President John F. Kennedy: Hero or Villain
President John F. Kennedy: Hero or Villain?
For thirteen days, the United States’ government and citizens waited with abated breath, fearing the nuclear annihilation of their great nation. These thirteen days between October 16 and 28, 1962 are now known as the Cuban Missile Crisis. Briefly this crisis can be explained as a confrontation between two of the world’s greatest superpowers, the United States and the Soviet Union, which nearly instigated a nuclear calamity that could have destroyed both nations. The two nations had been at odds for years over their differing political ideologies; while the Soviet Union favored communism, the United States was a republic founded on democratic ideals. The provocation for the Cuban Missile Crisis was due to the materialization of a communist Cuba led by Fidel Castro. Desperate to prevent Castro from acquiring too much influence, President John F. Kennedy attempted but failed to secure control of the island nation. This military flop became known as the Bay of Pigs, and it guaranteed both Castro’s and Cuba’s dominion. Wary of subsequent attacks, Cuba requested protection from the Soviet Union which was supplied in the form of nuclear missiles; it was this transfer of nuclear weaponry which was declared the foundation of the Cuban Missile Crisis. Delving deeper, it can be argued that the actual cause was President Kennedy’s lack of tolerance for communism and arrogant approach.
Prior to President Eisenhower dissolving ties to Cuba in the 1960s, the United States considered Cuba to be a tremendous asset. After Castro and his supporters came to power, they acquired mass approval and influence which distressed bureaucrats in the United States. Eisenhower established a strategy, later adhered to by the Kennedy administration, to dethrone the communist government and Castro. Kennedy, a new and inexperienced president, stuck to Eisenhower and the CIA’s plan of sending fourteen hundred Cuban exiles trained for an invasion into
For thirteen days, the United States’ government and citizens waited with abated breath, fearing the nuclear annihilation of their great nation. These thirteen days between October 16 and 28, 1962 are now known as the Cuban Missile Crisis. Briefly this crisis can be explained as a confrontation between two of the world’s greatest superpowers, the United States and the Soviet Union, which nearly instigated a nuclear calamity that could have destroyed both nations. The two nations had been at odds for years over their differing political ideologies; while the Soviet Union favored communism, the United States was a republic founded on democratic ideals. The provocation for the Cuban Missile Crisis was due to the materialization of a communist Cuba led by Fidel Castro. Desperate to prevent Castro from acquiring too much influence, President John F. Kennedy attempted but failed to secure control of the island nation. This military flop became known as the Bay of Pigs, and it guaranteed both Castro’s and Cuba’s dominion. Wary of subsequent attacks, Cuba requested protection from the Soviet Union which was supplied in the form of nuclear missiles; it was this transfer of nuclear weaponry which was declared the foundation of the Cuban Missile Crisis. Delving deeper, it can be argued that the actual cause was President Kennedy’s lack of tolerance for communism and arrogant approach.
Prior to President Eisenhower dissolving ties to Cuba in the 1960s, the United States considered Cuba to be a tremendous asset. After Castro and his supporters came to power, they acquired mass approval and influence which distressed bureaucrats in the United States. Eisenhower established a strategy, later adhered to by the Kennedy administration, to dethrone the communist government and Castro. Kennedy, a new and inexperienced president, stuck to Eisenhower and the CIA’s plan of sending fourteen hundred Cuban exiles trained for an invasion into