Checkpoint Charlie in Berlin.
October 31st: USSR detonates ‘Tsar Bomba’, at 50 megatons the most powerful
nuclear device ever tested.
1962
REVIEW THE CHRONOLOGY
•
February 10th: Detained U2 pilot Gary Powers is returned
to the US, in exchange for a captured KGB agent.
October 15th: CIA reports that surveillance photographs
reveal the installation of Soviet nuclear missiles in Cuba.
October 22nd: John F. Kennedy speaks on television,
announcing a naval blockade of Cuba to extract the missiles.
October 26th: US military sets DEFCON 2, prepares
ballistic missiles and stocks B-52 bombers with nuclear
weapons.
October 29th: Khrushchev announces the withdrawal of the
missiles, following backroom negotiations with the US.
Why was there a nuclear arms race?
USSR
76 IBMs
US
700 Medium range bombers
450 ICBMs (intercontinental
ballistic missile)
250 Medium range missiles
2,260 Bombers
16,000Tanks
32 Nuclear submarines
260 Conventional submarines
76 Battleships and carriers
1,600 bombers
38,000 Tanks
12 Nuclear submarines
495 Conventional submarines
0 Battleships and cruisers
The serious side was….
• That a rocket that could launch a satellite could also
launch a nuclear warhead at a target.
• So space developments led to rapid advances in
nuclear weapons.
• By 1960 each side had the nuclear capability to
destroy the earth
• In 1961 Yuri Gagarin, a Soviet cosmonaut was the
first man to orbit the earth – the Soviets had the
lead. For Khrushchev it was a triumph for
communism
“Missiles & Machines of War”
USN F-8 Crusader
SS-4 "Sandal" 1000 km
USAF RF-101
SS-5 "Skean" 2000 km
USAF U2
1960: The biggest nuclear bomb ever built: “Tsar-bomba”, “Big Ivan”, “Kooz’ka’s
Mother” (from old Russian proverb, much liked by Khrushchev: “We’ll show you
Kooz’ka’s mother!”
October 1961: The world’s biggest H-bomb tested at Novaya Zemlya Island,
the Arctic, explosive power – 57 mt
Gen. Curtis B. LeMay, Chief of the Strategic Air Command, advocated
all-out nuclear war to destroy Soviet Union and Red China
• Gen. Curtis B. LeMay, Chief of the Strategic Air
Command, advocated all-out nuclear war to
destroy Soviet Union and Red China
• In the spring of 1961
• JFK asks “If your plans for general [nuclear] war are
carried out as planned, how many people will be killed in
the Soviet Union and China?”
• Answer:
• 275 mln. instantly
• 325 mln. after 6 months
• Up to 600 mln. total for Europe and Asia*
• http://www.japanfocus.org/-Daniel-Ellsberg/3222
A few reminders : Pressure from
outside and inside
• In 1959, Castro was certainly an anti-US Cuban
nationalist, but not a communist.
• It was growing opposition from the Cuban middle
classes to his economic policies and increasing US
hostility to his attempt to adopt a policy of NonAlignment in the Cold War that caused him to
adopt Marxism–Leninism in order to address
Cuba’s economic needs and to achieve military
protection from the US by forming a relationship
with the Soviet Union.
Cuba- US + USSR
• Friction with the US was also caused by his seizure of
property and land owned by the major US firms.
• As relations with the US deteriorated during the summer of
1959, Castro made contact with the Soviets and, in February
1960, he invited Deputy Chairman of the Soviet Council of
Ministers, Anastas Mikoyan, to visit Havana,
Cuba’s capital.
• Mikoyan returned to Moscow with a glowing account of the
Cuban Revolution, which reminded him of the heroic early
days of the Russian Revolution in 1917.
Mongoose continues
• In March 1960, Eisenhower ordered the CIA to begin
equipping and training anti-Castro Cuban refugees for
future operations against Castro.
• The US also put the Cuban economy under great pressure by
no longer buying Cuban sugar or supplying Cuba with oil.
REMEMBER OIL EMBARGOS ( ECONOMIC WARS )
• In this increasingly tense situation, Khrushchev threatened
in July 1960 to send Soviet troops to Cuba to defend the
island if the US dared invade it.
• Khrushchev also suggested that the US should declare the
end of the Monroe Doctrine.
Monroe Doctrine /Platt Amendement
• Monroe Doctrine The doctrine
formulated by President Monroe of the
US (1817–25) that the European powers
should not intervene in the affairs of
North or South America.
