Cuban Missile Crisis

           The history of the Cuban Missile Crisis has a important place in the Cold War. In July of 1962, Raul Castro, Fidel Castro’s brother, voyaged across the Atlantic to visit the Soviet Union. Shortly after, the Soviets began to send weapons and military personnel to Cuba.

             The Cuban Missile Crisis was a confrontation between the United Sates, the Soviet Union, and Cuba during the Cold War. The Cuban Missile Crisis was very significant in the history of the 1960s because it is regarded as the moment when the Cold War came closest to nuclear war. The United States feared the Soviet expansion of communism already. However, a Latin American country to publicly ally with the USSR was regarded as unacceptable. The Soviet and Latin involvement would also defy the Monroe Doctrine, which prevented European powers from getting involved in South American matters.

              In 1962, the Soviet Union was behind the U.S in the arms race. The Soviet missiles were only strong enough to attack Europe and couldn’t reach the U.S. Therefore, in late 1962, Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev thought of the plan to place missiles in Cuba. This would improve the Soviet strategic plan and also serve as a deterrent to a potential U.S attack on the Soviet Union. At the same time, Fidel Castro was looking for a way to ensure protection of Cuba from an attack by the U.S. Since the failed Bay of Pigs invasion of 1961, Castro believed a second attack was unavoidable.

                The U.S became aware of the ongoing situation on October 15^th when pictures revealed missile instillations in Cuba. In response, the U.S imposed a naval quarantine around Cuba to prevent the arrival of additional weapons. John F. Kennedy proclaimed that any nuclear missile launched from Cuba would be viewed as an attack on the United States from the Soviet Union. Kennedy also threatened armed force should all nuclear weapons not be removed from Cuba. For 5 days Khrushchev refused to answer and the world stood on the brink of nuclear war. Khrushchev then sent two letters, the first proposed that Soviet missiles would be removed if the U.S guaranteed not to invade Cuba. The second letter demanded the U.S remove missiles from Turkey in exchange for Soviets removing missiles from Cuba. In a strategic move, the U.S decided to ignore the second letter and agree to the first. As a result,  on October 20^th Khrushchev announced that he would remove missiles from Cuba and he would trust that the U.S would not attack Cuba.            

              John F. Kennedy                   Fidel Castro                   Nikita Khrushchev

             A result of the Cuban Missile Crisis was that it changed the opinion of many Canadians who had previously been against nuclear weapons in Canada. However, it also showed the world leaders how necessary it is to avoid nuclear conflict. After coming so close to the brink of war, it became apparent that all must be done to avoid violence.