Kennedy’s Foreign
Policy
Bay of Pigs
Berlin Wall
Cuban Missile Crises
Continued Cold War
▪ Kennedy continued Cold
War policies
▪ Tried to get soviets to
stop nuclear testing
▪ Needs a better response
to the change in fighting
techniques
Flexible Response
▪ Many countries that
received aid from the
Soviets used Guerrilla
Warfare.
▪ Responds with flexible
response-special
military forces trained in
guerilla warfare
▪ Creates Special ForcesGreen Berets
Prevent Communism through Aid
▪ Like Marshal Plan,
Kennedy believed aid in
poor countries like Africa,
L.A., and Asia would
prevent growth of
communism
▪ Established Peace Corp
▪ Alliance for Progresshelp “free” L.A. countries
get rid of poverty.
Cold War in Cuba
▪ Fidel Castro seized
power in 1959. Got
support from Soviets.
▪ US felt threatened
because Cuba is 90
miles from Florida
▪ CIA recites Cuban
exiles to go back to
Cuba and overthrow
Castro
Bay of Pigs
▪ Kennedy takes advice from
military aides and allows this
attack.
▪ They land in the Bay of Pigs in
Cuba.
▪ Complete disaster.
▪ Resulted in 3 things; Kennedy
doesn’t trust military aides,
L.A. countries lose trust in
Kennedy, Soviets see Kennedy
as weak.
Berlin War
▪ Since WWII city of Berlin
divided.
▪ Khrushchev (soviets) order
all westerners out of
Berlin.
▪ Many people fled to the
west.
▪ To prevent this they build a
concrete wall known as the
Berlin Wall to keep people
in.
Cuban Missile Crises
▪ Spy planes reveal Cuba
was building missile
sites aimed for US.
▪ Kennedy orders navy
blockade to prevent
anything coming in
from the Soviets.
▪ Warned Soviets with
nuclear counter attack
if soviets bombed
Cuban Missile crises cont.
▪ Crises lasted 5 days. Both
countries very close to WWII.
▪ US. Promises to remove
missiles sites in Turkey (which
were pointed at Soviets) and
Soviets would remove
missiles from Cuba.
▪ Hot line was put in between
US and USSR for faster
communications
▪ http://video.pbs.org/video/2289498
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