• 'Platt Amendment' of 1901-1934 gave the
USA control over Cuban foreign policy,
the right to station troops and intervene
'to preserve independence;
The Bay of Pigs, April 1961
• In April 1961, four months after Kennedy became
US President, a force of about 1400 CIA-trained
Cuban exiles landed at the Bay of Pigs south of
Havana.
• It was hoped that this would trigger a popular
uprising against Castro, but Castro, in
anticipation of such a move, imprisoned thousands
of suspects.
• At the last moment, Kennedy cancelled both
bombing raids by US aircraft and a landing by
US marines, thus dooming the invasion to failure.
Bay of Pigs
• "It was supposed to rid the hemisphere of
a potential Soviet base, but it pushed
Fidel Castro into the waiting arms of the
Soviet Union.
• It was meant to undermine his revolution
but it truly helped him to consolidate it."
Cuba /Berlin
• JFK feared that if US involvement became overt,
Khrushchev would retaliate by causing a crisis in Berlin.
• Deprived of US support, the Cuban exiles were rapidly
defeated.
•
Although Khrushchev was delighted by the
failure of the landing, he nevertheless saw it as a
warning that the US would inevitably try again
to topple Castro. In this he was correct.
• The CIA continued to devise plans for Castro’s assassination
and large-scale military manoeuvres took place in the
Caribbean Sea in the spring and summer of 1962 in
anticipation of an invasion.
Anadyr Planning
• The Soviet decision to place missiles on Cuba, 1962
In 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
to deploy medium-range nuclear missiles in Cuba.
• 40,000 Soviet troops, anti-aircraft batteries, shortrange battlefield rockets and MIG-21 fighter planes
would defend these.( READ FURTHER ON THE
DETAILS OF THE ANADYR)
USSR sent for the Operation “
Anadyr”
• two regiments of FKR-1 cruise missiles equipped with 16 launchers and
80 tactical nuclear warheads lanceurs, têtes nucléaires
• two antiaircraft divisions les divisions antiaériennes
• a fighter regiment equipped with MiG-21s chasseurs bombardiers
• four motorized rifle regiments, each with its own tank battalion a brigade
of twelve missile boats
• The total personnel figure for the operation was 50,874.
• The forces required an estimated 85 transports to deploy: deployer
mostly freighters, ( les avions cargos) but also some passenger liners(
paquebots)
• six Il-28 bombers with a total of six 407H nuclear bombs at their
disposal three
• Luna battalions equipped with a total of twelve type 3N14 nuclear
warheads
Anadyr required :
43,000 troops to defend Cuba ( all disguised as
Cubans and taught some commands in Spanish)
164 nuclear weapons, of which (as was recently
revealed):
42 were already put on intermediate-range missiles,
ready to be launched at US targets
9 were on tactical missiles, ready to be used against
an invading US force
The key reasons for this highly
dangerous operation were to:
• ● Gain a base from which the US could be threatened by
medium-range Soviet missiles WESTERN HEMSIPHERE
• ● Correct the strategic imbalance caused by the
construction of NATO missile bases in Turkey, which could
reach the major industrial and population centres of the
Soviet Union
• ● Defend Cuba’s socialist revolution, since the Soviets saw
the revolution as a major success for Marxism–Leninism, and
its defeat would, as Mikoyan told Castro, ‘throw back the
revolutionary movement in many countries’.
• By 4 October, Soviet ships had brought
enough nuclear warheads to equip at least 158
strategic and tactical nuclear missiles,
which could reach the majority of the US in a
matter of minutes.
Khrushchev’s motives:
• Certainly not to wage war on the US.
• Rather:
– To restore Soviet image as a military superpower ready
to confront US
– To protect the Castro regime
– To obtain strike positions against US similar to those US
had against Russia ( see Turkey )
– Politburo ( Suslov, Mikoyan, Malenkovsky ) disagree (
apparatus bureaucracy is ticketed off as they are not
consulted but ordered )
– Frightening times vs Funny times
An extract from Khrushchev Remembers
• We welcomed Castro’s victory [in April 1961] of
course, but at the same time we were quite
certain that the invasion was only the beginning
and that the Americans would not let Cuba
alone … There are infinite opportunities for
invasion, especially if the invader has naval
artillery and air support.
• by Nikita Khrushchev, translated and edited by
Strobe Talbott, published by Little, Brown and Co.,
Boston, USA, 1971, p. 492.
