In May 1962, Castro, after meeting with his advisors including; his brother, Raul Castro, Che Guerva, and several others, gave official notice to the Soviets that they could begin shipping materials for missiles. On July 15th, 1962, Soviet ships containing materials for making surface-to-air and surface-to-surface missiles, as well as nuclear warheads, set out for Cuba from the Black Sea. In what is known as Operation Mongoose, the CIA sends out guerilla tactical teams in the Cuban jungle in hopes of infiltrating Castro’s units. In August, American intelligences discovered what seemed to be a shipment of Soviet military missiles going into Cuba. Kennedy and his group of advisors soon come to the fact that the incident in Cuba might be much bigger than what originally thought to be. A high flying American B2 soon confirmed those fears as it revealed photographs of missile sites across at least eight different locations in Cuba. On September 13, 1962, President Kennedy states that Fidel Castro, “in a frantic effort to bolster his regime, is attempting to arouse the Cuban people by charges of an imminent American Invasion.” Kennedy continues to stress that a military invasion will not happen at the present time. He goes on to say
“…United States cannot currently be either required or justified…should ever attempt to export its aggressive proposed by force or become an offensive military base of significant capacity for the Soviet Union, then this country will do whatever must be done to protects its own security and that of it its allies.”
As September began to draw to a close, the United States Senate gathered and came to the resolution that the use of force, if necessary, could be used to resolve any conflict in Cuba. The resolution passes at an astounding 86 to 1 vote in favor. Days later, among the assembly of the United Nations council, the Soviet representative accused the United States of “whipping up war hysteria” (Chang & Kornbluh pg 10). Into October, Soviet ships continue to transport military equipment to Cuba, ignoring any subtle threats by the U.S. Cuban leaders insist that if attacked, they had the necessary means of defending themselves
Finally, on October 15th 1962, the day comes when indisputable photographs are captured by a stealth U2 plane flying over Western Cuba. As the photos transfer from over from Air Force to Central Intelligence hands, there is a scramble to inform personnel as quickly as possible, including the Kennedy Administration and CIA director Ray Cline. As the possibility of confrontation becomes all but imminent, the United States implements an exercise labeled Phibriglex-62. Phibriglex-62 was a joint Navy/Marine operation attempting to mock any assault on Cuba. Over twenty thousand military forces stage a faux amphibious assault on Vieqeues Island in Puerto Rico. The operation was primarily used as a preparation for forces and leaders in the case of a real attack on Cuba. When the news is convened to President Kennedy, he calls for a committee of fourteen of his closest advisors and cabinet. This now famous committee, known as ExComm, meets on October 16th to discuss any and all options for the Cuban situation. By the end of the meeting, four options had been considered: (1) a single, surgical airstrike on the missile bases; (2) an attack on various Cuban facilities; (3) a comprehensive series of attacks and invasion; or (4) a blockade of Cuba (Chang & Kornbluh pg 3).
Robert McNamara, United States Secretary of Defense, was the biggest advocated of the blockade strategy. The blockade would quarantine Cuba and prevent Soviet ships from delivering further weapons to Cuba. This plan was considered to be part political in allowing talks between the Soviets and Cubans to continue, while part military by putting a halt on any further weapon stockpiling in Cuba. ExComm members begin to agree with McNamara, and decide that a blockade would be the best possible action. Two members of ExComm, Alexis Johnson and Paul Nitze, join together to develop a timetable for a blockade. (Lynch) Kennedy begins to prepare to address the nation about the impending crisis, as well as the blockade.
As the idea of the quarantine lurks closer every day, the president and ExComm converge on October 21 to discuss ideas and plans for the quarantine including; date, location, quantity of troops, duration, and procedures. The quarantine plan entails giving warning to approaching ships, and firing to weaken if necessary. In what is known as “P” Day, or October 22nd, Kennedy addresses the nation and the crisis. U.S. ambassadors and diplomats inform foreign nations of their intentions.
In a televised address to the nation, Kennedy informed the people of America about the situation in Cuba. Kennedy stated the goals: “To halt this offensive buildup a strict quarantine on all offensive military equipment under shipment to Cuba is being initiated. All ships of any kind bound for Cuba from whatever nation or port will, if found to contain cargoes of offensive weapons, be turned back.” (Cuban Missile Crisis Address to the Nation) United States military is put on high alert as it begins to get ready for any type of attack from Cuba or Russia. American reaction to the blockade was surprisingly and overwhelmingly in favor; 84 percent of the country supported the blockade while a mere 4 percent were opposed. The next day, Kennedy signs the official documents to execute the quarantine. Immediately following the signing, Kennedy informs Premier Khrushchev that “it is important that both sides show prudence and do nothing to allow events to make the situation more difficult to control than it already is.” (Chang & Kornbluh pg 12). That same day, Fidel Castro announces that Cuban Armed Forces are on high alert, and begins mobilizing as many as a quarter million Cuban troops. Castro informs his people that Cuba will continue to refuse to disarm as long as America continues its aggressive tactics.
In the early morning of October 23rd, 1962, it appeared that Soviet ships were continuing to move across the Atlantic Ocean towards Cuba. This information; based on reconnaissance missions by American U-2 aircraft, influenced President Kennedy and British Ambassador David Ormsby-Gore to come to the agreement of moving the American blockade tighter around Cuba, so as to give the Soviets more time to make a decision. This strategy proved to be favorable, as the next day Soviet ships appeared to have slowed down or stopped completely according to photographical reconnaissance. As the time for confrontation is beginning to loom, the possibility of naval attack from Soviet ships becomes more far more real for President Kennedy. Neither Premier Khrushchev nor Castro provides any sign of giving in and complying with United States demands. Khrushchev stated that it was now too late for the United States to take over Cuba, and that he would eventually give orders to sink a U.S. vessel.
