The Cuban Missile Crisis of Oct 1962 was a direct and dangerous confrontation between the United States and the Soviet Union during the Cold War. The establishment of the communist government in its U.S. backyard and Castro nationalizing all US-operated businesses in Cuba. The danger of other Latin countries following the lead of Cuba became a concern in Washington. Thus the United States launched numerous operations to regime change in Cuba(1).
Although the Pay of Pig invasion failed, Castro feared that the United States would continue its goal to remove him from power. It led to July 1962 secret agreement between Soviet Nikita Khrushchev and Fidel Castro to place Soviet missiles in Cuba to deter any future invasion. On routine U.S. Airforce U-2 spy plane surveillance over Cuba, the U.S. intelligence discovered evidence of a Soviet -arms buildup in Cuba, including Soviet IL-28 bombers. As a result, on September 4-1962, President Kennedy issued a public warning against introducing any offensive weapon into Cuba. However, despite the warning on October 14, 1962, US U-2 aircraft on surveillance over Cuba took several pictures showing sites for medium-range and intermediate-range ballistic nuclear missiles (MRAMS & IRBMS) under construction in Cuba(2).
In Washington D.C., the secretary of Defence and the head of all armed forces are meeting on the Cuban Crisis. As a result, the secretary of Defence put forward two plans to the President. The first plan will use Polaris ballistic missiles from the Turkish coast against Soviet targets before they hit Cuba. The second plan was to hit the target in Cuba, and the Soviet Union then attacked Jupiter missiles and knocked them out. But President Kennedy wanted to avoid confrontation with the soviet union as far as possible. Therefore, the President was seized with the idea of removing Turkish-based US missiles for the Soviet Union to remove their missiles from Cuba. (3).
On October 22, 1962, John F Kennedy announced the discovery of missiles in Cuba and the imposition of quarantine on Cuba to the nation. Meanwhile. Khrushchev responded to Kennedy’s speech by interviewing William Edward Knox. The interview between Knox and Krushchev lasted for three hours. Their Soviet leader said that the Soviet ships were unarmed, the blockade was “illegal, “and the United States” is now unable to take over Cuba.” Furthermore, Khruschev states that the Soviet Union had anti-aircraft missiles in Cuba and ballistic missiles with both conventional and nuclear warheads. It would never be activated except in defense of Cuba and only on personal instruction from Khrushchev(4).
However, after President Kennedy’s speech, Soviet Leader Nikita Khrushchev ordered his missile-carrying ships to turn around on the morning of October 23, except those ships close to the Cuban coast. The action of Khrushchev was the first step in de-escalating the possibility of war between the Superpowers. There was an intense negotiation between Kennedy and Khrushchev. As a result, the Soviet Union agreed to dismantle their offensive weapons in Cuba and return them to the Soviet Union in exchange for a United States public declaration and agreement not to invade Cuba again. In addition, the United States secretly agreed to remove its missiles deployed to Turkey against the Soviet Union. The United States kept the naval quarantine until November 20, 1962. Thus, It led to the end of the Cuban Missile Crisis.
Work Cited:
1)Footnote: Revolutionary Turn, Cuba Revolution
2)history.state.gov
The Cuban Missile Crisis, October 1962
nsarchive.gwu.edu
The Cuban Missile Crisis @ 60.
Nuclear Crisis lasted 59 days, Not just 13.
Document used for the paper
(3)” Notes Taken from Transcripts of Meetings of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, October-November 1962, “Secret, Notes made in 1976 and typed in 1993.
(4)Roger Hilsman (INR) to Secretary of State Dean Rusk, “Khrushchev’s Conversation with Mr.W.E.Knox, President Westinghouse Electrical International, Moscow, October 24, “SECRET, October 26, 1962.