Warning Signs
• May, 1962: Khrushchev makes veiled references
to a plot (How would the U.S. feel having
missiles pointing at them, as they have missiles
pointed at us?)
• September: JFK and Congress issue warnings to
USSR that US will deal harshly with any threats
to national security
• October 14: U2 recon. flight over Cuba spots
sites installing nuclear missiles…Major Richard S.
Heyser
• October 15: Presence of missiles is confirmed
The Missiles: Locations
The Missiles: Locations
The Missiles: Aerial Photo 1
The Missiles: Aerial Photo 2
The Missiles: Aerial Photo 3
One of our U-2 flights over Cuba has revealed what
analysts believe to be nuclear missiles. Sir, the missiles
look to be from the Soviet Union.
“13 Days” Begin
•October 16: President Kennedy notified
•October 16-22: Secret deliberations on what
should be done
•October 22: Kennedy tells nation his plan
for blockade and quarantine
•October 23: OAS( organization of
American states) endorses naval quarantine
•October 24: Naval quarantine begins and
successfully changes course of many Soviet
ships
It’s time to discuss military options sir. The Soviets still
deny that there are nuclear missiles in Cuba.
ExComm decided against:
Launching a surprise air attack on the missile
installations in Cuba without any previous
warning to the USSR
Appealing to the United Nations as the
USSR had the right of veto as a permanent
Security Council member.
INSTEAD
• Plans were created for a possible full-scale
invasion of Cuba by US forces, but these
would only be activated after the dispatch
of an ultimatum to the USSR demanding
that Soviet missiles be withdrawn from
the island.
The quarantine zone
• In the meantime, the US Navy established a
so-called quarantine zone 1300 kilometres
(800 miles) from Cuba’s coast.
• Once they entered this area, Soviet ships
would be stopped and searched for any
weapons bound for Cuba. This was later
reduced to 800 kilometres (500 miles).
October 22
• Kennedy announced on US television the
news of the existence of Soviet missiles in
Cuba and of the quarantine zone.
• He also made it clear that if any nuclear
missile was fired from Cuba, he would
order a massive nuclear attack on
the USSR.
Ping Pong
• Initially, Khrushchev was determined to
complete the missile sites in Cuba and he
ordered Soviet ships to challenge the
blockade.
• It now looked as though a naval
confrontation was inevitable.
October 24
• Khrushchev ignored the quarantine, and
Soviet ships containing missiles headed for
Cuba.
• However, on 24 October, six Soviet ships
turned back towards the Soviet Union.
• At this point Dean Rusk, the US Secretary of
State, commented, ‘We’re eyeball to eyeball
and I think the other fellow just blinked.’
Nevertheless, the crisis continued as the
missile sites remained on Cuba.
October 26
• On 26 October, Khrushchev sent a telegram
to Kennedy saying that the Soviet Union
would remove the missiles in return for a US
pledge not to invade Cuba.
• At this point, he was convinced that the
United States was on the verge of attacking
Cuba.
Letter from Khrushchev to Kennedy,
• … You and we ought not to pull on the ends of the rope in which you
have tied the knot of war, because the more the two of us pull, the tighter
the knot will be tied. And then it will be necessary to cut that knot, and
what that will mean is not for me to explain to you, because you yourself
understand perfectly of what terrible forces our countries dispose … I
have participated in two wars and know that war ends when it is rolled
through cities and villages everywhere sowing death and destruction. For
such is the logic of war; if people do not display wisdom they will clash
like blind moles.
• THIS TELEGRAM MIGHT HAVE DEFUSED THE
CRISIS
26 October 1962, quoted by the Secretary of Defense Robert
McNamara in the television documentary The Fog of War
Khrushchev’s Second Letter
• Before Kennedy could respond, Khrushchev
sent a second, more demanding, letter to the US
government insisting on the inclusion of the
removal of Turkish missiles in any deal over
Cuba.
• The crisis further escalated after a US U-2 plane was
shot down over Cuba.
• Military leaders in Cuba without authorization had
taken this action from the Soviet Union and seemed
a sign that events could easily spiral out of control.
Pressure on JFK to take military action in Cuba
• The consequences of this would have been
extremely serious as, unknown to the
Americans at the time; short-range nuclear
missiles were already on Cuba and ready for
use by the Cubans.
• Kennedy continued to see military action as a
last resort
• JFK decided to accept Khrushchev’s first
offer and ignore the second.
