3 -- Cuban Missile Crisis [done] Flashcards
State the Content Concepts of Cuban Missile Crisis.
OAIDB
- Offer
- Acceptance
- Installation
- Discovery
- Blockade
Why was Cuba important to the USA?
- Security concerns
- it was located close to USA and part of the Americas, leading to it being seen as part of American SOI
- USA had economic interests in Cuba, and wanted to defend it from threats which could threaten its trade
- it also wanted to install a pro-American government in Cuba so that it would not fall to other ideologies like communism
- Economic benefits for USA
- it wanted to take advantage of the tobacco and sugar industries in Cuba
- since there was a pro-American government installed there, American companies were encouraged to invest in the industries
- American companies owned 60% of the Cuban Sugar industry, dominating it and making it reliant on their external markets
- however, only the elite few Cubans working with the Americans got money and were rich, while the rest were still poor
Why were there initial tensions between Castro and USA after he came to power?
American ambassadors were like procounsel to the Cubans, and their opinions were seen as equally important to that of the president’s.
In 1933, Cuban generals conspired with the American ambassador to overthrow the government and installed puppet governments which only cared for American interests. Nationalists hated this.
- Batista was corrupt and a dictator, and would oppress the people
- he would exploit the market by working with the American mafia
In 1956, Castro led rebels to conduct guerilla warfare against Batista’s govenrment and succeeded due to popularity with the Cubans and unpopularity of Batista.
- USA were still paranoid that he could be communist, and agreed to recognise him only if he conducted elections soon
How did Castro worsen relations between himself and the USA?
before 1962 - Castro’s policies
1. [Seeking new markets for Cuban sugar]
- After Castro contacted the Soviets, they agreed to buy half a million tonnes of sugar from Cuba
- Russians also agreed to buy 1 million tonnes over 5 years
- Bartering of sugar for Soviet oil was also agreed on
- Alarmed USA as they worried the trade relations were indicating that Cuba might become communist soon
2. [Land Reform Law]
- Passed in May 1959, it aimed to redistribute large estates over 1000 acres and farms over 3333 acres into the people’s hands or run as communes
- Foreigners not allowed to own any more sugar plantations
- Castro saw this as him repaying farmers who supported him, but US saw the redistribution policies as meaning Cuba was trying to be like USSR
- USA was also concerned about American companies being affected financially
How did Castro worsen relations between himself and the USA?
before 1962 - Castro’s friendship with Khruschev
_Castro’s friendship with Khruschev_
- When Castro visited NYC in 1960, he stayed in the poor district of Harlem where many discriminated African-Americans lived
- Khruschev who was also attending the UN General Assembly visited Castro at the hotel he was at
- Their meeting highlighted American discrimination of African-Americans and strengthened the friendship between USSR and Cuba
- Castro talked about the discrimination issue, which was not well-received by conservatives in the US govt.
How did USA worsen relations between itself and Cuba?
before 1962 - economic pressure
1. [Weakening the economy in 1960]
- April: US govt. pressured its oil companies like Shell not to process any Soviet oil that arrived. The oil refineries refused to process them when they came.
- June: Castro nationalised the oil refineries in response.
- July: USA reduced sugar quota from 3 million tonnes to 700,000 tonnes, but the USSR and China stepped in to help buy the surplus sugar.
- After this, Castro nationalised even more American facilities in Cuba, making USA alarmed and concerned due to threatened economic interests in Cuba.
2. [Placing an embargo]
- American exports to Cuba were stopped except for food and medicine to emphasise the embargo was against the govt., not the people
- China and USSR stepped in to help supply Cuba and buy Cuban products
- Up to 4 million tonnes were purchased by EE countries
- by 1961, 30% farmlands and 80% industries were national-owned instead of privately-owned
- Castro could continue his policies without worrying about lack of supply or funds
How did USA worsen relations between itself and Cuba?
before 1962 - attempts to remove Castro from power
1. [Bay of Pigs Invasion, April 1961]
- CIA-trained exiles were used to invade Cuba and overthrow Castro’s govt.
- Despite the US govt. denying involvement, it was obvious they provided equipment and logistics to the exiles
- Castro was well-prepared and subdued the invaders in 2 days
- USA was humiliated and Castro got the opportunity to rally the nationalists for his cause against the Americans
2. [Operation Mongoose, 1961s -1980s]
- Consisted of intelligence operations to sabotage Cuban industries
- Included assassination attempts on key Cuban political figures like Castro
- Aimed for revolt and overthrow of the govt., but operations continued until up to the 1980s.
- Widely considered by many historians to be a massive failure of American foreign policy
How did Castro turn to communism?
Acceptance
After the Bay of Pigs Invasion by USA, Castro thought a large-scale invasion by the USA was inevitable.
- USA had active military exercises in the Carribean simulating invasion of an unnamed island
- Armed forces were still present in the naval base nearby
USSR was also supportive of Cuba and sent a letter of support during the BOPI.
In December 1961, Castro officially declared himself a communist and established a communist party in Cuba.
What could the USSR gain from installation of missiles in Cuba?
