Cuban missile crisis.

University Degree Historical and Philosophical studies

Cuban Missile Crisis

According to Nikita Khrushchev's memoirs, in May 1962 he conceived the idea of placing intermediate-range nuclear missiles in Cuba as a means of countering an emerging lead of the United States in developing and deploying strategic missiles. He also presented the scheme as a means of protecting Cuba from another United States-sponsored invasion, such as the failed attempt at the Bay of Pigs in 1961.

After obtaining Fidel Castro's approval, the Soviet Union worked quickly and secretly to build missile installations in Cuba. On October 16, President John Kennedy was shown reconnaissance photographs of Soviet missile installations under construction in Cuba. After seven days of guarded and intense debate in the United States administration, during which Soviet diplomats denied that installations for offensive missiles were being built in Cuba, President Kennedy, in a televised address on October 22, announced the discovery of the installations and proclaimed that any nuclear missile attack from Cuba would be regarded as an attack by the Soviet Union and would be responded to accordingly. He also imposed a naval quarantine on Cuba to prevent further Soviet shipments of offensive military weapons from arriving there.

During the crisis, the two sides exchanged many letters and other communications, both formal and "back channel." Khrushchev sent letters to Kennedy on October 23 and 24 indicating the deterrent nature of the missiles in Cuba and the peaceful intentions of the Soviet Union. On October 26, Khrushchev sent Kennedy a long rambling letter seemingly proposing that the missile installations would be dismantled and personnel removed in exchange for United States assurances that it or its proxies would not invade Cuba. On October 27, another letter to Kennedy arrived from Khrushchev, suggesting that missile installations in Cuba would be dismantled if the United States dismantled its missile installations in Turkey. The American administration decided to ignore this second letter and to accept the offer outlined in the letter of October 26. Khrushchev then announced on October 28 that he would dismantle the installations and return them to the Soviet Union, expressing his trust that the United States would not invade Cuba. Further negotiations were held to implement the October 28 agreement, including a United States demand that Soviet light bombers also be removed from Cuba, and to specify the exact form and conditions of United States assurances not to invade Cuba.

Nikita Khrushchev

Office: Premier of the Soviet Union
Age: 68
Time in Office: 1958-1964
Born: 1894
Died: 1971

Born in 1894 to a miner in Kalinovka, Nikita Khrushchev spent his early years working as a shepherd and locksmith. After fighting in World War I, he joined the Communist party and the Red Army in 1918 and fought in the civil war. Khrushchev attended a Communist party high school in 1921 where he became active as a political organizer. Shortly thereafter, his rapid rise to power began. During World War II he gained favor with Stalin and in 1953, at Stalin's death, Khrushchev was a secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party. Six months later, he became first secretary, or head of the Communist Party of the country. Over the next five years Khrushchev outmaneuvered his political rivals and became Premier in 1958.

As Premier, Khrushchev tried to raise the Soviet standard of living and to greatly expand his country's space program. Khrushchev had little pity for weaker nations and his political enemies. But he occasionally showed a good-natured humor and the simple tastes of his peasant background. Khrushchev also greatly changed Soviet foreign policy. He wanted to avoid war with the Western nations and, at the same time, increase economic competition between Communist and non-Communist countries. The policy, known as peaceful co-existence, caused bitter quarrels between the Soviet Union and China.

In the spring of 1962, Khrushchev conceived of the idea ...

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In the spring of 1962, Khrushchev conceived of the idea of placing nuclear missiles in Cuba to restore the balance of power in the Cold War. Khrushchev worried that if the Soviet Union lost the arms race badly enough, it might invite a first strike from the United States. Soviet missiles placed in Cuba would solve that problem. The Soviet military assured Khrushchev that the installation could be done secretly and that the Americans would not discover the missiles until long after. Consequently, when he learned on October 22 that the Americans had discovered the missiles, Khrushchev was stunned.

For Khrushchev, the crisis began on that Monday. Unlike President Kennedy, the Soviet Premier did not have a group of advisors to help him through the crisis. There was no equivalent to EX-COMM in the Soviet Union. Instead, Khrushchev had to handle most of the decisions by himself. He spent many long hours in deliberation over what action to take about the United States' threat. At first, he thought that Kennedy would give in, so Khrushchev maintained a tough line. But as the days wore on, it became obvious that the Americans were deadly serious about an invasion. Of all things, Khrushchev had not intended to start a war over the missiles. In the end, his determination to keep the peace paid off. He got the American missiles removed from Italy and Turkey and a public pledge that the U.S. would not invade Cuba.