Robert Kennedy and Anatoly Dobrynin
• Kennedy’s brother, Robert – and then Attorney General –
met with Anatoly Dobrynin, the Soviet ambassador in
Washington, DC, to agree that the United States would
remove missiles from Turkey.
• On 28 October, Khrushchev cabled President Kennedy and
agreed to remove all missiles from Cuba in return for US
assurance that it would not invade Cuba.
• There was no reference to US removal of missiles from
Turkey – this part of the deal remained secret.
Resolution
• USSR : 2 suggestions from Khrushchev
• A. Not to invade Cuba ( avert a war )
• B. Remove the missiles from Turkey installed
by NATO
• JFK ignores the second offer and accepts the
first
Frame of Reference :
However, how could he resolve the crisis without precipitating a dangerous and
world-threatening head-on collision with the USSR?
• The prestige of the USA, and of Kennedy himself, was at
stake.
• Cuba was the place where the disastrous and – for Kennedy
– humiliating Bay of Pigs episode had taken place.
HUMILIATION
• Another factor for Kennedy was the impending
Congressional elections, which were to take place in early
November. UPCOMING ELECTIONS
• For the Democratic Party to face elections with missiles
installed in Cuba would be a disaster for the Kennedy
administration: so the president had to take action.
The Revisionist vs New Interpretations view
• The Revisionist
interpretation of
Kennedy’s role in the
missile crisis stresses
that Kennedy
unnecessarily raised the
Cuban episode to the
level of crisis and
confrontation and thus
subjected the world to
the danger of nuclear
war.
• Recent evidence seems
to support the view
that Kennedy did
indeed act in a
statesmanlike way,
was prepared to
compromise, and was
not motivated by selfinterest.
The Revisionist view
/New interpretations
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Roger Hagman and David Horowitz put
forward the following arguments in support of
this view:
The missiles did not affect the nuclear balance
and the USA was under no greater threat.
This was rather a political problem that could
have been resolved by political means.
The imposition of the blockade and the fact
that Kennedy made the crisis public turned it
into an unnecessarily dangerous situation.
Kennedy was only interested in personal and
national prestige.
The forthcoming November elections meant
that the president wanted the situation solved
quickly, so he could not wait for lengthy
negotiations.
The aftermath of the crisis was not victory but
arrogance, which led the United States to
increase its activity in Vietnam.
• The tape recordings of ExComm meetings at the time
show Kennedy repeatedly
pushing for compromise and
point to the fact that he was
keenly aware of the dangers of
nuclear war. He deceived ExComm by having the secret
agreement to remove missiles
from Turkey, and it was revealed
in 1987 that he had another
option up his sleeve: if all else
failed, the United Nations
Secretary General was to suggest
a Turkey–Cuba trade-off that
Kennedy would then accept.
The Orthodox view
• The traditional interpretation of President Kennedy’s role in the missile
crisis has stressed that this was Kennedy’s finest hour, and that he
successfully used nuclear brinkmanship to preserve world peace.
• The writings of Robert Kennedy, Theodore C Sorensen, and Richard E
Neustadt all put forward the following arguments in support of this view:
Kennedy was right to respond to this crisis in a firm and forceful way, as
the missiles represented a Soviet threat to alter the balance of power
either in actuality or in appearance. The idea of imposing a quarantine
(blockade) exerted maximum pressure on the Soviet Union while
incurring the minimum risk of war.
• Kennedy himself always remained calm and in control of the
situation. He resisted pressure for action from the military, he was
statesmanlike, and he did not attempt to humiliate Khrushchev.
The results of the crisis helped to preserve the balance of power
and world peace.
What conclusions can be reached
about Khrushchev’s actions?
• Khrushchev had to work hard in the ensuing
months to rebuild his relations with Castro and the
Cuban regime, and prevent a Sino-Cuban alliance
developing.
• Russian historians Zubok and Pleshakov wrote that
during this crisis Khrushchev ‘acted in the chillingly
“realist” manner of Stalin: walking over the egos and
bodies of those who had helped in the
implementation of his grandiose designs, but then
just happened to be in the way of retreat’
What was Castro’s role in the
crisis?
• Castro played a greater role in the development of this crisis
than has previously been realized.
• Particularly significant is the period around 24– 26 October.
• Castro was determined to make the most of the situation,
and he claims that he would not have hesitated to use the
nuclear weapons that were already in Cuba, should the
United States have attempted a land invasion.
