"Nuclear catastrophe was hanging by a thread ...

and we weren't counting days or hours, but

minutes."

The Cuban Missile Crisis is remembered as the closest the world came to
nuclear war, and resolved only through the realisation of the dangers
faced on sides and the concessions made by some of the most stubborn,
and powerful, world leaders.

Cuba was
important to America due to its position as ‘America’s neighbour’. The
nuclear arms race was based on the threat of mutual destruction, and
Cuba’s position meant that if Russia were to launch nuclear missiles from
Cuba, most of the American population would be killed before a counter-
strike was made. Due to this, it was vital that America did not appear
hostile towards Cuba. In addition, there were economic benefits that
came from good relations with Cuba, mainly through Cuba’s strong sugar
industry. Cuba also supplied vast quantities of strategic manganese
metal to America during the First World War, despite its negligible military
involvement.

www.wikipedia.org, www.cuhistory.org,

During the early 1900s an amendment was introduced stipulating that the
US could exercise the right to intervene in Cuban political, economic and
military affairs if necessary. This was resented by the majority of Cubans.
However, America recognised Cuba’s transition into an independent
Republic, and was supportive of the successive Cuban governments until
an overthrow of the government in 1933 by Ramon Grau. America
attempted to intervene in the overthrow, but Grau came to power and
immediately nullified the amendment allowing America to intervene in
Cuban issues. America, in protest, refused to acknowledge the
government.

However, when Fulgencio Batista came to power in the 1930s, a period of

close cooperation began, which led to an excellent relationship between
the two countries. The government in Cuba was supported by America,
despite the fact that it contradicted American capitalist ideals. Cuba
became immensely profitable for American businesses, as Batista handed
over contracts for huge construction projects to U.S corporations. Due to
the new-found profitability, the rights of individual Cubans were
overlooked, perhaps deliberately, by America. Any opposition was dealt
with quickly and violently, and this led to widespread concern and fear of
the Cuban government within the country. Despite this, America’s
relationship with Cuba remained friendly before 1959.

http://www.historyofcuba.com/history/batista.htm, www.hpol.org,

Castro came to power in Cuba by overthrowing the communist dictator

Fulgencio Batista in 1959. His rise to power was aided by unrest amongst
the Cuban population, which was compounded by the fear that Batista
had created through the violent removal of opposition to his
rule. Fidel Castro had attempted several times to
overthrow the communist government, which had
led to his imprisonment during the 1950s. The
punishment of the rebels led to increased fear
and resentment within the population of Cuba, as
Batista instigated the ‘ten for one’ law, whereby
ten rebels were killed for every soldier killed
during the fighting. This led to greater desire for
a different government more concerned with the
well being of its citizens, rather than harvesting
the riches of the nation.

By late 1955 the unrest had become so pronounced that student riots and
public anti-Batista demonstrations had become commonplace, in spite of
the constant violent methods utilised by Batista. These methods, coupled
with the ‘fake elections’ staged by Batista, led to him losing the support of
the USA, which consequently weakened his position as leader and
increased the likelihood of a successful revolution.

Eventually, after his release from prison and

subsequent exile to Mexico, Fidel Castro returned to
Cuba with a stronger army, having secured the aid
of Che Guevara, who was viewed as Castro’s ‘brain’
during the guerrilla campaign that led to the
overthrowing of Batista. The armed conflict that led
to the overthrowing of Batista was a culmination of
the growing fear of the dictator and the increasingly violent methods he
utilised to retain his power. Castro’s rise to power was met with little
opposition other than that of Batista, and the Cuban people relished the
opportunity to be governed by someone whom they believed would
concentrate on improving their quality of life.

www.wikianswers.org, http://www.historyofcuba.com/history/batista.htm

The relationship between Cuba and America before Castro came to power
was generally favourable, as large American corporations profited
massively from the contracts generated by Batista for large construction
projects. However, the relationship had already begun deteriorating
before Castro overthrew Batista, as America disagreed with the methods
being used to prevent opposition to the dictator. When Castro came to
power, he quickly established a one-party Communist government. This
contradicted the capitalistic American attitudes, which led to immediate
distrust. America introduced gradual trade restrictions on the island,
which ultimately led to an embargo whereby it was illegal for US
corporations to do business with Cuba. America stopped buying Cuban oil
and stopped providing the island with oil, which had disastrous effects on
the Cuban economy. The effects of the trade embargo led to
consolidation by Cuba of trade relations with the USSR, which led to
further declines in relations between the USA and Cuba.
http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk, muse.jhu.edu/journals/reviews_in_american_history/v032/32.1lawrence.html.
After the successful Cuban revolution, the American government desired
to overthrow the communist regime, without taking direct military action.
The desire was based on the belief that the communist regime was a
spearhead for allied communist movements elsewhere. In addition, there
was a belief in the US government that the atmosphere within Cuba was
conducive to resistance, and the US government therefore planned to
covertly fuel the anti-Castro spirit in order to instigate a possible
revolution, which would enable a more pro-American government to be
established. An alternative aim was to create justification for military
action in Cuba by America. All operations to this end came under the title
of ‘Operation Mongoose’.

