...Introduction I decided to write about the Cuban missile crisis, because it was a very important event in mankind history. There was a higher risk or probability of nuclear war than ever before. It could cost millions of lives and change the progress of the people. Everything depended on the solutions of the two countries, or simplified, on the solutions of two men – president of the United States of America, John F. Kennedy and president of the Soviet Union, Nikita Khrushchev. I will try to focus on the particular question, which is – why did the Soviet Union decide to place nuclear missiles in Cuba. I have chosen this question because it is the principle of the crisis. Looking on it from different points of view will secure the objectivity of the conclusions. First, I will analyze it with using the theory of Constructivism, then I will use the Game theory. Realism In realism, states are the principal actors in the international system, which is anarchic. States look on their own interests and they are rational unitary actors. Placing of the missiles in Cuba was in conflict of the Soviets behavior and their statements: The Soviets gave every indication of sensitivity both to American strategic interests and to the president's political needs. In their September 4 meeting, Ambassador Dobrynin called on Robert Kennedy to relay a confidential promise from Chairman Khrushchev that the Soviet Union would not create any trouble for the United States during the election...
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...pacific, John Kennedy stood for Massachusetts eleventh congressional district in the United States House of the legislature from 1947 to 1953 as a democrat. Later, he served in the United States council from 1953 to 1960. John Kennedy crushed the deputy President and Republican aspirant Richard in the 1960 United States presidential voting. At forty three years, he was the most young to have been nominated to the presidential office, the second-youngest President following Theodore Roosevelt, and the foremost person born in the 20th century to become the president. As a Roman catholic, John Kennedy was the only non-protestant president, and was the only president who won a Pulitzer award. Events all through his presidency incorporated the Cuban missile emergency, Bay of Pigs attack, the construction of the Berlin wall, the African American national rights group, the space race, and early phases of the Vietnam warfare. Therein, John Kennedy added the number of military force advisers, helicopters and the special operation services in an attempt to curb the increase of Marxism in South East of Asia. Kennedy’s administration approved the policy of the tactical hamlet program which was executed by the South Vietnamese administration. The policy involved certain compulsory relocation, segregation and village internment of country South Vietnamese from the southern and northern communist uprisings. John Kennedy was assassinated in 1963 on 22nd November in Dallas, Texas. Oswald Lee Harvey...
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...The movie Thirteen Days directed by Roger Donaldson is about the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962. It is often referred to as a docudrama as it is very entertainment oriented but still remains close to the roots of what actually happened. Since it was produced at a later date than many other films portraying the events, Thirteen Days was able to access recently declassified information which helped in attaining a more historically accurate film. Although there were some discrepancies with what happened in real life compared to the film. The year is 1962 and American surveillance planes discover that the USSR is in the process of placing nuclear ballistic missiles in Cuba. The missiles have a said capability to reach 80 million Americans striking every major city but Seattle. As well they are capable of reaching the majority of the United States Air Force bomber bases effectively crippling their ability to retaliate. It is a race to find a means of removing the missiles before they become operational. Thus the problem for the President is to decide whether to use force or diplomatic means to keep the missiles un-operational. Initial diplomatic attempts to come to a peaceful conclusion fail and the Secretary of Defence proposes a naval blockade which they call a “quarantine” and if the Soviets ignore the blockade, the Navy will forcibly remove the ships from going to Cuba. This would quickly escalate the situation which is clearly what the Secretary of Defence wanted but the President...
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...Chapter 13 Regulation of Exports: Lenin’s prophesy: “The capitalists will sell us the rope we need to hang them” I. National Security and Foreign Policy Issues A. Nations restrict exports of goods and technology for three basic reasons: 1. To protect national security – restricting the exports that could make a significant contribution to the military capabilities of any other country that could be detrimental to the U.S. 2. To implement foreign policy – nations may grant or deny trade privileges to further foreign policy objectives See p. 411 for a list of reasons - As of 2010, the US had strict foreign policy trade controls, as well as restrictions on investment and travel, relating to 4 countries deemed to be “state sponsors of terrorism” = Cuba, Iran, Sudan, Syria - Pres. Bush took North Korea off of the list - Libya was also taken off the list after renouncing its attempts to possess weapons of mass destruction 3. To limit the sale of strategic goods and raw materials in short supply - Could apply to food, medicine, basic metals, or natural resources B. Effectiveness of Trade Sanctions - Opponents and Proponents w/no clear consensus - However, to be effective, sanctions need universal cooperation II. History of U.S. Export Laws A. The Rationale - U.S. concerns about technology and weaponry falling into enemy hands Therefore, it regulates the export of arms, technology, commodities with military applications, and...