• This is despite the fact that it would have led to the
destruction of the island.
• The shooting down of the U-2 plane indicates the difficulties
that Khrushchev and Kennedy had in keeping control of the
situation on the ground as it developed.
Col. Georgi Bolshakov, Soviet military intelligence, under cover as a Soviet diplomat in
Washington, a “back channel” between the White House and the Kremlin – in 1961- 62,
Robert Kennedy met with him about 90 times. He met with JFK, too
Soviet denial and deception
• Bolshakov met regularly with Robert Kennedy, who believed him to be
an honest diplomat and a discreet communications channel to
Khrushchev.
• Robert Kennedy seemed to personally trust Bolshakov, and President
Kennedy came to rely on his information.
• Throughout the duration of Operation Anadyr, Bolshakov assured the
Kennedy brothers that Moscow had no aspirations of turning Cuba into
a forward strike base.
• Bolshakov only lost their trust when the president was shown
photographs, taken by a Lockheed U-2 surveillance aircraft, of Soviet
ballistic missiles on Cuban soil
Mistrust
• Kennedy was not the only president whom the Soviets attempted to
deceive.
• They also fed false information to the Communist Party of Cuba,
overstating the American threat to Cuba, to persuade Cuban leaders to
allow Soviet nuclear weapons to be deployed to the island.
• Cuban political leaders, especially Castro, and the Cuban intelligence
services received falsified reports from their Soviet counterparts on the
nature and extent of the American menace.
• Khrushchev so adamantly desired to change the strategic
nuclear balance between the two superpowers that he
attempted to deceive his Cuban proxies so that, in turn, they
would unquestioningly allow Soviet ballistic missiles and
nuclear warheads to be placed on Cuban soil.
• The KGB began sending doctored information to the
Cubans in 1961 and continued to do so through the Cuban
Missile Crisis.
• Soviet diplomatic warnings began soon thereafter.
Khrushchev himself emphasized the American threat in
conversations with Castro and Castro's deputies, and
personally proposed the deployment of Soviet missiles to
Cuba in the late spring of 1962. His proposal was soon
accepted
Anatoly Dobrynin, Soviet Ambassador to the US
Oct.22, 1962: JFK tells the nation about Soviet missiles in Cuba
When U.S. leaders discovered that the Soviets
were installing nuclear missiles in Cuba, they
were stunned.
No one was sure of Soviet leader Nikita
Khrushchev or Fidel Castro’s intentions.
• Would the nuclear missiles be used to
threaten Cuba’s Latin American neighbors, or
even intimidate the United States?
• Did the communist leaders believe that the
United States would not oppose their plan?
• In October 1962, Americans did not know
the answers to these questions
• Khrushchev’s motives aside, the White House
was shocked that the Soviets had ignored U.S.
warnings against putting missiles in Cuba.
•President Kennedy was especially indignant at
the secrecy surrounding the Soviet operation.
•Kennedy administration officials recognized
that members of Congress and the American
media would press for a strong U.S. response.
“13 Days” cont.
• October 25: One Soviet ship challenges naval
quarantine; Kennedy lets it pass
• October 25: At the UN, Adlai Stevenson directly
challenges the Soviet ambassador to admit to the
existence of missiles, when the ambassador refuses,
Stevenson wheels out pictures of the missile sites
• October 26: Soviets raise possibility for a deal: if
we withdraw missiles will America promise not to
invade Cuba?
“13 Days” -- closure
• October 27: Soviets demand that Americans also
withdraw missiles from Turkey;
– Major Rudolf Anderson’s plane shot
down…tensions high
– Kennedy tells Khrushchev that he will accept the
proposal of the 26th, Kennedy tells his brother to
tell the Soviet Ambassador that though the
Turkey missiles would not be part of the bargain,
they would be removed in time
• October 28: USSR agrees to withdraw missiles
Soviet Decisions & Motivations
1. Close the Missile Gap
• Currently far behind U.S. in terms of
number of missiles
• Verbal threats no longer effective with
overwhelming evidence of U.S. superiority
2. Protect Cuba
3. Reciprocity
• The U.S. has missiles pointing at us, let’s see how
they feel now
4. Inability to Use the Missiles
• If fired a missile, repercussions would be severe
Why Khrushchev Settled
•Effectiveness of naval quarantine
•Conventional inferiority in the Caribbean
•No possible countermove
•Overwhelming world support for the U.S.
