Cuban Missile Crisis

Running head: CUBAN MISSILE CRISIS
Cuban Missile Crisis
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1CUBAN MISSILE CRISIS
1. Introduction
The Cuban Missile Crisis of October 1962 is by far the closest the world has come to a
nuclear war. There was considerable tension during that year between the Societ Union and the
United States. The Cuban Missile Crisis was one of the major confrontations between these two
states (Heller, 2016). This confrontation took place when the Soviets put missiles in Cuba, just
twenty miles away from the coast of the U.S.A. During this period, the cold war reached its
height due to the possible confrontation between the two superpowers of those times- the USSR
(Union of Soviet Socialist Republics) and the US. It is one of the significant parts of world
history as because of the high risk of the nuclear war which could result in the massive
destruction of the entire world. During that time, the world was under the rule of Premier Nikita
Khrushchev and John F. Kennedy. They were required to reach on a compromise; otherwise, the
outcomes would be more fatal. The intensification of the Cuban missile crisis was the product of
the United States’ aggressive military decisions made during John F. Kennedy’s early presidency
which almost risked a nuclear holocaust. This paper shall elaborate on identifying the events
before the Cuban Missile Crisis, its causes along with the actual events that took place in the
crisis and its final impact and outcomes.
2. Body
The Cuban Missile Crisis began during the end of the second World War (October 1962).
When the war was towards its conclusion, the USSR and the US started to disagree on the major
ideas of how post-war Europe should improve and look like in the near future (Risse-Kappen,
2016). The main aim of the US was to spread the concept of democracy and economic
opportunities for the companies present in Europe. However, this aim was greatly differed from
that of the USSR. The USSR wanted to protect themselves from the other wars which might take

2CUBAN MISSILE CRISIS
place shortly as well as to spread communism all over the world. This difference in the thoughts
of these countries leads to significant problems and tensions between them. The shelves of the
supermarket were emptied of the bottled water, and soup cans, the school going children were
ordered to remain in shelters, and the common public was forced to live in fear and turmoil of
the crisis. It is one of the most dangerous periods of the very crisis and that of the Cold War.
U.S and Cuba, both fought to be superior to the other. However, after waging a
successful guerrilla war against the corrupt and repressive dictator of Cuba- Fulgencio Batista,
Fidel Castro came into Power on 1st January 1959 (Marshall, 2018). It is to note that Casto was
not yet a communist and the policymakers of the United States initially took a very cautious
wait-and-see approach to his regime. Furthermore, within a year, the relations of the United
States and Cuba got worsened as Castro wanted to cut off the ties between the two. He made
some anti-US radical and rhetoric policies and also refused to hold the elections. When it became
clear that he intended to follow an alliance with the Soviet Union, the then President- Sir Dwight
Eisenhower cut off all the ties to Cuba and started preparing some contingency plans to
overthrow Fidel Castro and replace him within someone who is more amenable to the US. The
US believed that if they remove Fidel Castro, the United States could quickly end the Cold War.
According to Whitehead (2016), as the relations between the United States and Cuba got
worsened, Fidel Castro sought help from the Soviet Union. They helped him by signing several
trades and aid agreements with Cuba and provided him with nuclear arms and weapons. With the
same, they also gave him political support for the Cuban revolution in the United Nations as well
as in the other international organisations.
It is to mention that the origin of the Cuban Missile Crisis lies in the unsuccessful
invasion of Bay of Pigs, at the time of which the armed forces of Cuba overthrew the Cuban