Cuban Crisis Flashcards
leaders involved
eisenhower (before) kennedy (during) Kruschchev Fidel Castro General Fulgencio Batista
bay of pigs
Eisenhowever approves plan to overthrow castro’s cuba
- Cuban refugees trained to invade Cuba (KENNEDY inherits this plan)
Invasion fails; 1214/1400 invaders captured and released in return fro 53$ million worth of food and machines
- little support of cubans; miscalculations + UUS refusal to launch full scale invasion leads to their faliure
bay of pigs result
- humuliation for US kenned administration; assosiates us with imperalism/colonialism
- failure of CIA
- underestimation of CUBAN strength, intelligence and popular support
- Castro support increases and revolution consolidated
- USSR has more ammuniation to critize USA
- other latin american governments critical of US + fear imperialism
- USSR- Cuba ties strength (Castro declares himself Marxist-Leninists)
castro background
1959; fidel castro overthrows pro-US government under Batista
CUBA: in US sphere of influence (good economic, social, military influence); US reculantly acknowledges Castro government
CASTRO: claims not to be communist, but democrative; wants US assisastiance
- does revolutionary reforms such as the nationalization of US economic interests (indepedents)
- US refuses to aid, to Cuba asks USSR for economic assisantas
result of castro
- US economically claims embargo on all exports to Cuba
- US begins to organize invasion of cuban exiles to overthrow castro
operation mongoose
US sabotage of Cuban economic target (sugar and oil plantations)
- assasination attempts of castro
- diplomatic isolation of Cuba; expelled from Organization of American States in 1962
= results in Cuban Economic Crisis
why did the crisis occur? 1962
- protect cuba and prevent another invasion (john lewis gaddu perspective); KEEP COMMUNIST CUBA ACTIVE
- threatehn/provoke US
- competition iwth US miisiles in Turkey (balance missile distance)
- propagandat advatnage afater Berlin Wall Hummiliation
- bargaining chip with US
what was the crisis?
Kruschnev puts intermediate range ballistic missilies in Cuba
us reaction to crisis
- releases pic sof US-spy plane on launch pads being construcuted; affects Soviet First Strike capability and has a pyschological affect
- democratic elections coming up; Kennedy needs to take action after bays of pigs humiliation; doesnt want to public perception of him as weak in face of communism
- Diplomacy not possible as USSR/CUBA cut off from USA
resolvement of crisis
- ExCOmm (execeutive committee) summoned by Kennedy as crisis management team; 13 days
- Kennedy orders naval blocakde of island; ‘quarantine’; to prevent entry of nuclear warheads to Cuba
- Khruschev irgnores and tneres but then 6 soviet ships leave?
- kruschnev sends 2 telegrams to Kennedy;
a. proposes USSR wont place missiles in Cuban if US pledge not to invade Cuba
b. demands US removes missiles from turkey - cubans shoot down US U2 Plan; pressure on kennedy to take military action to Kennedy accepts 1st telergram deal publict
- second telgram accepted in private
- US and USS both remove respective missiles
winners of crisis?
US:
- seen as heroes
- introduce hotline for communication
- cuba isolated; bad diplomacy; fail containment
USSR:
- turkish missile removal succesful
John Lewis Gaddu
crisis occured as a result of russians wanting to keep communist cuban active
Zubok and Plesnakob
crisis happened to preserve the revolutionary cuba and spread communism
Orthodox Views
“kennedys finest hour in succesfully using nuclear BRINKMANSHIP to preseve world peace”
Revisionist Views
” kennedy unnceasrily raised cuban espisode to crisis and confrontation level; subjected world to nuclear war threat”
Result?
US:
- kennedy personal prestige increases
- US military stregnth develops focus
USSR:
-humilitation for kruschnev
CUBA:
- castro remains in power
- revolutionary activity
- becomes non-aligned
CHINA:
- sees USSR as failure of revolutionary state
- develops nuclear weapons indepenently
orthodox historians + justification
historians: rovert kennedy, theodore C. sorenson, richard e. neustadx
justification:
1. kennedy right to respond in firm and foreceful manner to soviet power threat
- blockde asserted maximum pressure on USSr and minium risk of war
- kennedy resisted military pressure and was calm/controlled
- result of crisis was power balance and peace
revisionist historians + justifications
historians: roger hagman, david horotize, I.F. Stone
justification:
- missiles didnt affect nuclear balance
- problem could have been solved politically
- crisis and blockade made unnneccerily public
- kennedy only intrest in personal and national prestige due to upcoming elections (didnt want to length negotiation)
- resutl of cris was US arrogance and activity in vietnam war
kruschchevs motives
- concerned about threat to Castro; castro of symbolic importance of communist world
- attracted by idea to appear to gain greater military strength to US; wants to cover ip mlitary/economic weakness of USSR and play up socialism
- hardliner policy towards US increases; keen to increases military expenditure
- wants to restructure failing soviet economy by reducting military expendeiture; hopes to use berlin as pressure point on west but these fail (post humiliation)
- US has similar missiles in Turkey; wants to balance power
- JFK is weak/uncertain; he seens intimiated by Kruschnevin Vienna; good reason to strike him?
consequences of crisis
- prevention of CW into a hot one becomes more urgent; motivates race of arms/nuclear reduction (SALT 1 + Non-proliferation treaty); possible co-existence plans?
- US has to learn to adapt to a world where they can’t excersize hegemony; capitalism has to coexist with communism
- hotline communications between kremlin and white house
- achieving nuclear partiy becomes more important for USSR; armaments
- Kruschnev position within party weakened + Chinese dissent
- US negelts their initail aim of containment; don’t remove castro which makes Castro more secure and failure of containment
what were castros promises when he came to power?
- improve social welfare of the population
2. gt rid of Cuba of the neo-imperial dominance of the USA
what does the crisis reflect?
- policy of brikmanship
-avoidement of nuclear confrontation
-notion of peaceful coexistence
-containment + confrontation
(proxy war)
