What was the cause of the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis
What was the cause of the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis?
The Cuban missile crisis is considered the closest time the world has ever come to nuclear war. There are many causes that led the world to such confrontation that was ultimately the product of the hostility and secrecy between the nations. As the world sat on the brink of mass destruction, all hope lied with Nikita Khrushchev and President Kennedy coming to a compromise. It is because of this that it is worth analysing the true cause of the crisis, or if it was a culmination of causes. One of the causes was the US deploying missiles in Turkey to face the Soviet Union. It will be argued that the main reason was the invasion of the Bay of Pigs, that without this embarrassing disaster for Kennedy, the events that followed may not have happened. Of course there were many factors contributing to the reason why the Bay of Pigs occurred.
The main cause of the Cuban Missile Crisis was Kennedy’s orders to invade the Bay of Pigs on 17th April 1961. This was an unsuccessful and ultimately embarrassing decision by Kennedy, which saw the CIA encourage an attempt by Cuban exiles to invade Cuba. The aim was to overthrow Fidel Castro’s Cuban government by stimulating a rebellion by the Cuban citizens. Whilst planning the invasion, Kennedy and his advisors decided if the initial invasion was to fail, the rebels would create a guerrilla base in the mountains. It had not been anticipated nor considered that the mountains were now 80 miles away and through a swamp, indicating a major flaw in the entire operation. After realising too late that the expected landing place was now inhabited by a swamp, it was clearly unsuitable and did not make for an easy escape. It was obvious the intelligence was lousy and poorly thought through and this undeniably depicted Kennedy as a weak president. This event in turn seemed to favour Khrushchev as he gained confidence and assume he could take advantage of the young president which arguably
The Cuban missile crisis is considered the closest time the world has ever come to nuclear war. There are many causes that led the world to such confrontation that was ultimately the product of the hostility and secrecy between the nations. As the world sat on the brink of mass destruction, all hope lied with Nikita Khrushchev and President Kennedy coming to a compromise. It is because of this that it is worth analysing the true cause of the crisis, or if it was a culmination of causes. One of the causes was the US deploying missiles in Turkey to face the Soviet Union. It will be argued that the main reason was the invasion of the Bay of Pigs, that without this embarrassing disaster for Kennedy, the events that followed may not have happened. Of course there were many factors contributing to the reason why the Bay of Pigs occurred.
The main cause of the Cuban Missile Crisis was Kennedy’s orders to invade the Bay of Pigs on 17th April 1961. This was an unsuccessful and ultimately embarrassing decision by Kennedy, which saw the CIA encourage an attempt by Cuban exiles to invade Cuba. The aim was to overthrow Fidel Castro’s Cuban government by stimulating a rebellion by the Cuban citizens. Whilst planning the invasion, Kennedy and his advisors decided if the initial invasion was to fail, the rebels would create a guerrilla base in the mountains. It had not been anticipated nor considered that the mountains were now 80 miles away and through a swamp, indicating a major flaw in the entire operation. After realising too late that the expected landing place was now inhabited by a swamp, it was clearly unsuitable and did not make for an easy escape. It was obvious the intelligence was lousy and poorly thought through and this undeniably depicted Kennedy as a weak president. This event in turn seemed to favour Khrushchev as he gained confidence and assume he could take advantage of the young president which arguably
Bibliography: Young, John and Kent, John, International Relations since 1945, 2013. Oxford, Oxford Press University Scott, Len, Should we stop studying the Cuban Missile Crisis, 2012. Sage Gelb, Leslie, The Lie that screwed up 50 years of U.S. foreign policy, 2012. Inbox Radchenko, Sergey, The Cuban Missile Crisis: The Assessment of New, and Old, Russian Sources, 2012. Sage