Cuban Missile Crisis - Sec 4E History

CUBAN MISSILE
CRISIS
How did tensions arising betweenCuba and the usa
become part of the cold war?

Significance of Cuba to USA
• Strategic importance to USA (Geographical location)
 Monroe Doctrine, 1823
• Economic importance to USA
 Sugar
 Tobacco

Monroe Doctrine 1823
• Creation of American Sphere of
Influence
• Attempts by European
powers to colonise or
interfere in the Americas
would be viewed by USA as
‘acts of aggression’ against
the USA

Cuba’s Geographical
Significance
Why?
■ With its close proximity
to the USA, it was seen
as a gateway to the
Caribbean islands
■ Important to the
security of the USA

Cuba’s Geographical
Significance
How?
■ USA intervened in the
Cuban War of
Independence against
Spain (1898)
■ Pro-US government set up
in Cuba
■ Cuban government not
allowed to make alliances
with other countries
without USA approval

USA’s economic interest in Cuba
• Cuba was a major producer of sugar and
tobacco which was in high demand in the
USA
• Many American companies invested heavily
in Cuba – thus a need for a pro-American
government
• By 1926, American companies owned 60%
of the Cuban sugar industry
• However, many Cubans did not like the
economic dominance of the USA over
Cuba

Tensions…
■ USA frequently intervened in Cuba’s politics
■ American ambassador became de facto proconsul
■ Cuban government seen as ‘puppets’ for the Americans
■ E.g. 1933, American ambassador conspired with Cuban
generals to overthrow Cuban President then
■ Last President – Colonel Batista
■ Corrupt and dictatorial
■ Worked with American mafia and businesses to exploit
Cuba’s commercial interest
■ Repress Cuban people with secret police

Cuban Revolution 1956 – 1 Jan 1959
■ Fidel Castro ■ Che Guevara

• 1 Jan 1959, Castro established a new
government in Cuba
• Castro did not immediately identify
himself as a communist
• Despite suspicions, the USA recognised
Castro’s government on the condition
that election were to be held soon to set
up a new democratic government in
Cuba
Cuban Revolution 1956 – 1 Jan 1959

DETERIORATING
RELATIONSHIP
Why did relations between the US and Cuba worsen
after Castro came to power

Deteriorating Relationships..
1. Castro’s new
policies
2. Castro’s
friendship with
Khrushchev
3. Economic
pressure on
Cuba
4. Bay of Pigs
invasion
5. Operation
Mongoose
6. Cuba
alliance with
USSR

1. Castro’s new Policies
■ Seeking new markets for Cuban Sugar
– USA had implemented Sugar Quota on Cuba – limited the amount
and price of Cuban sugar sold to the USA
– Castro felt that Cuba should not be reliant on the USA’s demand and
sought new markets to sell
■ For the USSR – 1960, Castro and Khrushchev agreed to exchangeCuban
sugar for Soviet oil
■ For the USA – felt that Cuba aligning with communist bloc

1. Castro’s new Policies
■ Land Reform Law (May 1959)
– Sugar and tobacco plantations owned by American companies and the
rich in Cuba
– New law broke up these estates and redistribute them to poor farmers
■ For Cuba – Castro saw it as a way to solve the problem of wealth inequality
■ For the USA – saw this as a socialist/ communist action by Castro

2. Castro’s friendship with Khrushchev
■ 1959 to 1960 – A close friendship
developed
■ Met while in NewYork for a UN meeting
■ For the USA – saw this as Castro
associating himself openly with the leader
of their enemy

Escalating tensions…
1. Castro’s new
policies
2. Castro’s
friendship with
Khrushchev
3. Economic
pressure on
Cuba
4. Bay of Pigs
invasion
5. Operation
Mongoose
6. Cuba
alliance with
USSR

Escalating tension
■ At this point, the USA felt that it can no longer secure American interest in
Cuba with Castro in power
1. Economic pressure
2. Physically remove him from power
– Bay of Pigs invasion
– Operation Mongoose

3. Economic Pressure
■ USA used its dominance to influence American companies in Cuba to
crippleCuba’s economy
■ Nov 1960, embargo on American exports to Cuba on everything except
food and medicine (up till today)
■ USSR stepped in to fulfil Cuba’s economic needs
■ USA hoped to use economic dominance to force Castro to change policy or
to bring down Castro’s government by crippling Cuban economy
■ USA reaffirmed its perception of Cuba’s close relationship with USSR

4. Bay of Pigs Invasion
■ CIA plan to remove Castro by training exiled Cuban fighters
■ Cuban fighters equipped and trained by Americans
■ 15 April 1961, invasion of Cuba
■ USA denied involvement but it was clear to everyone that they were behind
this invasion
■ USSR - Castro was worried of another invasion, he turned to the USSR
for help
■ USA reaffirmed its perception of Cuba’s close relationship with USSR