•Other possible reasons
– Got what he wanted?
•No U.S. invasion of Cuba
•U.S. missiles withdrawn from Turkey
Castro’s Role
•No real role in decision making
•Apparently out of touch with the situation
– Oct. 26: “Aggression imminent/imperialists
disregarding world opinion”—Clearly not the
case
– Khrushchev plays along to some extent but it
is clear he disagrees with him…
(“your suggestion would have started a
thermonuclear world war”)
The American Decision
• In September Kennedy had stated and
Congress had passed a resolution saying
that if the Soviet Union placed
offensive weapons in Cuba we would
not tolerate it.
–Could we then rely solely on diplomacy? Both Kennedy
brothers thought that John could be “impeached” if he didn’t
act in accordance with his prior warnings
•Determined in first 48 hours of crisis that the
removal of missiles was the primary objective
•Many options were considered
The American Decision: Considerations
(1) Air Strike
– On October 17th, President Kennedy considered that
there would be an air strike, at least against the missile
sites, and perhaps against wider targets
– Reservations from others: air strike may be using a
“sledgehammer” to kill a “fly
– Later that day Robert McNamara suggests policy in
between diplomacy and an air strike
(2) Blockade
– Advocated by McNamara and Robert Kennedy
– Critics feared it would allow Soviets time
– 10/19, Kennedy accepted plan
The American Decision: Considerations
(3) Do Nothing
– Ignore missiles in Cuba.
– U.S. had military bases in 127 different countries
including Cuba.
– U.S. had nuclear missiles in several countries close to
the Soviet Union.
– Therefore, only right that the Soviet Union should be
allowed to place missiles in Cuba.
(4) Negotiate
– U.S. should offer the Soviet Union a deal.
– USSR remove missiles in CubaU.S. withdraw her
nuclear missiles from Turkey and Italy.
The American Decision: Considerations
(5) Invasion
– Send U.S. troops to Cuba to overthrow Castro's
government.
– Missiles could then be put out of action and the
Soviet Union could no longer use Cuba as a
military base.
(6) Nuclear Weapons
– Use nuclear weapons against Cuba and/or the
Soviet Union.
• On October 20, President Kennedy decided on a
blockade more so quarantine of Cuba by the U.S.
Navy to prevent further shipments of military
supplies to the island.
• The president decided to use the word “quarantine”
instead of the word “blockade” because
international law considered a blockade to be an act
of war.
• This option allowed the president to steer a middle
course among ExComm’s varied options.
• Kennedy’s Oct.22 statement:
– A quarantine on any ships bringing weapons to Cuba
– Full alert of US armed forces. It meant:
• 1436 strategic bombers
• 172 ICBMs
• 140,000 troops poised to invade Cuba
– In case the missiles are used, US will respond with an all-out
war
Blockade: Close-up or otherwise put :
Quarantine
•250,000 Marines and ground troops
•1,000 planes
•250 naval vessels.
Castro was ready to sacrifice Cuba for the sake of destroying US imperialism
• K’s response:
– Full military alert
– Turn the ships back
– Offer to remove the missiles in exchange for JFK’s
pledge not to invade Cuba and to remove US missiles
from Turkey
• In private conversations, both sides were greatly
concerned about the influence of the military and the
hardliners on the other side
• The Man Who Saved the World:
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/secrets/episodes/the-manwho-saved-the-world-watch-the-full-episode/905/
A Havana memorial: Soviet surface-to-air missile of the type
which downed a US U-2 reconnaissance plane over Cuba on
October 27, 1962; in front of it, an engine from the downed plane
A US Navy destroyer intercepting a Soviet freighter off Cuba
• A close call: incident with the Russian submarine
near Cuba:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cc0eUtBAWyA&fe
ature=related
• The public impression:
• JFK won, and K was humiliated
• In reality, JFK did make important concessions:
– 1. A pledge not to invade Cuba (provided that the
missiles are withdrawn and Cuba does not export its
revolution to other L. A. countries)
– 2. Removal of US nuclear missiles from Turkey
Activity 1
• As teams, please respond to the following Cuban
Missile Crisis prompts, with clearly written,
detailed discussions.
• Premier Khrushchev’s Letter:
1. Discuss the underlying tone of Khrushchev’s
letter.
2. Describe the line of logic that Khrushchev used
in making his case.
3. Ultimately, what was the Soviet commitment
toward the crisis? Identify and discuss.
