COMMUNICATION THAT PREVENTED NUCLEAR WAR
Shaindy Kudlata
History of Diplomacy
December 15, 2016
1
On Tuesday morning of October 16, 1962, the United States President, John F. Kennedy,
was informed that U.S. surveillance planes discovered U.S.S.R missiles in Cuba, just 90 miles
from American soil. This was the beginning of the Cuban Missile Crisis, a conflict that almost
brought the world to the brink of nuclear war. Leaders were faced with a tough and critical job –
to make decisions that could impact the lives of million people. With forbearance and
communication, they were able to evade the disaster.
The Cuban Missile Crisis took place within the context of Cold War. It was called that
because it was not an active war, but rather a cold rivalry or competition for global influence. On
one side were the United States and democratic countries of Western Europe, which allied in the
North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). On the other side was the alliance of the U.S.S.R
and the communist nations of the Eastern Europe under the Warsaw Pact. This was a war of
ideas between capitalism and communism, each vying for international domination. The Cold
War was a power struggle where the Soviets and USA competed around the world for the land,
sea and even in space. Both states built a vast military force of ships, tanks and aircrafts, in
addition to an arsenal of hydrogen bombs. Each bomb was capable of killing millions of people
in a matter of minutes. This danger of nuclear destruction prevented each side from attacking the
other.1
Cuba was a Spanish colony until the end of the Spanish-American War when the United
States helped Cubans to achieve independence. However, under the Platt Amendment of 1903,
the United States had a right to intervene in Cuban affairs. Many American corporations invested
large amount of money in Cuba and thus came to control a large part of the Cuban economy.
1
Paul J. Byrne, The Cuban Missile Crisis: to the brink of war (Minneapolis, MN: Compass
Point Books, 2006).
2
However, not everyone in Cuba viewed American involvement as positive force. Fidel Castro
was one of those people. In January 1959, Fulgencio Batista, the American-backed Cuban
dictator, was overthrown by the guerrilla army of Fidel Castro. When Castro came to power,
people viewed him as a hero. The US government opposed Castro’s regime and cut off all
diplomatic relations with the island. When US relationship with Cuba got worse, Castro’s
relations with the Soviets improved. The U.S.S.R became Cuba’s patron and trading partner, and
that greatly concerned the U.S. The Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev was happy to gain Cuba as
an ally against the United States. Cuba, situated less than 100 miles from the United States, gave
the Soviets opportunity for a military base.2 Khrushchev thought that placing nuclear missiles
would serve as a deterrent to American military activities, specifically NATO missiles in Eastern
Europe.3
When Kennedy learned that the Soviet ballistic missiles stationed in Cuba could reach
United States within a few minutes, he assembled a group of high-level advisors known as
ExComm, the Executive Committee of the National Security Council, to assess the situation and
come up with a collective solution. At first, almost everyone insisted on an immediate military
strike without warning. However, after considering what the USSR could do in retaliation and
how the conflict could quickly escalate into a nuclear war, a naval blockade of Cuba was
suggested. While the military officers pressured the President for an immediate military strike,
others strongly advocated for a quarantine to prevent the Soviet ships from bringing more missile
2
The United States had a large number of military forces in Eastern Europe near Soviet
borders, as well as bases in Japan and South Korea to the east and Iran and Turkey to the south.
However, the Soviets had no military presence at all in the Eastern Hemisphere. That is why the
alliance between Cuba and USSR gave the Soviets the shift in global balance of power.
3
William H. Chafe, Private Lives/Public Consequences: Personality and Politics in Modern
America (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2005), 127.
3
supplies to the island. Kennedy decided to go with a blockade, to signal American determination
not to put up with the Soviet actions, but at the same time to give the Russians time to defuse the
situation. On October 22, 1962, Kennedy gave a televised speech informing American citizens of
the missiles discovered and warned the USSR to stop “this clandestine, reckless, and provocative
threat to world peace.”4 At the same, Secretary of State Dean Rusk shared an advanced copy of
the president’s speech with the Soviet ambassador Anatoly Dobrynin with a personal letter to
Khrushchev to take his speech very seriously.
