cuban missile crisis Flashcards
jfk quote
‘it shall be the policy of this nation to regard any nuclear missile launched from cuba . . . as an attack by the soviet union . . . requiring a full retaliatory response upon the soviet union’
cuba
large island in caribbean, approx. 90 miles from miami florida
fulgencio batista
dictator of cuba when it was a US satellite state.
-americans based troops in cuba
-american companies controlled economy, owned most of wealth
-US mafia existed freely + had huge influence
cuban revolution 1959
overthrew batista, fidel castro rose to power
-initially not a communist uprising -> fidel castro disagreed with communism, however after bay of pigs introduced communist one party state
fidel castro relations with US
-asked US for loans to improve cuba’s economy, US refused
-introduced land reforms + nationalised major factories + mines
-seized US owned property
-US imposed trade embargo
USSR-cuba trade deal
in 1960s cuban economy facing crisis -> USSR signed agreement to trade cuban sugar for soviet oil/ machinery
bay of pigs invasion 1961
-when jfk became president (1961), america had broken off relations with cuba + CIA was training anti-castro exiles to invade/overthrow
-17 april 1961, 1,500 cuban exiles trained by CIA landed at the bay of pigs in cuba. carrying US weapons + delivered by US ships.
why did the bay of pigs fail
-expected cuban people to rise up and help overthrow communists
-underestimated strength of cuban army + castro’s popularity
-cubans didn’t support invasion: supported castro’s programmes for literacy, free healthcare, housing construction + land reforms
-castro knew about invasion beforehand
-lack of air support from US
aftermath of bay of pigs
within 72 hours, 114 attackers dead + survivors surrendered
-hundreds more executed by castro in following years
-captured soldiers ransomed for $53 mil worth of baby food and medicine
-kennedy looked like failure
cuban-soviet relations
-cuban economy struggling immensely, castro seeks help from soviets
-asks to join warsaw pact -> denied as it would mean USSR would have to come to cuba’s aid
-however, khruschev sees opportunity to challenge US -> agrees to give castro missiles
-secret operation -> once the missiles are there the US cannot object
-saw it as opportunity to get within striking distance of US
missile gap
-key part of kennedy’s campaign was blaming EH for the ‘missile gap’
-tsar bomba 1961
-in reality, US was far ahead of soviets
-US had missiles stationed withing striking distance of USSR
-i.e. jupiter missiles in turkey from 1959
credibility
cold war became less about arms buildup and more about build up of credibility
-MAD meant neither side would use a nuclear bomb, however they had to make the other side believe that they would use one, and were capable of using one
-fear of retaliation would make other side hesitate to launch first strike -> why khruschev wanted rockets in cuba -> capacity for direct retaliation
missiles detected
-as missiles brought into cuba rumours spread among population and into US
-US administration refuted rumours and believed only missiles in cuba were short range self defence missiles
-proven wrong in august 1962 when U2 spy plane sighted missile sites
-15 oct evidence showed sites were for nuclear missiles
-american defence systems unable to defend against attack from cuba
EXCOMM
executive committee of the national security council: set up to advise kennedy on the crisis incl. robert macnamara (sec. of defence)
operation mongoose
-covert op. that aimed to remove cuban govt from power after cuban revolution, assasinate castro + damage cuban economy
quarantine
22 oct kennedy announced ‘strict quarantine on all offensive military equipment under shipment to cuba’
-US navy formed perimeter around island + orders to stop/search any ships sailing to cuba. orders to fire if they did not stop
khruschev letter
-26 oct, letter proposed USSR would remove missiles if US agreed never to invade cuba
-27 oct second letter said withdrawal of missiles would depend on removal of missiles from turkey -> made as public announcement on radio moscow
U2 plane shot down
27 oct, soviet ship fired despite khruschev’s order not to fire on any US vehicles. world seemed on brink of war
end of crisis / agreement
after 2 weeks kennedy agreed US would not invade cuba if missiles removed
-‘back door’ deal to secretly remove US ICBMs from turkey
-crisis was a ‘game of chicken’
‘hot line’
direct line of communication set up between washington (white house) and moscow (kremlin)
defcon 2
-US moved to defence condition 2 (stage before nuclear war) on oct 24
-world on brink of war
castro pressures USSR
urged khruschev to make ‘pre-emptive’ strike on US
cuban missile crisis
13 days, ‘ends’ on oct 28
-160 warheads on the island
-actually ends on 20 nov when kennedy drops from defcon 2
possible land invasion
180,000 ground troops in florida ready to invade cuba