One of the first and most well known actions taken was the training of
around 1,400 Cuban exiles for an invasion of Cuba through the Bay of
Pigs. America provided air support and equipment only, and could
therefore not be associated with any certainty with the invasion.
However, the invasion was unsuccessful and Castro declared the
revolution as victorious. The Bay of Pigs invasion led to further
deterioration in relations between Cuba and America.
As part of Operation Mongoose, acts of simulated, and real, violence were
staged against US interests in order to generate public support within
America for military action against Fidel Castro. However, there was
insufficient support for military action.

There were significant consequences of Operation Mongoose, many of

which played a significant role leading up to the Cuban Missile crisis. In
essence, US policy towards Cuba did not change. However, Kennedy
became more cautious in his dealings with Cuba. Operation Mongoose
also had the more widespread consequence of appearing like a
preparation for invasion by the US.
http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/JFKmongoose.htm, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cuban_Project,
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kennedy_and_Latin_America, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Northwoods.

The nuclear arms race between the USA and USSR had escalated to the
point where a nuclear war would have disastrous consequences for both
nations. Both sides sought to gain an advantage in order to force the
other side to make concessions through intimidation. Cuba was in a
perfect position in terms of a nuclear launch for Russia, as a launch from
the country would cause more damage in less time than a launch from
Russia. In addition to the perfect geographical position of Cuba, the
political situation within Cuba and its relationship with the USA provided
sufficient justification for Khrushchev to place missiles on Cuba.
Operation Mongoose was perceived by foreign countries, particularly the
more suspicious and hostile USSR, as preparation for the invasion of Cuba
by the USA. Khrushchev felt a need to protect what he believed to be an
asset in Cuba, as it was a communist ally close to America. The most
obvious measure to take was to place nuclear missiles on Cuba, thereby
neutralising the threat of an American invasion of Cuba and
simultaneously gaining an advantage in the nuclear arms race.

On October 16,
1962,
President
Kennedy was
presented with
pictures taken
by a U2 plane
that provided
evidence that
Russia was
creating
nuclear launch
sites on Cuba.
The presence
of Russian
missiles on
Cuba
enhanced the
tension
between the USA and the USSR to the point where nuclear launch was
imminent.

The presence of nuclear missiles on Cuba was a huge concern for

Kennedy, as a launch from the country would affect all but a few areas of
America due to its position as America’s ‘neighbour’. Kennedy was
aware that simply talking to Russia would not solve the problem, and that
a decision needed to be made before the missiles became operational. In
addition to placing nuclear missiles on Cuba, Russia had also sponsored
the build up of arms on Cuba in secret. When Kennedy learned of the
continually increasing and improving Cuban weapon arsenal, he was
doubly concerned about the threat posed.

http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/COLDcubanmissile.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kennedy_and_Latin_America

As a direct reaction to the information regarding missiles in Cuba, the

Executive Committee of the National Security Council (ExCom) was
formed on the suggestion of Robert S McNamara, the Secretary of State
for Defence. During these meetings several strategies were discussed
concerning the crisis. A feasible option was to simply do nothing, as the
United States had military bases in 127 different countries including Cuba,
as well as several nuclear missiles in countries close to Russia. As a
consequence it seemed only natural for the Soviet Union to place missiles
on Cuba. The US could attempt to negotiate with the USSR, perhaps
offering to withdraw the American nuclear missiles from turkey and Italy
in return for the withdrawal of missiles from Cuba. Although this action
may have resolved the immediate crisis, it was believed by several
members of the committee to show weakness, as well as
weakening America’s position in terms of nuclear weapons,
and was therefore discarded as a possible action.

The most drastic option was to invade Cuba to overthrow

Fidel Castro. This would enable the missiles to be
dismantled and would also prevent any further exploitation
of Cuba by Khrushchev. This, however, was viewed as too
drastic, and there was a possibility it would provoke military action from
Russia. Alternatively, air-strikes could be carried out against missiles and
other military targets in Cuba.

