Did you know that the Cuban Missile Crisis was the closest we have ever been to a nuclear war? II. Tie to Audience: More than likely we would not be here today if the Cuban Missile Crisis escalated into a nuclear warfare. III. Creditability: I have done some extensive research on the Cuban Missile Crisis and President Kennedy’s address.
Of these captured rebels most of the leaders were put on show trials in Havana and executed and the rest were returned for $53 million in food and drugs from the United States (1). On December 29, 1962 a ceremony was held at the Orange Bowl for the returned exiles in which Kennedy promised that the exiles flag would someday fly over Havana and so far 48 years later it hasn’t happened (1). This disaster instead of destroying Kennedy led to his greatest triumph for which he is remembered: the Cuban Missile Crisis. After the failed invasion, the Soviet Union decided to protect Castro it would park intermediate range nuclear missile in Castro backyard within range of any US city. After the US discovered the presence of the missiles the US issued a naval quarantine of Cuba.
Tensions between the USSR and the United States rocketed after it came to the American Government’s knowledge that the USSR were setting up weapons in Cuba, a communist state in the Americas. The Soviet Union’s actions came as a result of American Missiles – namely Jupiter -being placed in Turkey, although there is a suggestion that the Soviet Union’s leader Nikita Khrushchev –according to his claims- placed missiles in Cuba as a shield of protection of the smaller country after America’s failed Bay of Pigs attempt of 1961. The aftermath of the Cuban Missile Crisis could be seen as a highly significant turning point. The agreement that both sides came to meant that Missiles were removed from Turkey and Cuba, and that Fidel Castro’s leadership on Cuba was strengthened. As a result, a Moscow-Washington hotline was also created -enabling a direct means of contact between the USA and USSR- which to an extent could have been seen as ground breaking due to the Communist/Capitalist line of communication being created.
The Cuban missile crisis was one of the most tense periods of the cold war, with World War 3 threatening to break out some very tough decision needed to be made by the USA and the USSR. With the USSR setting up nuclear weapons in Cuba that could reach the white house in 5 minutes created a huge threat to the USA, of which were left to make some choices that have the nations fate in their hands. They originally set out to create a blockade of all Russian ships coming into Cuba. From there negotiations were made that the USSR would agree to remove their weapons. This is all said to have gone down in thirteen days of which a dramatised movie was created title “thirteen days”, which tries to recreate the tension of the Cuba Missile crisis.
These developments changed the US policies of brinkmanship and massive retaliations, as these methods only worked while the USA remained militarily superior. The Cuban missile crisis showed how back dated these policies were, something Kennedy’s military advisors failed to notice, his understanding of the dangers and his controlled response helped save the USA from the most destructive war ever seen. However the military assured destruction that came with the power of the nuclear era forced the USA and USSR into the standoff of Cuba. This crisis was inevitable and the only way of bringing the arms race to the end. However the driving
Why was Kennedy not aggressive? Please explain the reasons why the Soviet Union ultimately dissolved. Furthermore, was the dissolution of the Soviet Union Mikhail Gorbachev’s fault? Why or why not? Using your knowledge of the Cuban Missile Crisis and McCarthy’s communist witch hunt of the 1950s, please elaborate as to how leading figures in the US responded so differently to the two events.
“Happenings in foreign affairs are understood . . . neither as choices nor as outputs. Instead, what happens is categorized as outcomes of various overlapping bargaining games among players arranged hierarchically in the national government.” P.690 The test will be to apply these models to the Cuban missile crisis and see how well they explain things.
It is understood that in the 1970's that Africa - as a continent - was undergoing change. This included the intervention of Cuban forces in Angola in 1975 along with growing Soviet Union influence in the continent. Those who believe that national security concerns were the reason behind the construction of nuclear weapons would argue the point that Soviet Russia's presence in neighbouring countries activetly forced South Africa into producing such damaging products. On the other hand, many believe that the government wanted to further
“North Korea also conducted rocket launches in 2006 and 2009. Both of these events were followed by nuclear tests, leaving many observers speculating about whether Pyongyang will attempt another one in the near future.” (Thai Press Reports, 2012) North Korea ignored resolutions passed by the UN proving that resolutions are opinions with no valuable substance and no control. There is much said but very little done; this goes with many of the political issues brought forth to assembly. In late 2012 North Korea launched a missile that caused controversy. “The UN Security Council has condemned North Korea's successful rocket launch, saying it violated a 2009 council resolution banning any launch using ballistic missile technology.
Since 2000, there have been several attempts to lift the Bush imposed travel restrictions on Cuba, however, the Bush Administration always threatened to veto legislation that seemed like it was meant to weaken the sanctions against Cuba. In the 110th Congress, many different legislations have been proposed that would lift or ease travel to and from Cuba, and on the issue of remittance to Cuba. These pieces of legislation include “H.R. 654 (Rangel), which is the Export Freedom to Cuba Act of 2007, and it would lift overall restrictions on travel to Cuba. A couple of bills that would lift a great portion