Author Topic: The Cuban Missile Crisis  (Read 1503 times)

hubag bohol

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The Cuban Missile Crisis
« on: May 27, 2012, 07:35:57 AM »
The Cuban Missile Crisis:
An Overview


    "Nuclear catastrophe was hanging by a thread ... and we weren't counting days or hours, but minutes." --Soviet General and Army Chief of Operations, Anatoly Gribkov


The Cuban Missile Crisis was the closest the world ever came to nuclear war. The United States armed forces were at their highest state of readiness ever and Soviet field commanders in Cuba were prepared to use battlefield nuclear weapons to defend the island if it was invaded. Luckily, thanks to the bravery of two men, President John F. Kennedy and Premier Nikita Khrushchev, war was averted.

In 1962, the Soviet Union was desperately behind the United States in the arms race. Soviet missiles were only powerful enough to be launched against Europe but U.S. missiles were capable of striking the entire Soviet Union. In late April 1962, Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev conceived the idea of placing intermediate-range missiles in Cuba. A deployment in Cuba would double the Soviet strategic arsenal and provide a real deterrent to a potential U.S. attack against the Soviet Union.

Meanwhile, Fidel Castro was looking for a way to defend his island nation from an attack by the U.S. Ever since the failed Bay of Pigs invasion in 1961, Castro felt a second attack was inevitable. Consequently, he approved of Khrushchev's plan to place missiles on the island. In the summer of 1962 the Soviet Union worked quickly and secretly to build its missile installations in Cuba.

Missile Map For the United States, the crisis began on October 15, 1962 whenreconnaissance photographs revealed Soviet missiles under construction in Cuba. Early the next day, President John Kennedy was informed of the missile installations. Kennedy immediately organized the EX-COMM, a group of his twelve most important advisors to handle the crisis. After seven days of guarded and intense debate within the upper echelons of government, Kennedy concluded to impose a naval quarantine around Cuba. He wished to prevent the arrival of more Soviet offensive weapons on the island. On October 22, Kennedy announced the discovery of the missile installations to the public and his decision to quarantine the island. He also proclaimed that any nuclear missile launched from Cuba would be regarded as an attack on the United States by the Soviet Union and demanded that the Soviets remove all of their offensive weapons from Cuba.

During the public phase of the Crisis, tensions began to build on both sides. Kennedy eventually ordered low-level reconnaissance missions once every two hours. On the 25th Kennedy pulled the quarantine line back and raised military readiness to DEFCON 2. Then on the 26th EX-COMM heard from Khrushchev in an impassioned letter. He proposed removing Soviet missiles and personnel if the U.S. would guarantee not to invade Cuba. October 27 was the worst day of the crisis. A U-2 was shot down over Cuba and EX-COMM received a second letter from Khrushchev demanding the removal of U.S. missiles in Turkey in exchange for Soviet missiles in Cuba. Attorney General Robert Kennedy suggested ignoring the second letter and contacted Soviet Ambassador Anatoly Dobrynin to tell him of the U.S. agreement with the first.

Tensions finally began to ease on October 28 when Khrushchev announced that he would dismantle the installations and return the missiles 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 be removed from Cuba, and specifying the exact form and conditions of United States assurances not to invade Cuba. -- http://library.thinkquest.org/

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hubag bohol

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Re: The Cuban Missile Crisis
« Reply #1 on: May 27, 2012, 07:39:42 AM »
...than to speak out and remove all doubt." - Abraham Lincoln

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hubag bohol

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Re: The Cuban Missile Crisis
« Reply #2 on: May 27, 2012, 07:43:01 AM »

President John F. Kennedy with Nikita Khrushchev of the Soviet Union, June 1961.

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hubag bohol

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Re: The Cuban Missile Crisis
« Reply #3 on: May 27, 2012, 07:47:10 AM »
...than to speak out and remove all doubt." - Abraham Lincoln

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hubag bohol

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Re: The Cuban Missile Crisis
« Reply #4 on: May 27, 2012, 07:47:39 AM »
...than to speak out and remove all doubt." - Abraham Lincoln

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hubag bohol

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Re: The Cuban Missile Crisis
« Reply #5 on: May 27, 2012, 07:51:50 AM »
The Precipice of Nuclear Annihilation: Through the Eyes of the Cuban Missile Crisis - 50 Years Later

Start: Friday, October 5, 2012 6:00 PM
End:   Friday, October 5, 2012 7:30 PM

You are cordially invited to attend a special lecture on the topic of

The Precipice of Nuclear Annihilation: Through the Eyes of the Cuban Missile Crisis
Fifty Years Later - The Value of Evidence over Speculation

Gene Poteat
President, Association of Former Intelligence Officers
Retired Senior CIA Scientific Intelligence Officer

Friday, October 5, 2012
6:00 PM

The Institute of World Politics
1521 16th Street NW
Washington, DC 20036

Please RSVP to [email protected].

With the emergence of unstable nuclear-armed nations and their despotic leaders, what lessons should we have learned from the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962 when dealing with today's crises? How was the U.S. blindsided by the Soviet missile build-up in Cuba ...just a few miles south of Florida? How close did we come to a nuclear exchange and, during the showdown, who blinked first? What secret agreements were made that ended the crisis and how did they differ from face-saving press releases? What were the long-term consequences of the agreement that ended the Crisis.

CIA Scientific Officer Gene Poteat was on the scene in 1962. His first-hand account and revelations will answer these questions. -- http://www.iwp.edu/

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hubag bohol

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Re: The Cuban Missile Crisis
« Reply #6 on: May 27, 2012, 08:14:51 AM »

Cuban leader Fidel Castro, left, and Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev in Moscow in 1963. 

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cujo

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Re: The Cuban Missile Crisis
« Reply #7 on: June 02, 2012, 07:55:04 AM »
Wasn't the movie Thirteen Day's was about the crisis...Good movie.

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Lorenzo

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Re: The Cuban Missile Crisis
« Reply #8 on: June 02, 2012, 04:33:00 PM »

President John F. Kennedy with Nikita Khrushchev of the Soviet Union, June 1961.

Ah, Nikita Krushev, the same man who said the USSR would "burry" the USA. His son is now a professor at some American university. :P

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Lorenzo

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Re: The Cuban Missile Crisis
« Reply #9 on: June 02, 2012, 04:33:26 PM »
Wasn't the movie Thirteen Day's was about the crisis...Good movie.

I believe so...

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