So, the US failed in
trying to take over Cuba
So they decided to try something else…
23

5. Operation Mongoose
■ Authorised by President Kennedy
(JFK) in Nov 1961
■ Secret CIA operation to:
– Sabotage important Cuban
industries
– Assassinate key Cuban leaders
– Encourage Cubans to rise up
against Castro
■ By 1975, there were 24 different
attempts to assassinate Castro

5. Operation Mongoose
■ Seen by Castro as USA being
hostile to his government
■ Moved Castro closer to the USSR

6. Cuba’s alliance with the USSR
• Castro was convinced that a large-
scale invasion by the USA was
inevitable
• started to look for allies that could
deter the USA – a superpower –
USSR
• Dec 1961, Castro declared himself a
Marxist-Leninist and established a
new communist party in Cuba
• Cuba was now officially a member of
the communist bloc of countries –
fulfilling the fears of the USA

CUBAN MISSILE
CRISIS
Why did the USA and the Soviet Union go to the brink
of nuclear war in 1962

Events leading up to a potential nuclear
war
1. Soviet
installation of
missiles in Cuba
2. American’s
discovery of
missiles in Cuba
3. American’s
strategy of
brinksmanship
4. Soviet and
Cuba’s military
response

1. Soviet Installation of missiles in Cuba
Cuba’s motivations for
nuclear missiles
To boost the defence of
Cuba
The presence of the
missiles would deter any
potential invasion
Soviet’s motivations
for nuclear missiles
To use Cuba as a
bargaining chip for more
political concessions
To narrow the ‘missile gap’
– finally able to have
missiles in USA’s backyard

Cuba as a bargaining chip
■ Khrushchev wanted to use Cuba as
leverage to demand more
concessions regardingWest Berlin
(to integrate West Berlin into East
Germany)
■ Increase USSR prestige within the
Communist bloc with China
challenging Soviet leadership in the
communist world

‘Missile Gap’
Soviet Union
Turkey

‘Missile Gap’

2. American discovery of missile
deployment
■ Soviet soldiers disguised as
Russian tourists transported to
Cuba on cruise ships
■ Nuclear warheads arrived on 4
Oct 1962 and construction of
launch sites and bases began

2. American discovery of missile
deployment
■ 14 Oct, America got to know of
the missile launch sites in Cuba
through photographs taken by
spy planes
■ Soviet ambassador assured
Kennedy that deployment were
purely defensive (in fact, he was
not even informed of it)
■ 16 Oct, Kennedy informed by
American intelligence that
USSR had placed nuclear
missiles in Cuba

3. American strategy
USA Soviet Union
• Felt betrayed by Khrushchev
• Missiles placed in secret implied
aggressive intention
• Saw the missiles as offensive rather
than ‘defensive’
• Saw the missiles as ‘defensive’
• Had no intention of using it but rather
to counter the presence ofAmerican
missiles inTurkey
■ Kennedy faced the possibility of the USSR planning a ‘first-strike’ – advantageous in
an all-out nuclear war
■ But a nuclear war will mean MutuallyAssured Destruction
What should the US do?

MutuallyAssured Destruction (MAD)

3. American strategy – BRINKMANSHIP
• Brinkmanship – the practice of pushing a
dangerous situation to the limits of safety
before stopping
22 Oct 1962, Kennedy addressed his
people…
• Kennedy demanded that the USSR
remove the missiles from Cuba
• He also set up a naval blockade around
Cuba – all ships going towards Cuba will
be checked

4. Soviet and Cuba’s response
• The Soviet Union and Cuba were angered at the
blockade
• Khrushchev saw the blockade as an illegal act of war
• Soviet forces in Cuba were placed on high alert and
secret instructions were given to use nuclear
missiles if the US forces invade Cuba
• Castro also mobilised the Cuban army and declared
to die fighting
• The world was on the brink of a full-scale nuclear
war

CUBAN MISSILE
CRISIS
Who was the victor in the Crisis?
USA, USSR or Cuba?

Resolution of Crisis
1. Khrushchev’s
first appeal for
peace
2. Khrushchev’s
second appeal for
peace
3. U2 spy plane
incident
4. Khrushchev
accepts Kennedy’s
deal – removes
long range missiles
Khrushchev
removes other
missiles from Cuba

Both superpowers did not want an all-out
nuclear war. But somehow, it almost got to
that point in 1962…
The Crisis was eventually
averted due to negotiations…
Did either superpower ‘win’ anything from this
crisis? Or did Cuba use its position secure its
national interest?