Consequences of Cuban Missile Crisis
Some of the direct consequences of the crisis
include the following:
(1)HOT LINE
The two sides established a direct communications
link that became known as the Hot Line. It was
hoped that this would help prevent dangerous
confrontations such as the Cuban Missile Crisis
arising again.
(2) U.S. REMOVES MISSILES
Three months after the Cuban Missile Crisis the
United States secretly removed all its nuclear missiles
from Turkey and Italy.
What was the outcome of the crisis?
• Cuba remained Communist & heavily armed
(without nuclear missiles)
• Both leaders didn’t lose face and came away with
concessions
• Helped renew the thaw – world saw the futility of
MAD
• Permanent hotline between White House &
Kremlin set up
• Supported theory of containment & co-existence
because alternatives unimaginable
Rivalry, mistrust and accord
USA
Kennedy’s personal prestige increased.
He was promoted as the one who had called Khrushchev’s
bluff.
His concession that the Jupiter missiles would be withdrawn
from Turkey in return for the removal of the missiles from
Cuba remained a secret until after his death.
Cuba shocked the United States into realizing the fragility of
its own security, and increased its focus on building up military
strength.
USSR
 Khrushchev’s retreat met with bitter criticism from Mao and
Castro, accusing him of surrendering to the US.
 It weakened his position within the USSR.
 Yet his fall in October 1964 was more the result of domestic
politics and power struggles than a consequence of the
Cuban Crisis.
 The USSR did not itself suffer from this humiliation and
continued as a superpower for the next three decades.
CUBA
• The Soviet decision to remove the missiles was seen
as a betrayal by Castro and convinced him that Cuba
would have to develop its own independent
revolutionary strategy.
• By the mid-1960s, Castro actively assisted
revolutionary movements in the Third World(
Africa and Central America) not only to support
the spread of communism, but also to distract the
US so that it would not renew pressure on Cuba.
CHINA
• China saw the resolution of the crisis and the
USSR’s unwillingness to challenge the United
States as final proof that the USSR had
ceased to be a revolutionary state.
• Its relationship with the USSR continued to
deteriorate from this point, and China opted
to carry on developing nuclear weapons
independently .
INTERNATIONAL SITUATION
•
A hotline was established between the USSR and USA to make
immediate telephone communication easier.
• Both sides realized the danger of nuclear war.
• Two important treaties were signed following the crisis: the Limited
Test-Ban Treaty of August 1963, which forbade nuclear tests in the
atmosphere, space or underwater (not signed by France and
China); and the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty of 1968, which
prevented signatories from transferring weapons, or knowledge of how
to make them, to non-nuclear powers
The world was more secure after the
missile crisis
• However, these arms treaties did not in fact prevent the arms
race, which intensified after the Cuban Missile Crisis as the
Soviets escalated attempts to reach parity with the USA, even
if it was conducted within an increasingly precise set of rules.
• Nevertheless, the world was more secure after the missile
crisis in that there was more stability: neither side would now
issue challenges to the other side’s sphere of influence.
• Lessons of the Cuban Missile Crisis
Clashes over revolutions may end in nuclear Holocaust
The two superpowers have important common interests
and should learn to cooperate despite their differences
US and Russia should bind their arsenals with
agreements providing stability and predictability
• Nov.-Dec.1962, Kennedy in a private conversation in the
Oval Office:
• "There was created a myth in this country that did great
harm to the nation. It was created by, I would say,
emotionally guided but nonetheless patriotic individuals in
the Pentagon. There are still people of that kind in the
Pentagon. I wouldn’t give them any foundation for creating
another myth."
• The President initially responds by poking fun at himself,
evoking laughter from his military staff, stating, "As one of
those who put that myth around – a patriotic and
misguided man…“
• "If the purpose of our strategic buildup is to deter the
Russians, number one; number two, to attack them if it
looks like they are about to attack us or be able to lessen
the impact they would have on us in an attack…if our point
really then is to deter them…we have an awful lot of
megatonnage to put on the Soviets sufficient to deter them
from ever using nuclear weapons. Otherwise what good
are they? You can’t use them as a first weapon yourself,
they are only good for deterring…I don’t see quite why
we’re building as many as we’re building."