During the crisis, both leaders, Kennedy and Khrushchev, corresponded almost on daily
basis.5 While Kennedy insisted that missiles must be removed from Cuba, Khrushchev
questioned Kennedy’s willingness to push the world to nuclear war. When on October 24th the
blockade came into effect, the president had a direct line of communication with naval
commanders as soon as Soviet vessels began encountering U.S. ships. Many feared that the
Russians might try to defend their vessels against American warships and that would lead to
global confrontation. However, at the last minute, Soviet ships reverse their course, avoiding the
quarantine line. As the Secretary of State noted: “We’re eyeball to eyeball and I think the other
fella just blinked.”6 However, Kennedy “blinked” as well. The President chose to be forbearing
4
National Security Archive, "Radio-TV Address of the President to the Nation from the
White House," The National Security Archive, The George Washington University, October 22,
1962, http://nsarchive.gwu.edu/nsa/cuba_mis_cri/621022%20RadioTV%20Address%20of%20President.pdf.
5
Robert F. Kennedy, Thirteen Days: A Memoir of the Cuban Missile Crisis (New York:
W.W. Norton & Company, 1969).
6
Ibid., 63.
4
when he let ships go through after expecting them. Both leaders understood what was on the line
– nuclear war and were determine to avoid it.
On October 26, Fidel Castro wrote a letter to Khrushchev describing the imminent of US
invasion and the willingness of his people to fight against “imperialists aggressiveness.”7 Fidel
encouraged Khrushchev to use nuclear force and to destroy the US in the event of Cuban
invasion. However, Nikita Khrushchev in his reply to Castro urged him “not to be carried away
by sentiment and to show firmness.”8 The Soviet premier realized that Castro was prepared to die
for the cause and that he would drag the Soviet Union together with him: “into the grave with
him.”9 However, Khrushchev wasn’t prepared to give up. In his response, Khrushchev tried to
cool off young Castro and prevented him from doing anything rash. Khrushchev explained to
Castro that, “we mustn’t allow ourselves to be carried away by provocations, because the
Pentagon's unbridled militarists, now that the solution to the conflict is in sight… are trying to
frustrate the agreement and provoke you into actions that could be used against you.”10
Khrushchev realized that Kennedy could be under much pressure from the military. That’s why
the premier appealed to Castro’s sentiments not to act impulsively. Khrushchev was able to calm
National Security Archive, "Prime Minister Fidel Castro’s letter to Premier Khrushchev,"
The National Security Archive, The George Washington University, October 26, 1962,
http://nsarchive.gwu.edu/nsa/cuba_mis_cri/621026%20Castro%20Letter%20to%20Khrushchev.
pdf.
7
8
National Security Archive, "Letter from Chairman Khrushchev to Prime Minister Castro,"
The National Security Archive, The George Washington University, October 28, 1962,
http://nsarchive.gwu.edu/nsa/cuba_mis_cri/19621028khrlet.pdf.
9
Janet M. Lang and James G. Blight, The Armageddon Letters: Kennedy, Khrushchev,
Castro in the Cuban Missile Crisis (Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2012), 121.
10
National Security Archive, Letter from Chairman Khrushchev to Prime Minister Castro
5
Fidel down as he later replied: “we agree that we must avoid an incident at this precise moment
that could seriously harm the negotiations, so we will instruct the Cuban batteries not to open
fire, but only for as long as the negotiations last.”11 This prompt communication between Fidel
Castro and Nikita Khrushchev kept Castro from escalating the situation even further.
President Kennedy and Premier Khrushchev almost brought the world to the brink of the
war, but they also saved the world from nuclear disaster. Knowing that the wrong decision could
trigger the deaths of millions, both leaders had to make concessions. In a letter to Kennedy,
Khrushchev reiterated again and again that nuclear war could bring the end to the world and
therefore needed to be avoided at all cost. He confessed: “if indeed war should break out, then it
would not be in our power to stop it, for such is the logic of war.”12 In a long and emotional
letter, Khrushchev shared his fear of war and his aversion to “doom the world to the catastrophe
of thermonuclear war.” Khrushchev defended his actions that missiles in Cuba were never a
threat to the United States and were only there to protect the Cuban people. Khrushchev
proposed to remove the missiles in return for the US promise not to invade Cuba. This letter
showed Kennedy that the Soviet premier felt the same way as him and wanted to avoid the war at
all cost. Kennedy tried to see things from the Soviets’ point of view and that helped to come to a
peaceful resolution.13 As Robert F. Kennedy wrote in his memoir, his brother was adamant to do
everything in his power to prevent the catastrophe. Throughout the crisis, President Kennedy was
11
National Security Archive, Prime Minister Fidel Castro’s letter to Premier Khrushchev
12
Office of the Historian, Bureau of Public Affairs United States Department of State,
"Telegram From the Embassy in the Soviet Union to the Department of State," Office of the
Historian, October 26, 1962, https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1961-63v06/d65.
