Cuban Crisis Flashcards
Arms race and nuclear deterrence
- both USSR and USA spent a lot of money on new weapons
- spied on each other to steal tech secrets: US used U2 planes and USSR used spies
- USA placed short range nuclear weapons in Turkey
- both sides developed ICBMs which could travel between continents in 30 min
- by early 1960s: both sides had enough nuclear weapons to destroy the other
- nuclear deterrent meant enemy would not attack or else MAD
Cuban Revolution
- Cuba had long been an American ally
- Americans owned most of the businesses there and had huge naval base there
- Americans provided Batista w/ economic and military support
- Batista was an unpopular, corrupt dictator - USA mainly supported due to anticommunism
- 1959: Fidel overthrows Batista
- Fidel Castro was popular
USA-Cuban relations after Castro being new leader
- at first recognised but then relations between US and Cuba began to deteriorate
- thousands of Cuban exiles in the US who had fled from Castro’s rule, demanding action against Castro
- Castro took over some American-owned businesses in Cuba (especially agricultural), taking their land and distributing it to his supporters among Cuba’s peasant farmers
USA response to Castro
- CIA provided support and funds to Cuban exiles
- damaged sugar plantations
- US businesses in Cuba refused to cooperate w/ any Cuban business that cooperated with USSR
- USA media very critical of Castro
Castro’s response to American hostility
- assured Americans living in Cuba that they were safe
- USA could keep its naval base
- Castro said he simply wanted to run Cuba without interference
- by summer of 1960 he was allies with USSR
- Nikita gave 100 million dollars in economic aid to Cuba
- Castro also began receiving arms from USSR, US spies knew this
Bay of Pigs
Jan 1961: Kennedy broke off diplomatic relations with Cuba
- Kennedy supplied arms, equipment and transport for 1400 Cuban exiles to invade Cuba and overthrow Castro
April 1961: landed at Bay of Pigs
- whopping failure for Kennedy, all captured or killed within days
Impact of bay of pigs
- suggested to Cuba and USSR that ISA was unwilling to get directly involved in Cuba
- Nikita scornful of Kennedy’s pathetic attempt
- strengthened Castro’s position in Cuba
- suggested to USSR that Kennedy was weak
- Castro and Nikita suspalicious of US policy
October crisis
- after BofP, Soviet arms flooded into Cuba
- By July 1962 Cuba had the best equipped army in LatAm
- US alarmed: ok with normal weapons, but worried about nuclear missiles
- 14 Oct 1962: US spy plane saw missile sites in Cuba
Timeline from Oct 16 1962 until Oct 28
16 oct: Kennedy informed of missile build up
20 oct: Kennedy decided on a blockade
22 oct: Kennedy announced blockade, called on USSR to remove missiles
23 oct: Kennedy receives a letter from Nikita saying that Soviet ships would not observe the blockade, did not admit presence of nuclear missiles in Cuba
24 oct: blockade began
25 oct: aerial photos revealed that work on missile bases was proceeding rapidly
26 oct: Kennedy received 2nd letter from Nikita, claimed that missiles in cuba were purely defensive and said that if the US didn’t attack cuba and lift the blockade, then he might consider removing the missiles (admitted to missiles)
27 oct am: nikita sends a 3rd letter revising his proposals saying that the condition was for US to withdraw Turkish missiles + american plane shot down over Cuba
27 oct pm: kennedy decidded to delay an attack and ignored the 3rd letter, but accepted terms of 2ns
28 oct: nikita says he will remove
Why did the USSR place nuclear missiles on Cuba?
- bargain w/ USA
- test USA
- trap USA
- strengthen his own position in USSR
- defend Cuba
- close missile gap
outcomes for US
- Kennedy w/ good rep
- Kennedy resisted hardliners in his own gvt
- he agreed to remove missiles from Turkey - NATO allies unhappy
- had to accept Cuba was communist
outcomes for Khrushchev and USSR
- good rep as peacemaker
- USSR kept Cuba safe from attack
- removed missiles in Turkey - secret so no propaganda tho
- US criticised by some of its own allies
- Khr had been forced to back down
- USSR still behind in arms race
outcomes for cold war
- thawed relations
- permanent hotline phone link from WH to kremlin
- 1963: nuclear test ban treaty
outcomes for cuba
- castro upset by Khr deal, but he accepted bc he needed Soviet support
- Cuba stayed communist and highly armed
- castro kept control of american companies etc he nationalised