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...War and Communism Cold War and Communism My grandfather used to tell me about the Cold War and how the constant threat of nuclear war was extremely stressful. In modern times, we live under the threat of terrorist acts, mainly from extremist Islamic groups in the Middle East. There are many similarities. The fact that both generations have lived under the threat of attack is the ultimate similarity. It is also possible that both generations’ fears weren’t quite as real as they might have imagined. 9/11 was an unbelievably cruel act, but since then we have not experienced any major domestic acts of terrorism from Islamic groups. The Cold War was predicated on propaganda and fear. Certain acts heightened these fears, like the Cuban Missile crisis, but the overwhelming fear of nuclear annihilation proved to be partly overblown. One major difference between the two threats is that the threat from terrorist groups has actually proven to be a viable threat to our national security. The attacks on 9/11 have forever embedded themselves into the national perspective on world views and their safety on domestic soil. Even without ever experiencing an attack on foreign soil throughout the Cold War, the fear was probably even more ripe during that period of time because the threat of nuclear war devastating the entire world was such a pandemic problem. At the root of that comparison is that you fear lots of small scale attacks from independent terrorist groups today, but during the Cold...
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...Introduction The Cuban Missile Crisis is one of the most complicated conflicts in the history that faced two superpowers of the world, the United States and the Soviet Union. The discussions and negotiations on the various issues that directly or indirectly affected the crisis will be evaluated in detail in the discussion section; but it should primarily be said that the crisis period was very dense and it longed only 13 days. The negotiating styles, interests and communication efficiency of the parties that are concerned, were well enough to reach a wise agreement in a very short time relative to the conflict. All the parties’ interests, even the ones which demanded by the indirectly affected parties; such as Turkey, were taken into consideration; and a resolution that pleased almost every sides of the crisis. Avoiding a world war, which would possibly include nuclear weapons, is a fact that will show the succession of the negotiations during the crisis. Discussion There are several parties that concerned by the Cuban Missile Crisis directly or indirectly. The significant ones are the United States and the Soviet Union which were directly involved in the crisis and actively participated in the negotiations. Additionally, Cuba and Turkey concerned by the crisis because of their role of holding the missiles of the Soviet Union and the United States in their own soil; and Germany was indirectly concerned because of the possible attack of the USSR to Berlin (1). At the outbreak...
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...However, the United States and Cuban affairs never condensed the high tension that was started in 1959. The economical siege started with the trade restriction dilemma between the U.S. and Cuba in 1959 when Fidel Castro took over the government in Cuba. Fidel Castro first action, as a young leader for the newest communist nation, was taking over all private sector businesses and properties including those were owned by American inverters. Castro disregarded all negotiation attempts and refused to reimburse the original owners; simply he seized all private sector properties and businesses using military forces costing many U.S. inverters to lose millions of dollars in 1959. Those properties were estimated to be around 1.8 billion dollars or about 6 billion dollars in present’s day (Keegan & Green, 2011). In response to the United States political and economic pressure on the Cuban regime, during the cold war, Cuba joined the other side of the battle by becoming an ally of the Soviet Union to take advantage of the Soviet Union economic and military aids. As a fee for such aids, Fidel Castro had to allow the Soviet Union to place nuclear armed short and mid-range missiles in Cuba which grabbed the U.S attention. The Soviet Union nuclear missiles system did not have the long range missiles capability; those short and mid-range missiles were the answer if they were closer to launch nuclear attacks the U.S east coast (An Overview of the Crisis, 1997). These actions trigger American...
