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
The Japanese were seen as bloodthirsty savages willing to die rather than give up. Their defense of Okinawa and the thousands of kamikaze pilots only confirmed this fear in the eyes of the Americans. Truman felt the bomb would save more lives in the long run, due to avoiding another six or more months of carnage that the war was known for. Truman later said he estimated fighting losses numbered in the several hundred thousands, while bomb losses numbered in the tens of thousands since he intended to spare as many women and children as humanly possible. Using the bomb pretty much guaranteed that the U.S. would occupy Japan without the Soviets as well as sending a clear message to the Soviets to go slow and careful in Europe and it’s territories.
Body: I. The Cuban Missile Crisis was a 13 day confrontation between the Soviet Union, Cuba, and the United States of America A. The Soviet Union, in order to protect Cuba from the United States invading, placed nuclear warheads on the island of Cuba aiming at the United States. B. The Cuban Missile Crisis started on October 14, 1962 and ended on October 28, 1962.
He also said that it will be impossible to persuade Russia to remove her troops from Poland and China and the island of Sakhalin unless they are shocked and impressed by American military strength. So in short words, James Byrnes believes that dropping the atomic bombs might make Russia more manageable and force Japan to surrender. If the USA did drop the bombs on japan, it will stop the USSR from advancing too far, plus halted the war quickly so that Stalin’s Soviet Russia did not demand joint occupation of
Kennedy on the verge of accepting the terms received a second letter the next day stating the United States must remove its missiles from Turkey for the removal of all nuclear missiles in Cuba. Eventfully through private meeting, the agreement was met and so ending the crisis. Being left with limited choices, Kennedy did make the right choice; not letting the Soviets completely manipulating us but not also leading us in to a nuclear war. Although many disagreed with what he was grounded on he did eliminate the problem without many deaths and confrontations. His decision on quarantining Cuba without using the tactic of blockade was brilliant and wise, knowing that Soviets would take the simple “blockade” as an act of war.
Therefore, the US created unconditional terms of surrender, knowingly going against the Japanese ethic of honour and against the institute of the emperor, whom most Americans probably wanted dead. Consequently, the use of the atomic bomb became a way to avenge America's fallen soldiers while also keeping the USSR in check in Europe. The Japanese civilian casualties did not matter in this strategy. Also, it did not prevent the Cold War, as the USSR was just a few years behind on a-bomb research. At the time, revenge, geopolitics and an expensive project that could not be allowed to simply rust away, meant the atomic bomb had to be hastily deployed “in the field” in order to see its power and aftermath – though little was known about radiation and its effects on humans.
Jordan Sell Mr. Hebert Modern American History 23 April 2012 Thirteen Days Assignment The United States and Russia had been locked in a bold stalemate until the Soviets decided that they would very much enjoy the first-strike capabilities that their satellite ally Cuba presented them. So, they shipped over some intermediate missiles and technicians over on some of their freighters and begun construction. The missiles would give the Soviets capability to destroy many American population centers that were key in running the nation. So if the Soviet leaders decided to put all of the major cities that they had the capability of hitting with their missiles on a dartboard and lets say, hit New York with a population of 7,781,984.
In the fall of 1962, the United States and the Soviet Union were the closest out of anyone ever to a global nuclear war. Hoping to solve a strategic disadvantage brought up by the United States placing Nuclear Missiles in Europe pointed at the Soviet Union, the Soviet Union decided to send missiles of its own to Fidel Castro’s Cuba and point them at the United States. Once operational these nuclear missiles could be pointed at major cities and military targets across most of the continental United States. Before this happened, however, US intelligence discovered Nikita Khrushchev’s plans. The US’s solution was to form a blockade all around the island of Cuba and stop all soviet ships from entering the island (“The Cuban Missile Crisis, 1962”).
The naval blockade became successful on October 29, 1962; Soviet missiles were interrupted from the regular schedule of importation. Luckily the naval blockade ended in an immediate result because a few days later the Soviet Union proposed a compromise between the United States and themselves. Both threats of annihilation between Soviet Union and United States were gone in the Western Hemisphere, both countries compromised on taking away missiles on Turkey, Greece and Cuba. This later resulted in establishing the hotline between Washington D.C and
While Truman, Eisenhower, and Kennedy all had the same same Cold War intention of ending communism, their ways of achieving their goal were different.The Cold War was an angry dispute between the United States and the Soviet Union about whether we should spread or contain communism (Ayres 817). According to Edward Ayres in American Anthem: Reconstruction to the Present all three Presidents used some form of Economic Aid, how we help other countries financially; Military Aid, how we help other countries’ militaries; and finally, Military Use, how we utilise our military (Ayres 817). Their end goal was to completely contain, or confine communism(Truman).