13
Byrne, The Cuban Missile Crisis, 75
6
very careful not to humiliate the Soviets or offend Khrushchev.14 That’s why he was reluctant to
stop Russian ships or attack the missile sites. President Kennedy was very careful to consider
how his every step may look or be interpreted by the Russians. President Kennedy understood
that both sides wished to avoid a conflict, but may still clash over some misunderstanding.
Hence, daily communications between the leaders helped to resolve some of those
misunderstandings. As a result, a nuclear war was prevented.
After the Cuban Missile Crisis, Fidel Castro was sure that the United States would go
back on its promise and invade his country.15 However, that never happened. Furthermore, on
August 5th, 1963, the United States and the Soviet Union signed the Limited Test Ban Treaty that
banned atmospheric (above ground) nuclear arms testing. The treaty laid the ground work for the
Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty (ABM) in 1972. This helped to ease tensions with the Soviets and
ultimately led to the period of détente. Unfortunately, Kennedy was assassinated on November
22, 1963 by Lee Harvey Oswald, a communist and avid supporter of Fidel Castro. However,
before his death, the president facilitated the creation of direct telephone hotline between the
American president and the Soviet premier in cases of urgent situations. This was done for the
leaders to communicate directly and not to rely on military or other diplomats to be in between
them. In late 1989, the Cold War ended with the fall of Berlin Wall and reunification of East and
West Germany. The Soviet Union collapsed a few years later. Fidel Castro felt he was betrayed
by the Soviets, with all the decisions made by Khrushchev and Kennedy. Khrushchev fell from
power in 1964, damaging the Soviet Union’s reputation on the international arena.
14
Kennedy, Thirteen Days, 95
15
Byrne, The Cuban Missile Crisis, 80
7
The Cuban Missile Crisis was the closest the world came to nuclear war. Thanks to the
leaders in both countries, who realized the horrific consequences that such war could bring, the
war never materialized. By putting aside their ideological differences, both leaders saved the
world from a global disaster. Although both Russia and the United States still have nuclear
weapons, there is no longer a danger of full-scale war.
8
Bibliography
Byrne, Paul J. 2006. The Cuban Missile Crisis: to the brink of war. Minneapolis, MN: Compass
Point Books.
Chafe, William H. 2005. Private Lives/public Consequences: Personality and Politics in Modern
America. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Kennedy, Robert F. 1969. Thirteen Days: A Memoir of the Cuban Missile Crisis. New York:
W.W. Norton & Company.
Lang, Janet M., and James G. Blight. 2012. The Armageddon Letters: Kennedy, Khrushchev,
Castro in the Cuban Missile Crisis. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers.
National Security Archive. 1962. "Letter from Chairman Khrushchev to Prime Minister Castro."
The National Security Archive, The George Washington University. October 28.
Accessed November 1, 2016.
http://nsarchive.gwu.edu/nsa/cuba_mis_cri/19621028khrlet.pdf.
—. 1962. "Prime Minister Fidel Castro’s letter to Premier Khrushchev." The National Security
Archive, The George Washington University. October 26. Accessed November 1, 2016.
http://nsarchive.gwu.edu/nsa/cuba_mis_cri/621026%20Castro%20Letter%20to%20Khrus
hchev.pdf.
—. 1962. "Radio-TV Address of the President to the Nation from the White House." The
National Security Archive, The George Washington University. October 22. Accessed
November 1, 2016. http://nsarchive.gwu.edu/nsa/cuba_mis_cri/621022%20RadioTV%20Address%20of%20President.pdf.
Office of the Historian, Bureau of Public Affairs United States Department of State. 1962.
"Telegram From the Embassy in the Soviet Union to the Department of State." Office of
the Historian. October 26. Accessed November 1, 2016.
https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1961-63v06/d65.