Paper 1 Theme 1 - Topic 2: Cuban Missile Crisis

Question 1

Monroe Doctrine

Answer 1

1823
Warned imperial European powers against interfering in the affairs of newly independent Latin American states which the US regards as their own sphere of influence. The Caribbean was eventually integrated into the Monroe Doctrine due to interests in the region.

Question 2

US acquisition of Cuba

Answer 2

US military formed a provisional government in Europe after ceding Cuba from Spain. The Platt Amendment was drafted to outline the conditions for Cuba sovereignty - Cuba cannot allow foreign powers to use the land for military purposes and US possess the right to interfere with Cuban politics

Question 3

Fulgencio Batista

Answer 3

Cuban President from 1940-1944 and dictator from 1952-1959. He was extremely corrupt. Most industries owned by USA and Cuban economy was heavily influenced by US.

Question 4

Cuban revolution

Answer 4

Overthrew Batista on 8 January 1959

Question 5

Sino-Soviet split

Answer 5

Khrushchev delivered the “secret speech” on April 1956 which denounced Stalin’s legacies. Mao criticized Khrushchev’s inclination towards maintaining peaceful coexistence with the West.
USSR’s clashes with Taiwan, Tibet and India further reinforced the belief that USSR was capitulating to the West.

Question 6

Purchase of oil from USSR

Answer 6

February 1960
Castro established diplomatic relations with USSR by signing an agreement to buy oil from USSR. In exchange, USSR agreed to purchase 425,000 tons of sugar

Question 7

Events that destroyed US-Cuba relations

Answer 7

Apr 1960 - American government pressured its companies not to process Soviet oil
Jun 1960 - Castro nationalised the oil refineries
Jul 1960 - USA reduced Cuban Sugar Quota from 3 million tonnes to only 700,000 tonnes.
Sep 1960 - Castro nationalised all minor American-owned businesses
Aug 1960 - Castro nationalised all major American businesses

Question 8

Castro declared Cuba a socialist state

Answer 8

April 16, 1961

Castro sought to improve his country’s relations with USSR

Question 9

Bay of Pigs invasion

Answer 9

April 17, 1961

The invasion proved to be a fiasco. On May 1, 1961, Castro announced an end to democratic elections in Cuba

Question 10

Castro declared Marxist-Leninist

Answer 10

2 December, 1961

He declared himself Marxist-Leninist in a televised address.

Question 11

2nd Berlin Crisis

Answer 11

13 August 1961
Between 1951 and 1961, 4 million citizens fled from East Germany to the West. Many of these were experts and professionals, creating a brain drain on East Germany.
November 1958 - Khrushchev issued an ultimatum to the West demanding an end to their occupation of West Berlin and proposed the creation of a jointly occupied ‘free city’. After Kennedy came into office, Khrushchev, Khrushchev reissued the ultimatum on June 1961. More than 1000 East Germans fled per day.
The Berlin wall was then erected on 13 August 1961 to demonstrate strength

Question 12

Checkpoint Charlie incident (Berlirisis)

Answer 12

October 27-28, 1961
US and Soviet tanks stood off against each other on their respective sides of the border for 16 hours.
Khrushchev received stinging criticisms from Mao while Kennedy’s prestige was hurt due lack of actions from him.

Question 13

Imbalance of military might

Answer 13

by 1962
US had far more superior a military force as compared to USSR: had 1million US soldiers stationed in more than 200 foreign bases, the ratio of USSR’s ICBM missiles to the US was 1:22.
Khrushchev also noticed the Jupiter missiles in Turkey.
Thus, putting missiles in Cuba was an attractive option to even out the military disparity.

Question 14

Eisenhower -> Kennedy

Answer 14

November 1960
Kennedy was adamant in solving civil rights issues and fighting racial discrimination.
Kennedy’s diplomatic fiasco during the Bay of Pig’s incident and the 2nd Berlin Crisis incurred from the public huge amounts of criticism.
Thus, the onset of the CMC provided a platform for Kennedy to redeem his reputation.

Question 15

Khrushchev

Answer 15

Rose to power in 1953
Pushed for "peaceful coexistence" and sought to "de-Stalinize" the Soviet Union. These policies undermined the legitimacy of the Soviet Union as a leader of communism and soured relations with its ally, PRC.
Thus, the CMC could provide:
1.a communist ally
2.a boost in its credibility
3.counter against US military superiority
4.a trade partner
5.increase his personal prestige

Question 16

Castro

Answer 16

vehemently espoused anti-US imperialism.
Bay of Pig’s incident convinced Castro that a large scale invasion was inevitable. Thus, agreeing to the installment of nuclear missiles in Cuba would fend off the US and acquire him a valuable ally who could protect Cuba from foreign aggression, especially the US.