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...inauguration as President. All of this background information gives the sense that John F. Kennedy was noble enough to serve as our president. Kennedy made a name for himself as a Cold Warrior, and took an aggressive line in his dealings with the Soviet Union. Whilst this was possibly a tool for gaining popular support at home, he often failed to consider the messages that he was sending to the USSR, who regarded his speeches as indications of America’s aggressive intent towards them. With his skills, he also had downfalls, which is understandable and made him a good president anyways. Kennedy is also remembered for his part in the Cuban Missile Crisis, an event which history remembers as the closest that the world ever came to nuclear war. In the end, Kennedy negotiated the removal of missile bases from Cuba in exchange for his removal of missiles from Turkey. This was a skillful political operation, making a good move on his part. Kennedy was also a risk taker. Domestically, Kennedy had very limited achievements. He was...
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...“Did you ever study the Cold War in school? If so, what are some aspects of the Cold War that you remember?” Responses to this question seemed to change according to age. James, being the oldest of the interviewed subjects stated that he honestly did not know if they learned about it in school. He stated with a chuckle, “That was a long time ago, but I think the Berlin wall was involved.” He stated that everyone seemed to be anti-communism. Jane, also felt that school was so long ago that she was unsure. She did state that she felt fairly certain that she did learn about this subject while in school. Jim, the freshest out of school was much more confident in his answer. Jim stated, “Yes, the Cuban missile crisis was the peak of the Cold War. It was a time when Soviet Russia set up a missile base in Cuba, which was the closest to America. It caused great distress.” When I asked the subjects, “What words or phrases come to mind when you think of the term Cold War”, the answers were similar. James’s answer was the most basic stating, “Russia and nuclear war. A standoff and a general lack of trust.” Jane went a little farther in depth with, “After WWII with the rise of communism. China.” Jim by far had the most to say. This may be due to the fact that he just finished high school. “Soviet Russia vs. United States and a rise of nuclear warfare. International relations being strained and a struggle for a balance of power were being sought. Cold and...
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...En 1320 Week 10 Project Part 4 11/26/12 During the early 1960’s politicians and activists alike were on the front battlegrounds, not for oil or territory, but for Civil Rights. The Civil Rights movement nearly tore this great country apart at a time when war at home was matched with the possibility of a greater war abroad. The Cold war was one of the single most threatening times in history, tension on nearly all sides could have led to the destruction of much of what we know. I cannot imagine the stress everyone must have had to live during that time. It must have been a brutally ugly and scary time to live in. I think about the recent elections and the problems we face today, they seem so trivial compared to what happened during this time in history. The American people must have been concerned with the state of their country and the seemingly never-ending possibilities of yet another devastating war. However, they were optimistic about the young president they had elected a few months earlier to lead their country. John Fitzgerald Kennedy was sworn into office on January 20, 1961 at the age of 43. John F Kennedy promised to unite the people in a way never done before. He wanted to start fresh, wipe the slate clean, and focus on building instead of tearing apart. His inaugural address to the American citizens that morning gave the people a sense of comfort and confidence in their young leader that was desperately needed. It was not, however, an easy era to give...
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...nuclear-armed missiles. Soviet leader, Nikita Khrushchev, had promised repeatedly not to send offensive weapons to Cuba after John Kennedy warned the Soviet Union that if they ever introduced offensive weapons, 'the gravest issues would arise.’ These photos were proof that Khrushchev had been lying. It has been reported to us that the USA has 25,000 nuclear weapons and the Soviet union have much less. Kennedy has decided that it would be seen as an act of war if he attacked the missile site hence the decision for him not doing so. Furthermore, if nuclear weapons were used it would cause humans in the northern hemisphere to perish, as found out by Kennedy's predecessor, Dwight Eisenhower. Kennedy made a decision, with the help of Excomm (Executive Committee of the National Security Council) about what should happen and they decided on a blockade to prevent the missiles getting into the missile base, this seemed like a good idea because it wouldn't be seen as an act of war but it would stop the missiles. John Kennedy told the USSR that the USA would sink any missiles that attempted to go through the blockade The USSR know that if they did so it would cause a war, yet they didn't back down at first. Khrushchev sent twenty soviet ships to the blockade however when they got there they turned around and went back home. Was the crisis over? It seemed like it. Kennedy was feeling positive because Khrushchev sent him a letter saying that he would remove these missiles if Kennedy stopped...