Within 24 hours of the official beginning of the quarantine, Soviet ships continued to draw near the line of United States Navy vessels, with several within 10 miles. Naval intelligence shows a Soviet submarine drawing near as well. After several hours, reports show that Russian ships have stopped movement—a standoff has begun. Tensions are high as ExComm gathers to discuss political strategy and ideas to cease the standoff. The U.S. Ambassador to NATO, Thomas Finletter, proposes the possibility for the removal of American missiles in Turkey in exchange for the removal of Soviet missiles in Cuba. Premier Khrushchev continues his strong position and is quoted as say “If the United States carries out its program of “pirate action” the Soviet Union will have no alternative but to make use of the means of defense against the aggressor.” (Chang & Kornbluh Pg 15) Hours later, for the first time in the history of the United States military, the Joint Chiefs of Staff sets its alert status to DEFCON 2, nearly the highest alert level possible (For comparative purposes, the United States set the alert level to DEFCON 3 on September 11th, 2001; one level lower than the status of the missile crisis.)
The next day, October 25th 1962, tensions that had settled overnight pickup again the next morning. ExComm gathers to discuss the possibility of dropping propaganda leaflets over Cuba, much like the strategy used in World War II. Although the leaflets were approved, the strategy never occurred. Ambassador Finletter’s suggestion of removing missiles from both Turkey and Cuba received a response from Turkish officials, and it was noted that Turkey felt its best interest would be to reject the possibility of the removal of American missiles, as they felt the missiles brought some stability and power in a time when weapons were needed. It was clear to President Kennedy and ExComm that quarantine would not force the Soviets to disarm, but only prevent further transportation of materials. Kennedy feels the only way to actually remove and destroy any weapons in Cuba would mean using force such as invasion or airstrke. Secretary McNamara warns President Kennedy that casualties could be in the tens of thousands in the case of an American invasion. Plans are calculated for an airstrike attack on Cuba, with nearly 1,200 bombings planned in the case of an airborne attack.
On the evening of October 26th, Fidel Castro sent a message to Russian ambassador to Cuba, Alekseyev, stating he slept the night in a bomb shelter in Havana. Castro suggested that an American invasion of Cuba was imminent and that Russia must immediately deploy missiles against the United States to prevent any attack. Castro orders that any American aircraft must be shot down upon site. Within a day, in what would be one of the only direct casualties of the Cuban Missile Crisis, an American U-2 is shot down over Cuba, and the pilot Major Rudolf Anderson ,was killed. Anti-aircraft firings were halted shortly thereafter the incident.
In a remarkable offer, a formal letter from Premier Khrushchev is received by the White House:
You are disturbed over Cuba. You say that this disturbs you because it is ninety miles by sea from the coast of the United States of America. But…you have placed destructive missile weapons, which you call offensive, in Turkey, literally next to us… I therefore make this proposal: We are willing to remove from Cuba the means which you regard as offensive… Your representatives will make a declaration to the effect that the United States… will remove its analogous means from Turkey… And after that, persons entrusted by the United Nations Security Council could inspect on the spot the fulfillment of the pledges made… (Chang & Kornbluh pg 15)
This new offer made it almost impossible for President Kennedy to enact any sort of military action upon Cuba due to the peace offering on the table. Kennedy along with his ExComm officials come to the agreement that if the Soviets do not remove the missiles from Cuba, military invasion would be necessary, however if they do remove the missiles, the United States would pledge to not invade. It is also agreed upon that if all these requests are fulfilled, the United States would secretly disarm their missiles in Turkey. The proposition is sent to both Castro and the Premier. Castro responds by suggesting that he would cease production of missiles if the quarantine was reversed.
Finally on October 28th, 1962 at 6 AM, Premier Nikita Khrushchev of Russia initiates the beginning of the end of the Cuban Missile Crisis. Khrushchev announces he has ordered a cease on production of weapons in Cuba. It appeared that the situation with Russia had been cooled down; however the situation in Cuba was still flaring. President Castro did not feel the same as his counterpart in the Soviet Union. He was angered by decision to back down and is quoted as saying Khrushchev “had no cojones”. Castro called for several demands for a nonaggression pact between Cuba and the U.S. including; the end of the economic blockade against Cuba, a halt on U.S. aircraft flying over Cuba, and the return of Guantanamo base”. The following day on October the 29th, formal agreements are initiated including the removal of all “offensive” weapons as well as a visual inspection by the United Nations. On November 2nd, President Kennedy goes on television to announce that the basis for an end to the Cuban Missile Crisis has been initiated. By November 7th all Soviet missiles had been dismantled and the withdrawal process was beginning. Nearly two weeks later and nearly after a month in place, On November 21st, the United States Naval quarantine is officially lifted. The removal of the quarantine was the last major component for the end of the Cuban Missile Crisis. By January the United States secretly begins the phasing out production of missiles in Turkey as part of the agreement.
Over four decades later, the entire situation can be seen in perspective. It can be evaluated just how close America came to full-scale war with Cuba and the Soviet Union. Although it can be seen as one of the worst times in the history of Soviet-American relations, it could also be seen as the best of times. It helped Americans to discover that negotiations are in fact possible. The phrase “What doesn’t kill you makes you strong” comes to mind.
