Cuban Missile Crisis - Essay Example

Cuban Missile Crisis Name Institution Course Date Cuban Missile Crisis The Cuban missile crisis occurred in the year 1962 and was considered a direct yet dangerous confrontation that occurred between the Unites States and the Soviet Union (Stern, 2005). This crisis happened during the Cold War and was the instance where two of the world’s superpowers came into disagreement that might have resulted to the occurrence of a nuclear conflict. This crisis was distinctive in its own nature since it involved calculations and miscalculations as well as uninterrupted communications and miscommunications between the two nations (Faria, 2002). In addition, the intense crisis was described by the concept of the White House playing with the Kremlin level demonstrating very low input from the respective governments participating in the foreign policy operations (Stern, 2005). This crisis involved the construction of a number of nuclear bases in Cuba by the Soviet Union particularly after the United States failed to overthrow the Cuban government (Blight et al., 2002). Furthermore, the construction of these nuclear bases was initiated after Cuban premier, Fidel Castro, came into an agreement with the Soviet’s premier, Nikita Khrushchev, in order to prevent any upcoming invasion attempt by the United States into Cuba (Faria, 2002). Although, the United States were able to discover a photographic evidence of missile bases in Cuba during a routine surveillance flights (Leonard, 2004). Thereafter, declared that offensive weapons were not to be delivered into Cuba and thus demanded the dismantlement of the missile bases that were already under construction and those that were completed (Tahair, Richard and Miller, 2009). Therefore, this essay will highlight the various reasons behind the Cuban missile crisis. It will also compare the different perspectives of the United States, Cuba and the Soviet Union with regard to the crisis. There are a number of reasons that lead to the escalation of the Cuban missile crisis which was triggered by either nation. Firstly, the United States felt threatened after Castro’s government used slogans that sounded like communism (Garthoff, 2004). Furthermore, the U.S. president failed to arrange a meet with Fidel Castro which made the USSR extend a warm welcome to Castro thus worrying the United States government (Garthoff, 2004). In addition, setting up of a missile base in Cuba by the USSR also stirred up the occurrence of the Cuban missile crisis. During the Cold War period, there was a conflict that existed between the United States and the Soviet Union (The Cuban Missile Crisis, 2016). Once Cuba collaborated with the Soviet Union with regards to setting a missile base at their nation, the United States government was threatened after photographic evidence of the missile bases in Cuba were captured by their spy planes. This United States therefore went ahead and barricaded Cuba’s borders from the Soviet Union ships dues to matters of national security (The Cuban Missile Crisis, 2016). Additionally, the USSR had various reasons of installing a missile base in Cuba which included balancing the missile gap that existed between the United States and USSR and also in order to avoid any additional invasion of the United States into Cuba (Blight et al., 2002). Therefore, Khrushchev believed in order to achieve the above objectives, he had to install the missile bases in Cuba. He also believed it would offer protection the Cuban national pride (Leonard, 2004). Furthermore, during the 50’s, the United States had outshined the USSR in terms of armaments which prompted Khrushchev to deploy missile bases in Cuba in order for the USSR to achieve symmetry with the United States which would enable him gain grounds as well as negotiation power for the missile trade (Blight et al., 2002). The USSR therefore had hidden agendas of manipulating the United States into deploying their missile bases in Turkey and Italy so that to test the USA’s reaction for future wars and in turn to increase Khrushchev’s popularity both at home and also in their Communist bloc which lead to the crisis (Leonard, 2004). In addition, the insecurity within Cuba was also another cause of the Cuban missile crisis. The main reason why Cuba agreed with the USSR to have missile bases set up at their territory was primarily due to their insecurity (Faria, 2002). There were quite a number of assassination attempts aimed at Fidel Castro which were organized by both Cuban exiles as well as the CIA. Such insecurity arose from plots which involved car bombing and poisoning to name a few. Then again, the United States commenced a trade embargo which ensured that any nation that collaborated with Cuba wouldn’t receive any financial aid (Feklisov, Alexander and Kostin, 2005). The Cuban government therefore viewed this as a means of the United States weakening their government by weakening the Cuban economy. Furthermore, the Cuban intelligence found out that the CIA were planning an invasion on Cuba which would be more significant than the prior invasion (Garthoff, 2004). Therefore, in order for Cuba to protect their sovereignty, they believed that they needed military aid from the USSR which encouraged the USSR establish missile bases on their islands. In addition, other reasons that led to the occurrence of the Cuban missile crisis