The Cold War and U.S. Diplomacy - Essay Example

However, since he wanted to maintain the good reputation of the country, he intended to have plausible deniability about the matter. As such, he decided to use Cuban citizens who disliked Castro to spearhead the fight while American operatives were not directly included. Kennedy was unsure of this decision but since it had been planned in the Eisenhower administration. He found it difficult to abandon probably because it would undermine Eisenhower’s reign (Kennedy & Sedgwick, 2006). However, after the invasion things went horribly wrong.

The invaders were killed, and some of them captured for ransom to the U.S. This became a bureaucratic nightmare. Knowing that the country was in trouble, Kennedy publicly took responsibility for the attack on Cuba and apologized(Presidentprofiles.com, 2013). In addition to this, he consulted with other former presidents like Eisenhower and Nixon in order to find a suitable way alleviate their problem. Due to these actions, Kennedy was able to salvage the reputation of the United States from the drain. 2. Given that the invasion of Cuba was unsuccessful, Kennedy had to come up with contingency measures that wouldensure that his country was not blamed for the outcome of the failed invasion(Presidentprofiles.com, 2013).

As such,he had to come up with a proper diplomatic doctrine to suit his situation. The first decision he made was to admit to his mistake publicly. This action was far from intended since the U.S. wanted to deny all claims of involvement. However, to the diplomatic community, admission was suitable,and it neutralized the effects that the invasion had on not only Cubans but also other countries worldwide(Gienow-Hecht, 2010). The United States obtained most of its allies back after this admission of guilt.

Back in the country, another problem was emerging. If Kennedyexplained to the citizens that it was not his idea to invade Cuba, but that of his predecessor, he wouldhave created division in the country. Disunity of such proportion would be catastrophic to the country (Presidentprofiles.com, 2013. Therefore, he decidedto consult with two former presidents in order to show they were in agreement. These consultations yielded alternative steps that the country would take in order to avoid such embarrassment in the future.

This action by Kennedy further strengthened the American citizens’ belief in their leadership (Kennedy & Sedgwick, 2006). However, even after the Cubaninvasion failed miserably, Kennedy still wanted involvement with the local affairs of other countries. He explained thatsuch countries were not able to manage their own matters, and this was why he got involved (Kennedy & Sedgwick, 2006). For instance, he still wanted Fidel Castro of Cuba overthrown from power. This is because Castro was an ardent communist while Kennedydisapproved of this method (Sibley, 1998).

Kennedy then took up secretive methods that would ensure the U.S. wasnot involved if they failed. He utilized the CIA for this purpose. Much to his dismay, the CIA, did not follow the orders it was given, and it tried to assassinate Castro on numerous occasion, all of which failed. It is claimed that Castro got wind of these assassination attempts and was infuriated. Castro is rumored by many to be the person behind Kennedy’s assassination (Kennedy & Sedgwick, 2006). Nevertheless, Kennedy’s response to this crisis was outstanding. 3. This diplomatic doctrine had an effect not only on the United States but also on other countries(Gienow-Hecht,