• http://www.jfklibrary.org/JFK+Library+and+Museum/News+and+Press/
New+Tapes+JFK+Questioned+Value+of+Nuclear+Build+Up.htm
L to R: Soviet Foreign Minister Andrei Gromyko, US Secretary of State Dean
Rusk, Nikita Khrushchev, Soviet Ambassador to Washington Anatoly
Dobrynin: Moscow, June 1963, after the signing of the Test Ban Treaty
• Khrushchev was deposed on Oct.14, 1964 at a
meeting of the Soviet Party leadership
• The Cuban Missile Crisis was one of the motives
K became a depressed pensioner. Richard Nixon wanted to see him
during his brief visit to Moscow in 1967, but K was at his cottage
K. died on Sept. 11, 1971. He is buried at the
Novodevichye Cemetery in Moscow
Consequences
“If we cannot now end our differences, at least
we can help make the world safe for diversity. For,
in the final analysis, our most basic common link
is the fact that we all inhabit this planet. We all
breathe the same air. We all cherish our children’s
future. And we are all mortal.... Confident and
unafraid, we labor on—not toward a strategy of
annihilation, but toward a strategy of peace.”
•—President John F. Kennedy, American University
Speech, 1963
Consequences of Cuban Missile Crisis
(3) TEST BAN TREATY
A Test Ban Treaty was signed between the two countries
in August 1963. The treaty prohibited the testing of
nuclear weapons in the atmosphere.
(4)PRISONERS RELEASED
The 1,113 prisoners captured during the Bay of Pigs
invasion were exchanged by Castro for $50 million in
food, drugs, medicine and cash.
(5) USSR RESOLVE
The Soviet Union became determined to have a nuclear
capability that was equal to the United States. This was
achieved by 1972.
Consequences of Cuban Missile Crisis
(6) STRAIN ON SOVIET ALLIES
China accused the Soviet Union of being a 'paper-tiger' and
claimed to be the true leader of the Communist
movement. The split between the Soviet Union and China
became wider.
(7) U.S. RESOLVE
The United States became convinced that the Soviet
Union would not go to war over another communist
country. It has been argued that this encouraged the
United States to help attempts to overthrow socialist and
communist governments in Vietnam, Nicaragua and
Grenada.
• Having come so close to the horror of a
nuclear war, leaders on both sides recognized
the need to embark on a new path to prevent
nuclear confrontation in the future.
• The ideological conflict would continue, but
while they remained in power Khrushchev
and Kennedy worked to diminish the
tensions between the two nations.
“It horrifies me to think what would have
happened in the event of an invasion of Cuba!... It
would have been an absolute disaster for the
world.... No one should believe that a U.S. force
could have been attacked by tactical nuclear
warheads without responding with nuclear
warheads. And where would it have ended? In
utter disaster.”
•—Kennedy’s Secretary of Defense Robert S.
McNamara
Activity 1
As teams, please respond to the following Cuban Missile
Crisis prompts, with clearly written, detailed discussions.
President Kennedy’s Address:
1. Discuss the evidence of Cuba’s capabilities and
President Kennedy’s general/specific concerns.
2. Describe the essential element(s) re. each of
Kennedy’s Seven-Points.
3. What are the critical messages the president
directed toward Cubans and Americans at the close
of his address?
Activity 2
• As teams, please respond to the following Cuban
Missile Crisis prompts, with clearly written,
detailed discussions.
• Premier Khrushchev’s Letter:
1. Discuss the underlying tone of Khrushchev’s
letter.
2. Describe the line of logic that Khrushchev used
in making his case.
3. Ultimately, what was the Soviet commitment
toward the crisis? Identify and discuss.
Activity 3
As teams, please respond to the following Cuban
Missile Crisis prompts, with clearly written, detailed
discussions.
1. Were Castro and Khrushchev justified in placing nuclear
missiles in Cuba? Defend.
2. Were the actions taken by Kennedy and the U.S.
appropriate? Defend.
3. HYPOTHETICAL: If Venezuela (which, under
President Chavez, has been outspoken in its/his
criticism of the U.S.) began receiving nuclear warheads
and missile shipments (capable of reaching U.S. soil),
what would you recommend as an effective response?
Defend.
Congratulations Mr. President, Khrushchev is
removing the missiles from Cuba. We made the right
choices.
CONTENT/SOURCES: Text, handouts, PPT Notes
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Soviet Losses in WWII
Yalta
Potsdam Declaration
Truman Doctrine
Marshall Plan
Berlin Blockade/Airlift
NATO
Korean War
McCarthy Era
Bay-of-Pigs
UNIT REVIEW
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vKvBo
BaaN1A