was after President Kennedy won his presidential elections and thus focused on ejecting Fidel Castro and thus stop the spread of communism within Latin America (Munton and Welch, 2007). His attempt pushed Castro closer to his counterpart Khrushchev which strengthened the introduction of nuclear missiles within their islands. Furthermore, the Cuban revolution also played a huge role in escalating the Cuban missile crisis. It started with the overthrow of the Cuban dictator Fulgencio Batista by Fidel Castro (Kramps and Tustin, 2007). Once Fidel Castro was in charge, he nationalized various United States companies which greatly outraged the United States. This turned Castro to the USSR where they came with an agreement of the purchase of 1 million tons of sugar from year per annum. The United States certainly came out with a status greatly improved within the west whereas Khrushchev was viewed as a fail by his colleagues and thus suffered humiliation which led to him being deposed (Stern, 2005). Both President Kennedy and Chairman Khrushchev possessed leadership as well as determination that aimed at finding peaceful resolutions. In the outcome of the event, both leaders worked hand in hand to enhance relations and at the same time minimize recurrence of such circumstance (Garthoff, 2004). However, both Fidel Castro and Khrushchev ought to have identified the risks of secretly introducing nuclear weapons into Cuba. The 1959 Cuban Revolution took place with the help from Soviet Union and it was few years before Soviet Union started its relationship with Cuba (Munton and Welch, 2007). According to Castro, the Cuban revolution was “socialist” immediately after the Bay of Pigs invasion in the 1961 (Munton and Welch, 2007). In the perspective of Cuba, United States has intended to destroy the Cuban revolution regardless of whether it was linked to Soviet Union (Munton and Welch, 2007). Therefore, Cuba feared the United States invasion and this led to them seeking means to defend itself. Cuba thus accepted the Soviet Union to put up missiles in their soils in order to discourage and prevent United States invasion and to form a lasting relationship with the Soviet Union (Munton and Welch, 2007). In addition, Cuba wanted to preserve the Soviet bombers even after the occurrence of the crisis as a steadfast defense against the United States attacks (Kramps and Tustin, 2007). From the Cuban perspective, the crisis was not fully resolved but security and peace was restored. According to Cuban, the cause of the crisis was the fact that the United States aimed to destroy the Cuban revolution which was unacceptable to the Cuban community (The Cuban Missile Crisis, 2016). Cuba believed that they were alone as they did not trust the Soviet Union and on the other hand they were threatened by the United States. The Missile crisis involved three countries and each of these countries had an influence on the outcome (Munton and Welch, 2007). There was a possibility to prevent the crisis through improved and open communication between the three countries. In 1962, Soviet Union had not ability or enough missiles to hit the United States. The inability of strategic capability by the Soviet Union gave the United States huge power over the entire world (Tahair, Richard and Miller, 2009). However, the installation of missiles in Cuba by Soviet Union showed that they had an enhanced ability to attack the United States (Munton and Welch, 2007). According to the United States, the installation of Missile by Soviet Union in Cuba was a way to embarrass the United States and undermine their capability. In addition, Soviet Union intention also was to change the existing world balance in order for them to be free to challenge the United States (Falaster, 2014). Another perspective of the United State on the missile crisis was that Soviet Union was testing the United States (Munton and Welch, 2007). If the United States was okay with the installation of missiles in Cuba, it would mean that the Soviet Union was free to act aggressively elsewhere (Feklisov, Alexander and Kostin, 2005). On the other hand, backing down the installation of missiles in Cuba would mean that the United States was a weak country. According to United States, the missile in Cuba was an indication of Soviet Union acting aggressively (Munton and Welch, 2007). Therefore, the United States was justified for acting swiftly, decisively to defend itself against the aggression inflicted by the Soviet Union. The United States believe that force is the most valuable tool in coming up with a successful solution for such as crisis. For this reason, it is important for the United States to preserve power and superiority over Soviet Union (Munton and Welch, 2007). The United States believe that it and the Soviet Union have a mutual awareness of preventing nuclear war (Stern, 2005). As a result, they can translate this common ideology and interest and negotiate control and power agreements which result to the reduction of the occurrence of war (Munton and Welch, 2007). Therefore, neglecting their differences could have brought about a positive outcome in the midst of the crisis. If they opted for strike back against the missiles in Cuba, Soviet Union could have an excuse to attack them back and this could have brought about negative results (Munton and Welch, 2007). In the midst of the United States Presidential