Question 17

Crisis - 14 October

Answer 17

A-U2 spy plane took pictures of missile sites currently under construction.

Question 18

Crisis - 16 October

Answer 18

News broken to Kennedy, who called for a meeting and discusses possible diplomatic and military courses of actions

Question 19

Crisis - 18 October

Answer 19

Soviet foreign minister Gromyko met with Kennedy and assured that the missiles were meant purely for the defence of Cuba

Question 20

Crisis - 22 October

Answer 20

Kennedy decided on a naval blockade to buy time for negotiation with USSR. He announced the discovery of missiles in Cuba and announced in a televised address on employing the strategy of a naval quarantine. US military forces worldwide went on DEFCON3.

Question 21

Crisis - 23 October

Answer 21

Khrushchev alerted forces among members of Warsaw Pact to be on standby. Robert Kennedy talked with Ambassador Dobrynin.

Question 22

Crisis - 24 October

Answer 22

Soviet ships with questionable cargo were reversed.

US went on DEFCON2.

Question 23

Crisis - 26 October

Answer 23

Intense exchange of letters between the two sides.
Khrushchev sent a letter proposing the removal of his missiles if Kennedy would publicly announce he would never invade Cuba.

Question 24

Crisis - 27 October

Answer 24

Khrushchev proposed to trade Soviet missiles in Cuba for US missiles in Turkey. A strayed U-2 plane was nearly shot down. A Soviet submarine also nearly fired its torpedo.
Kennedy accepted to remove the missiles in Turkey in exchange for the removal of those in Cuba but the exchange had to be kept secret

Question 25

Crisis - 28 October

Answer 25

Khrushchev agreed to Kennedy’s proposals out of fear of an air attack on the missile site. Khrushchev announced over Radio Moscow that he had agreed to remove the missiles.

Question 26

Impact on Kennedy and USA

Answer 26

Successfully removed missiles in exchange for obsolete Jupiter missiles (good for Kennedy + US)
Made up for Kennedy’s humiliation in BoP and Berlin Crisis (good for Kennedy)
Increased popularity in his country as reflected in his votes (good for Kennedy)
Caused tension with western allies as they were never consulted. This is especially for NATO as they felt that Europe’s security was not being considered.

Question 27

Impact on Khrushchev and USA

Answer 27

America promised to never invade Cuba and that USSR gained a new communist ally. Jupiter missiles were also removed
The expansion of communism into the Third world motivated Soviet involvement in the Third World.
Khrushchev however, faced opposition at home for his perceived submission to US’s demands.
It further deepened the Sino-Soviet split as Mao’s belief that Khrushchev was incapable of leading the communist movement was reinforced
Khrushchev was ousted from power 2 years later as his credibility was severely undermined.
Relations with Castro soured as Castro was not consulted despite being the centre of the dispute.
USSR was once again viewed as an aggressor.

Question 28

Impact on Cuba and Castro

Answer 28

Castro was furious as he did not play any role and was not consulted at all.
Nevertheless, Cuba’s protection from future American aggression was secured.

Question 29

A period of detente ensued

Answer 29

US adopted a more relaxed approached and the idea of “negotiation before conflict” prevailed.
The hotline agreement was signed, facilitating 24 hour communications.
Several disarmament initiatives and agreements were also reached

Question 30

Limited Test Ban Treaty

Answer 30

1963

Abolished conduct of nuclear tests in the atmosphere

Question 31

Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty

Answer 31

1968

Prevent the proliferation of nuclear weapons to non-nuclear states

Question 32

Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty (I)

Answer 32

1972

Limit the number of land and sea-based ballistic missile launches for each side

Question 33

Impact on Cold War: increased militarization

Answer 33

USSR sought to close missile gap -> increase in Soviet arms spending of 40% from 1965-1970.
Soviet ICBM deployment after Khrushchev’s fall increased from less than 500 warheads to more than 10000 by 1980s.
The US deployed Pershing and Cruise MIssiles.
Space race

Question 34

Impact on Cold War: conflicts in 3rd world countries

Answer 34

US policy makers felt more confident to use the American military and created the belief that military pressure is most effective when dealing with the communist. US increased involvement in Vietnam.
The Soviets were also more confident in spreading communist influence. This can be seen from Soviet Union’s involvement in Africa and Afghanistan.