The agreement, however, did not please many high Communist party officials. They looked at it as a loss for the Soviet Union. Further discontent with Khrushchev occurred, when many of his attempts to raise farm production failed and the rate of industrial growth slowed. In October 1964 two years after the Cuban Missile Crisis, amidst a faltering economy Khrushchev was removed from power.

In 1970, Khrushchev's autobiography, Khrushchev Remembers was published in English; Khrushchev denied, however, that he had authorized the book. The following year, Khrushchev died at his dacha of natural causes.

John Kennedy

Office: President of the United States
Age: 46
Time in Office: 1961-1963
Born: 1917
Died: 1963

John Kennedy was born in Brookline, Massachusetts on May 29, 1917, a descendent of Irish Catholics who had immigrated to America in the previous century. His father Joseph Kennedy was a combative businessman who became a multimillionaire, head of the Securities and Exchange Commission, and ambassador to Great Britain under Franklin Roosevelt.

In 1936, Kennedy entered Harvard University and graduated four years later. In 1941, shortly before the U.S. entered World War II, Kennedy joined the U.S. Navy. While on active duty in the Pacific in 1943, PT-109, the boat he commanded, was rammed by a Japanese destroyer off the Solomon Islands. Kennedy performed heroically in rescuing several of his crew, but he aggravated an old back injury and contracted malaria. After recovering Kennedy was discharged from the Navy in early 1945.

In 1946, Kennedy ran successfully for a Boston-based seat in the U.S. House of Representatives. He was then reelected in 1948 and 1950. As a congressman Kennedy backed social legislation that benefited his working-class constituents. Although generally supporting President Truman's foreign policies, he criticized what he considered the administration's weak stand against Communist China. Kennedy continued to advocate a strong, anti-communist foreign policy throughout his career.

In 1952, Kennedy ran and won a seat in the Senate. Kennedy was a relatively ineffectual senator. During parts of 1954 and 1955 he was seriously ill with back ailments and was therefore unable to play an important role in government. During his illness Kennedy worked on a book of biographical studies of American political heroes. Published in 1956 under the title Profiles in Courage, it won a Pulitzer Prize for biography in 1957.

In 1960, Kennedy put together a well financed, highly organized presidential campaign. Kennedy performed well in a series of unprecedented television debates with his opponent Richard Nixon. He promised tougher defense polices and progressive health, housing, and civil rights programs. His New Frontier, he said, would bring the nation out of its economic slump. Kennedy defeated Nixon by fewer than 115,000 popular votes, but lacked a reliable majority in congress. One of Kennedy's most successful programs was the U.S. Peace Corps, which sent thousands of Americans abroad to help people in developing nations.

For President Kennedy, the Cuban Missile Crisis began in the morning of October 16. Upon hearing about the missiles, Kennedy felt betrayed. For months, through secured and secret channels, the Soviets had been informing him that they would not place offensive weapons in Cuba. On that Tuesday morning, he appointed his most trusted advisors to serve on the Executive Committee of the National Security Council. With the help of EX-COMM, Kennedy navigated the dangerous waters of the crisis to a peaceful end. Throughout the crisis, Kennedy, like Khrushchev, was determined to avoid an armed conflict. The President got his wish on October 28 when Khrushchev agreed to the American proposal to end the crisis.

Twelve months later, while on a campaign trip in Dallas, Texas, John Kennedy was assassinated, ending his presidency.

Fidel Castro

Office: Premier of Cuba
Age: 36
Time in Office: 1959-present
Born: 1926
Died:

Fidel Castro was born near Mayari Cuba in 1926. In 1950, he graduated from the University of Havana with a law degree and opened a law office with two partners. Two years later he ran for election to the Cuban House of Representatives. The elections were never carried out because then dictator Fulgencio Batista halted them and ended democracy in Cuba. This was perhaps, the defining moment in Castro's life.

As a result of Batista's action, Castro assembled a small force and attacked the Moncada Army Barracks in Santiago de Cuba on July 26. Castro was captured and sentenced to fifteen years in prison. In 1955, however, Batista released him. Castro immediately went into exile in Mexico where he began to train a group of revolutionaries called the 26th of July Movement. In December 1956, Castro's forces invaded Cuba. The rebels suffered losses, but many were able to escape to the Sierra Maestra, a mountain range in southeast Cuba. From there, Castro was able to direct his revolution. Over the next two years, he gained increasing support from the Cuban people and on January 1, 1959, Batista fled the country.