campaign of John Kennedy in 1960, Kennedy campaigned against Richard Nixon by justifying the availability of a “missile gap” that put Soviet Union in front of the other countries (Munton and Welch, 2007). This resulted to Soviet Union fear when John F. Kennedy acquired the presidency position. Russia, in the past known as the Soviet Union, was afraid that the United States will attach them or otherwise attach Cuba (Munton and Welch, 2007). The United States had acknowledged the need for more missiles in the country which created fear in Soviet Union which made them result to install more missiles in Cuba, the neighbor to the United States as a protective undertaking (Munton and Welch, 2007). John Kennedy also announced that there would be an increase in the number of missiles in the United States that they would launch against the Soviet Union (Stern, 2005). The country had twenty times more missiles compared to Soviet Union by the end of 1963 (Munton and Welch, 2007). This was unconformable for Soviet Union and they felt threatened and thus need to arm themselves in case of any attacks. In the perspective of the Soviet Union, the United States was preparing for an attack against them and at the least; they wanted to intimidate the Soviet Union (Munton and Welch, 2007). In addition, the United States also renewed their attacks against Cuba and acted aggressively against them which undermined the Soviet Union interests. The Soviet Union credibility would be under scrutiny if it allowed Cuba to be attacked or invested by other countries like the United States (Munton and Welch, 2007). The signs of invasion came about when the United States suspended Cuba from the Organisation of American States. According to the Soviet Union, installing missiles in Cuba was significant as it would increase the number of warheads that could be used against the United States which will enhance the capabilities of the country (Munton and Welch, 2007). Soviet Union believed that crisis or attacks could not be managed but prevented. The availability of missiles in Cuba was a way of preventing war or attacks from happening which would deter the growth of the world’s economy (Munton and Welch, 2007). To sum up, the Cuban Missile Crisis was considered a direct yet dangerous confrontation that occurred between the Unites States and the Soviet Union which occurred during the period of the Cold War. This crisis involved the construction of a number of nuclear bases in Cuba by the Soviet Union particularly after the United States failed to overthrow the Cuban government. The main effect before the Cuban Missile Crisis was the Cuban Revolution as well as the Bay of Pigs. The chief reason for the crisis were the hidden agendas which the Soviet Union had, the Cuban insecurity, missile bases established in Cuba by the United States, the Cuban revolution and the United States’ attempt of overthrowing Castro to name a few. During this crisis, President J. F. Kennedy and Khrushchev exchanged a number of letters before they came up with a particular solution to the crisis. Furthermore, there are many various perspectives from the three nations. In addition, Cuba feared the invasion of the United States and they opted to have Soviet Union to install missiles in its surrounding. Cuba’s perspective was that they were alone as they did not trust the Soviet Union and on the other hand they were threatened by the United States. The missiles in their country were a defense mechanism against the United States. On the other hand, the perspective of United States was that when the Soviet Union installed missiles in Cuba, it was a sign that they had become stronger and capable for attacking any country. If the United States agreed to the establishment of missiles in Cuba, it would mean that the Soviet Union was free to act aggressively elsewhere. The perspective of Soviet Union was that the United State installed fear on them which made them establish missile in Cuba as a defense mechanism. References Blight, James G.; Bruce J. Allyn and David A. Welch 2002, Cuba on the Brink (paperback ed.). Lanham, Maryland, Rowmand and Littlefield Publishers. Falaster, C 2014, Essence of Decision: Explaining the Cuban Missile Crisis. RIAE, 13(04), pp. 136-137. http://dx.doi.org/10.5585/riae.v13i4.2181 Faria, Miguel 2002, Cuba in Revolution—Escape from a Lost Paradise, Macon, Georgia, Hacienda Publishing. Feklisov, Alexander and Kostin S 2005, The Man Behind the Rosenbergs, Enigma Books. Garthoff, R 2004, "Foreign Intelligence and the Historiography of the Cold War," Journal of Cold War Studies – 6(2), pp. 21–56 Kramps Tustin C 2007, "The Cuban Missile Crisis", Air & Space Power Journal, AU Press, Air University, Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama, Volume XXI, Number 3, page 88. Leonard, V. (2004). October 1962: The "Missile" Crisis as Seen from Cuba (review). Cuban Studies, 35(1), 152-154. http://dx.doi.org/10.1353/cub.2005.0013 Munton D. and Welch D 2007, The Cuban Missile Crisis: A Concise History, Oxford University Press. Stern, S 2005m, The Week The World Stood Still: Inside The Secret Cuban Missile Crisis, Stanford U Press. The Cuban Missile Crisis 2016, Choice Reviews Online, 53(09), 53-3783-53-3783. http://dx.doi.org/10.5860/choice.195445 Trahair, Richard C & Miller R 2009, Encyclopedia of Cold War Espionage, Spies, and Secret Operations, Enigma Books. Read More