Cuba, Battleground of Opposing Views essays

Cuba, Battleground of Opposing Views essays The Cuban Missile Crisis of October 1962 was one of the turning points of the Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union. At that time the two superpowers came closest to war than they had ever been, most likely with nuclear weapons. The actual crisis started when on October 14th 1962, a U-2 airplane brought back pictures of medium-range missile bases that were under construction around San Cristobal, on the west of the island. What followed was a face-off between the leaders of the two superpowers, U.S. President John F. Kennedy and Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev. Kennedy reacted to the missile threat by imposing a naval blockade on Cub, preventing further missile deployment. The American blockade came into place on the morning of October 24th. With several Soviet ships approaching the blockade, there was great fear that if a ship did not halt, the U.S. battleships would have to be forced to fire and by doing this unleashing a nuclear war. Luckily the ships did stop or turn around. Matters got hectic once more when on October 27th an American U-2 was shot down by a SAM missile over Cuba and its pilot killed. Another American reconnaissance plane was hit by Cuban anti-aircraft guns, but it managed to fly home. If this plane had been shot down as well, the U.S. would probably have retaliated. But in the end neither leader wanted to engage in a nuclear war and a treaty was negotiated. This treaty stated that the Soviets would withdraw their missiles from Cuba if the Americans pledged not to invade Cuba. Part of the deal was also the removal of Soviet bombers from Cuba and the removal of the Jupiters from Turkey although not within any public deal. A potentially disastrous conflict was averted. In this paper I will try to explain what caused the Cuban Missile Crisis and why it was prevented. To do this I need to look at both Kennedys and Khrushchevs foreign policies. The task in our block book is entitled ...