Offer & Installation
[Political gains]
- Missiles could be used as leverage to make demands regarding West Berlin which Khruschev thought should be merged with East Berlin.
- Could be used to gain favour with communist bloc (esp China who was beginning to challenge Soviet leadership)
[Military & strategic gains]
- Could counter threat of Jupiter missiles in Turkey placed by USA
- Get USSR a base of operations geographically close to USA
- Acts as a deterrent against American nuclear threat
- Narrow the missile capability gap, since most Soviet missiles can’t reach USA due to technology gap.
How did the Americans discover the missiles?
Discovery
On 14 Oct, an American spy plane took photos of a missile launch site in Cuba.
- USSR was secretive about it, disguising soldiers as tourists into Cuba and transporting the missiles stealthily
- Soviet ambassador in America didn’t even know about it and said it was for defensive purposes
On 16 Oct, it was reported that the USSR already had an unknown number of operational nuclear missiles in Cuba that could reach the USA.
- The missiles could easily hit most of USA, including its capital
- USA would also have significantly less time to respond to a nuclear attack.
USA did not know why USSR hid the addition of the nuclear missiles to Cuba, and felt betrayed as they were told it was for defensive purposes and thought Khruschev was lying.
- it actually was defensive in nature, and was meant as a counteract to the Jupiter missiles in Turkey
How did the American react to the missiles?
Blockade
On 22 Oct, Kennedy announced to Americans via a televised address about the discovery of the missiles in Cuba and his chosen response of a blockade.
- once the blockade came into effect, all entering ships would be checked by US naval ships to ensure they didn’t carry more weapons befor being allowed to proceed
- the blockade was to go into effect on 24 Oct, 2 days later
Khruschev was shocked and angry, condemning the blockade as an act of war, and wrote to Castro saying USSR would continue to support him.
- however, he still ordered recently departed ships to return while asking the closer ships to travel faster
- Soviet forces were on high alert but banned from using missiles
- order was sent out to permit usage of them if US forces invaded, but the order was delayed so the US wouldn’t intercept and get triggered
What happened during Khruschev’s 1st Peace Appeal?
Khruschev got some time to think over the aspects of war with the USA as the blockade did not take effect immediately.
- Khruschev was relieved USA did not choose an immediate invasion
- he realised instead of the missiles acting as a deterrent, they increased tensions between the superpowers even more
- He sent a letter to Kennedy offering withdrawal of the missiles in Cuba in exchange for USA promising not to invade Cuba.
Despite his intentions, Cuban and Soviet soldiers in Cuba were mobilising and getting ready for an imminent invasion.
Why did Khruschev appeal a 2nd time?
There was no responses from Kennedy, and facing pressure from the Soviet govt., Khruschev rushed for another reply by sending another letter on 27 Oct.
- the letter suggested USA remove the Turkey missiles in exchange of USSR removing the Cuban missiles
- Kennedy saw that Khruschev could be using brinksmanship as well, and was alarmed
- he only replied to the first letter
How did the Spy U-2 Plane incident lead to the end of the CMC?
including Jupiter missiles deal
A Soviet commander in Cuba acted on his own authority and fired a missile at an American U-2 spy plane, killing the pilot. Both sides realised they may not be able to control their military and had to act quickly.
Kennedy was willing to go through with the deal, but did not want to anger Turkey or NATO, who were concerned removal of the missiles would compromise their safety. To carry out the deal secretly, the Soviet Ambassador met with Robert Kennedy to discuss the deal.
Khruschev accepted the deal.
1. On 28 Oct, he announced the USA’s acceptance of his 1st proposal on 26 Oct
2. In secret, Kennedy accepted the deal to secretly withdraw the missiles in Turkey.
Some small range missiles were left in Cuba, but were technically not part of the agreement, so Khruschev left them out.
- Castro was extremely angry as the handling of the crisis, and threatened to reveal the smaller range missiles to the UN
- Mikoyan realised the missiles weren’t in good hands if given to Cuba anyway, and suggested they were removed
- They were also eventually removed.
What factors led to the resolution of the Cuban Missile Crisis?
1. Time allowed both sides to cool down and reconsider
- Kennedy and his Ex-Com didn’t want to rush any military actions as the USSR might not have been trying to attack, and they could risk escalating the situation.
- The blockade taking effect 2 days after its announcement gave Khruschev time to react and consider a non-aggressive response
2. Awareness of consequences of nuclear war
- Both ignored their rash military commanders who claimed using force was the best way to resolve the issue
- Both were aware of MAD and decided to use diplomacy instead of violence
3. Understanding each other’s interests
- Kennedy had elections coming up and needed to appear strong to the public, by keeping the withdrawal of the Jupiter missiles secret
- Khruschev had hardliners in the govt. who would overthrow him if he made the USSR appear weak
- he had to secure the safety of the USSR by removing the Jupiter missiles
4. Public & international opinion
- many countries like Britain warned USA to be careful in its handling of the crisis, as Europe had also lived within launch range of USSR for years, but didn’t make a big deal out of it
- USA could overreact and start a war
- Americans also held demonstrations to urge Kennedy to be careful, and not start a war unnecessarily.