1. Khrushchev’s first appeal for peace

1. Khrushchev’s first appeal for peace (26
Oct 1962)
■ After the initial reaction to American blockade, Khrushchev was relieved that
the USA did not choose an immediate invasion of Cuba
■ Khrushchev realised that sending the missiles toCuba not only failed to
protect Cuba from USA but increased the chances of a military strike from
USA on Cuba
■ He offered to withdraw the missiles, in exchange for USA’s promise to not
attack Cuba
HOWEVER…
■ Castro was declaring that he would shoot American spy planes
■ Building of the missile sites were still going on (at a fast pace)

2. Khrushchev’s 2nd appeal for peace (27
Oct 1962)

2. Khrushchev’s 2nd appeal for peace (27
Oct 1962)
■ Khrushchev sent another letter
asking for the removal of missiles
inTurkey if the Soviet Union
removed the missiles in Cuba
■ Castro was ready and preparing for
war
■ He wrote a letter on 26 Oct to
Khrushchev arguing for a first strike
against the USA

Now we have….
… … ….… … ….
… … ….
We need to attack the
USA first!
Before they attack us!
Cuba is ready for war!

3. U2 spy plane incident
 Soviet troops were ordered by Moscow
to not use the missiles without
permission
 However, when a Soviet commander
spot down an American U-2 plane, both
leaders were concerned about the lack
of direct control over their military
leaders
 Now both leaders wanted to reach an
agreement as fast as possible Major Rudolf Anderson
Sole casualty of the Cuban MissileCrisis

3. U2 spy plane incident
 Kennedy willing to deal as missiles in
Turkey was obsolete and unreliable
 However,Turkey opposed the deal
 Kennedy also unwilling to be seen in
public as bowing to demands of the
enemy
 Sent his brother, Robert Kennedy to
propose the deal verbally thatTurkey’s
missiles will be removed over time
 Deal had to be done in secret

4. Khrushchev accepts Kennedy’s deal
 Faced with a war-hungry Castro,
Khrushchev was afraid that any rash
actions taken by Castro would jeopardise
the negotiations
 On 28 Oct, Khrushchev accepted the USA
response to remove the long-range
offensive missiles fromCuba
 Kennedy also agreed to withdraw its
missiles inTurkey

5. Khrushchev removes the rest of the
missiles
 Khrushchev removed the long range
missiles but he did not remove the
short range nuclear missiles (as they
were not part of the agreement)
 Castro was very angry at Khrushchev’s
actions
 Missiles were seen to be a danger if
they were to remain in Castro’s hands
 Missiles were eventually removed on
22 Nov

Cooperation between Kennedy and
Khrushchev
CMC was peacefully resolved
because:
 Time was allowed on both
sides to cool down and
consider their responses
 Both leaders were aware of
the impact of a nuclear war
 Both leaders understood
each other’s personal
concerns
**Textbook pg 102

Public and international opinion
• To Europeans, they felt that the USA overreacted, they had lived within the range
of nuclear missiles for year
• China and Cuba were prepared to support the Soviet Union in an invasion of USA
• UN Secretary-General and the Pope acted as mediators between USA and the
Soviet Union
International
opinion
• American citizens were urging President Kennedy to be careful in handling the
crisis
• Soviet public viewed the crisis as another possible war
Public
opinion

1. Implications
USA
• Kennedy was seen as
courageous for
standing up against
Khrushchev
• US allies were not too
pleased with the
removal of missiles
fromTurkey
• Had to accept a
communist state in its
backyard
Soviet Union
• Khrushchev was seen
as weak in dealing
with the USA
• Cuba felt betrayed as
it was not involved in
the negotiations
• Relations with China
broke down
• Missiles threat in
Turkey was removed
Cuba
• Castro was still seen
as a national hero –
for being firm against
the USA
• Was still an ally of the
Soviet Union
• Lost nuclear
protection but
protected from a
possible US invasion

2. Establishment of the Moscow-
Washington Hot Line
• Both leaders recognised that the lack of a direct
and confidential communication between them
led to an escalation of the conflict
• In crucial times, it was necessary to have a
reliable and quick line of communication
• Thus the Moscow-Washington Hotline was
establish to have a direct line of communication
between the two superpowers

3. First steps towards nuclear
disarmament
• After the possible nuclear war, both
superpowers decided to limit the
development of nuclear weapons
• On 5 Aug 1963, the USA, Soviet Union
and Britain signed the LimitedTest Ban
Treaty which prohibited nuclear testing
except testing conducted underground
• This was to slow down the arms race and
to limit the radiation fallout on the earth’s
atmosphere

Cuban Missile Crisis - Sec 4E History

In this document