After the situation was explained by the CIA and

several other military advisors, the most logical
solution was generally felt to be air strikes. However,
Kennedy insisted on waiting and reviewing in more
detail, after remembering the poor advice given by
the CIA before and during the Bay of Pigs invasion.
At a later meeting concerns were expressed
regarding the consequences of an air strike, and it was agreed that there
was too great a risk of nuclear war with the Soviet Union.

It was eventually decided that a naval blockade of Cuba would be the best
option, as it would defy Russia without taking any outright aggressive
measures. Kennedy was determined to prevent the USSR from providing
more offensive weaponry to Cuba, which would be achieved relatively
easily through a naval blockade. Kennedy also stated that the blockade
was intended to protect other countries, highlighting in his speech
justifying the blockade his willingness to view ‘any nuclear missile
launched from Cuba against any nation in the Western Hemisphere as an
attack by the Soviet Union on the United States requiring a full retaliatory
response’.

http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/COLDcubanmissile.htm,
http://www.angloeuropean.essex.sch.uk/History/GCSE_Revision/gcsecuba.htm,

The tension between Russia and America had escalated to the point
where conflict seemed inevitable. The seeming inevitability of conflict led
to demonstrations outside the American Embassy in London against the
possibility of nuclear war. Demonstrations also took place throughout
Western Europe. However, the vast majority of Americans supported
Kennedy’s actions, leading him to believe that he was justified in his
blockade of Cuba.

On October the 24th Kennedy was informed that Soviet ships had stopped
near the American blockade, and that Khrushchev believed that he was
creating a crisis in order to help the Democratic Party in the forthcoming
election. On October the 26th, Khrushchev sent Kennedy another letter
stating that the Soviet Union would be willing to remove the missiles in
Cuba in exchange for assurances from America that it would not invade.
On October 27th another letter was sent to Kennedy by Khrushchev
demanding the removal of America’s nuclear missiles from Turkey.

The crisis seemed to have escalated to the point where war was imminent
when Kennedy learned that an American U2 plane had been shot down
over Cuba. His advisors urged him to give orders for the bombing of
Cuba, reminding him of the promise he made during his speech justifying
the naval blockade of Cuba. Instead of ordering the bombing, Kennedy
sent a letter to Khrushchev agreeing to the terms of his first letter.
Khrushchev quickly dismantled the nuclear missiles in Cuba. Eight days
after the dismantling of the missiles, American support for Kennedy was
emphasised when an election for congress took place where the
Democrats increased their majority.

http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/COLDcubanmissile.htm,

The end of the Cuban missile crisis signalled a decrease in tension

between Kennedy and Khrushchev, as it became apparent that
negotiation between the two leaders was possible. Mutual benefits
included the establishment of a direct communications link between the
two countries intended to prevent events like the Cuban Missile Crisis
from occurring again, and the signing of a treaty banning the testing of
nuclear weapons in the atmosphere. These preventative measures
ensured that another crisis was extremely unlikely.

Kennedy’s actions during the crisis received a great deal of support from
the American citizens. The election for congress that came eight days
after the end of the crisis gained Kennedy a greater majority, and it was
estimated that Kennedy would now have an extra twelve supporters in
Congress for his policies. However, despite the successes and the
negotiation which secured the removal of the missiles on Cuba, there
were detrimental effects that came from the crisis. Kennedy had to
secretly remove the nuclear missiles that had been placed in Turkey and
Italy, thus weakening his position. Khrushchev was determined to have a
nuclear capability which equalled that of the United States. Khrushchev’s
goal was achieved 1972. The negative effects of the nuclear missile crisis
for Khrushchev came mainly through the change in the perceptions of
others of Russia. China claimed to be the ‘true leader’ of the communism
movement, and criticised the concessions made by Khrushchev, claiming
they showed weakness. This widened the split between China and Russia.
In addition, the concessions convinced the United States that the Soviet
Union would not go to war again over another communist country. This
as a consequence encouraged the US to aid attempts to overthrow other
socialist and communist governments, such as those in Vietnam,
Nicaragua and Grenada. In this respect, the Cuban Missile Crisis created
more conflicts, as America was more ready to intervene in foreign
countries where there was an attempted overthrowing of a communist or
socialist government.

In my opinion, the greatest gain for both Kennedy and Khrushchev was
the realisation that adopting a hostile attitude would only lead to greater
conflict, and the subsequent establishment of a friendlier relationship
between the two nations.
http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/COLDcubanmissile.htm,