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...the Soviet Union collapsed, the gross income from sugar dropped to $20 million. The Cuban government searched for methods to raise income and cut costs. They began by closing inefficient sugar mills and eventually shut down half of the island’s mills. Cuba could not begin exporting to the United States due to the embargo. They turned to Canada, Mexico, and Europe for the sale of sugar. Cuba began to search for a new export and found they held a large reserve of nickel. International mining companies saw the nickel reserve as a source of income and tried to establish relations with Cuba. Cuba saw that they had something other companies wanted and decided to exploit their desire to conduct business with them. Many restrictions and laws were established to milk international companies for extra money. The established laws that required non-Cuban investors to use the government to hire, fire, and pay its workers. This allowed to the government to choose exploitable workers for positions in the mills and mines. The government controlled the worker’s wages in order to keep a cut for themselves. One company was found to be paying the government $9,500 per year per worker and the workers would only receive $120 to $144 per year. This left the government with a large chuck of employee wages. It would be unethical for an international company to conduct business with the Cuban government because providing business with the government supports the actions of the...
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...setting is a huge part of the story, especially the time. On page 21, there is the practice air raid siren which shows that this is a time where war can happen at any time and on page 351, it was mentioned that the Cuban Missile Crisis had finally ended further proving that this was a time of nuclear war. The time period was clearly stated a few times such as on page 111 claiming it was “3:13 pm on Saturday afternoon, October 20, 1962,” and on 370 “October 31, 1962.” The terms used also determined the time period as on page 48, two moving guys were referred to as “two colored men” as opposed to not stating the skin color status like we do today which shows we were still in a time of civil rights for African Americans in this book. Another term used was stationwagon instead of car on page 26 showing once again that this book took place in older times. The final thing determining time period was the fact that Mercurochrome is commonly used on page 36. Mercurochrome isn’t deemed safe anymore for medical uses as of the nineties so this book has just proved itself ultimately to be in 1962....
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...was about the missile crisis. The film that I analyzed tells me a lot about the social and cultural values of the audience for whom the film was made for. For instance, it reminded everyone about how important this particularly part of the cold war was not only to the United States, bur for the whole world. This film puts you in that situation if you did not live through, and makes you understand now everyone around the world was feeling in that moment. Most of the audience that wanted this film probably had families and, thought to themselves what could I do to prevent this from ever happening again? Finally, it gives credit to those that had to handle the decision making at that time, and the men that were ready to go to action given the command. This film takes a place in the of Cold War, while tension was very high between the United States and the Soviet Union. The characters in the movie John F. Kennedy and the people that were around them in his every move. At the beginning of the movie is when a United States plane captures picture of the activity going on in Cuba accidentally. This then gets back the white house and that when they come to the conclusion that the Soviet Union was arming Cuba with offensive missiles that could reach half the country. That kept the situation private from citizens so things would not get out of control. The U.S Manzo 2 knew they had short time to think before the missile became fully functional...
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...1st Period CUBAN MISSILE CRISIS John .F. Kennedy was the youngest man to become the president of the United States. He held office for almost 3 years before being assassinated in Dallas, Texas. He faced many important events while being in office, such as the Cuban Missile Crisis and The Bay of Pigs. During his second year of presidency he was warned by his advisors that the United States might be under threat by the Soviet Union. They suspected that the Soviet Union had started to build powerful missiles which would be transported to the island of Cuba. These missiles would have the capability to travel great distances and could hit major US cities such as Washington D.C, Houston and San Francisco. John F. Kennedy knew about the strained relationship between the United States While John F. Kennedy was suspicious at first later it was clear to him that this was an act to shift the power from U.S to the Soviet Union. After he was completely sure about the situation JFK addressed the public on this issue on October 22, 1962. He explained his decision to perform a naval blockade near the coast of Cuba, he also said that the US was ready to use military force if there is a threat to national security. The Cold War was one of the most important wars and would have been one of the most deadly wars of the 20th century. The Cold War is the closest that the world has come to a nuclear war. One of the main events of this war was the Cuban Missile Crisis. The 2 most powerful...
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