Shortly after Castro took control of the government, relations with the United States declined. In 1960, he took over U.S. oil refineries in Cuba. The United States then stopped buying Cuban sugar and Castro responded by taking over all U.S. businesses in Cuba. Angered by Castro's actions, President Kennedy, authorized an attempt to overthrow the Cuban dictator in 1961, known as the Bay of Pigs invasion. The invasion failed but made Castro wary of another U.S. attempt. Consequently, when Khrushchev offered to place nuclear missiles in Cuba, he agreed.

Castro's role in the crisis differs greatly from the other two leaders. Once he decided to accept the missiles, he lost control over their fate. Castro was merely a pawn in the international chess match and Cuba was merely a playing field. Neither Castro nor Cuba were of great international importance. The missile confrontation could have taken place anywhere in the world, unfortunately for the Cuban people, it occurred on their island. In the end, Castro had little effect on the outcome of the crisis and felt betrayed by the U.S.S.R. The crisis solved few of Cuba's problems and left the country to deal with the United States alone.

In the 35 years since the Cuban Missile Crisis, Castro has remained in power, outlasting seven American presidents. He has worked to improve education, housing, and health for all Cubans but has suffered from a troubled economy. Cuba's struggle for independence and prosperity continues today.

EX-COMM

President Kennedy created a group of advisors known as the Executive Committee of the United States National Security Council on October 16. This hand-picked group of 19 men helped Kennedy through the crisis. From providing intelligence briefings, to editing Kennedy's letters, to arguing over the best course of action, EX-COMM proved to be an irrefutable way to manage the crisis. The group consisted of America's best and brightest--almost all had prestigious collegiate backgrounds, and all were highly motivated to perform at their best.

Statutory members included:

Vice President Lyndon Johnson

;

CIA Director John McCone

Deputy Secretary of Defense Roswell Gilpatric
Soviet Specialist Llewellyn Thompson

In addition, the EX-COMM unofficially included:

Deputy Under Secretary of State U. Alexis Johnson

former Secretary of State Dean Acheson
private advisers John McCloy and Robert Lovett
U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Adlai Stevenson
Deputy Director of the USIA Donald Wilson
Assistant Secretary of State for Inter-American Affairs Edwin Martin
Former U.S. Ambassador to the Soviet Union Charles Bohlen

chaired the Executive Committee.

Selected Bios

George Ball
Under Secretary of State in the Kennedy and Johnson administrations as a member of EX-COMM. George Ball was a prominent dove during the Cuban Missile Crisis, arguing repeatedly about the importance of avoiding irreversible actions that might have severe unintended consequences. As such, he was a strong proponet of the quarantine of Cuba and a critic of those advocating stronger military action, such as an air strike against the missile sites or an invasion of the island.

Douglas Dillon
Secretary of the Treasury under Presidents Kennedy and Johnson and a member of EX-COMM. Dillon had wide experience with nuclear diplomacy after being Ambassador to France and Under Secretary of State during the Eisenhower Adminstration. While in Paris he handled the interchange between the French, who requested American nuclear assistance in Vietnam, and the Eisenhower Adminstration which refused. Dillon was a prominent hawk in the EX-COMM.

Theodore Sorensen
Special Counsel to President Kennedy and a member of EX-COMM. Author of several works on the Kennedy Administration and Presidency. Sorensen was President Kennedy's Chief of Staff, close political advisor, and confidant. During the Cuban Missile Crisis, Sorensen drafted most of the President's key letters and speeches. He was a dove throughout, and a cautious advocate of the quarantine. His book, Kennedy remains a standard account of the Kennedy Presidency.

Paul Nitze
Assistant Secretary of Defense under President Kennedy and a member of EX-COMM. Paul Nitze was the primary drafter of the National Security Council Memorandum 68 (NSC-68), which formalized the Truman Administration's doctrine of Containment. During the Cuban Missile Crisis, he was a forceful hawk who strongly believed that the United States' conventional superiority in the Caribbean and its stragetic nuclear superiority over the Soviet Union, assured an American victory. He also lead the Berlin Task Force charged with constructing possible responses to an anticipated Soviet move against Berlin.

General Maxwell Taylor
Army Chief of Staff under President Eisenhower and chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff during the Kennedy Administration and a member of EX-COMM. General Taylor described himself during the Cuban Missile Crisis as a "twofold hawk" who, like the other Chiefs of Staff, advocated stronger action against the Soviet missiles in Cuba.