Kennedy Administrations Successful Handling of the Cuban Crisis - Essay Example

Kennedy administration’s successful handling of the Cuban crisis Grade (5th, March. Kennedy administration’s successful handling of the Cuban crisisThe Cuban Crisis refers to a 13-day confrontation that ensued between the USSR and Cuba on one side and the USA on the other (Kennedy & Schlesinger, 1999). This crisis occurred in 1962, during the cold war period, and it is one of the incidences in the history of the cold war, when a full blown nuclear war was looming. The Cuban crisis was sparked off the US political move to overthrow the Cuban regime that was in power at the time, prompting the USSR to respond by sending its nuclear missiles to Cuba, so that it could deter any further attempt by the US to attack Cuba.

The involvement of the USSR forced the USA to contemplate attacking Cuba through air and water strikes, but for legal reasons, decide to blockade further supply of the missiles by the USSR to Cuba. In response, the USSR argued that the blockade amounted to an act of aggression against another country, which would propel a nuclear war. This resulted to a negotiation talk being held between President John F. Kennedy and the Soviet Premier, Nikita Khrushchev (Kennedy & Schlesinger, 1999). Thus, these are the reasons that indicate that the negotiations by John Kennedy’s administration were successful: The negotiations in Cuban crisis were perceived as successful, since they ended up creating a scenario where the USA was the winner.

This is because; the USSR removed its missiles from Cuba, while the prestige of the USA military was preserved (Kennedy & Schlesinger, 1999). This occurred because; the world finally saw the USSR back down and withdraw its missiles from Cuba, while the removal of the USA missiles from Turkey was not made a publicly accepted demand, but was rather agreed upon silently between the Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy and the USSR ambassador (Kennedy & Schlesinger, 1999). This served to preserve the image of the military might of the USA.

The negotiations reached a deal, where the USA was to stop any attempt to attack Cuba and remove its missiles from Turkey, in return for having the USSR remove its missiles from Cuba (Kennedy & Schlesinger, 1999). This was an act of mutual agreement that established equal treatment of all parties, through having both the USA and the USSR return all offensive weapons to their countries, and thus avoid involving other countries in their contest for supremacy, which would have ended-up destroying the whole world through, a nuclear war.

The negotiations are also considered successful, since they helped the USA to adapt a safer option; that of blockade, as opposed to the highly championed military action that would have left the world devastated (Kennedy & Schlesinger, 1999). Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy advised the president to accept the demands that were made by the USSR; that the USA promises not to invade Cuba in return for the USSR exciting its missiles from Cuba (Kennedy & Schlesinger, 1999). This pledge served to settle the almost fatal conflict that would have ensued.

In conclusion therefore, the negotiations that ended the Cuban crisis were a success on the part of Kennedy’s administration, since the negotiations ended the crisis without any casualties, while preserving the prestige and military might of the USA. ReferenceKennedy, R. F., & Schlesinger, A. M. (1999). Thirteen days: A memoir of the Cuban missile crisis. New York: W.W. Norton.