Cuban Missile Crisis

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Cuban Missile Crisis

• Andrew Wood and Dave Ryan

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The Cuban Missile Crisis
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Lesson overview

• What was the background to the events in Cuba?
• How successful were early attempts at
  containment?
• Why was the USSR interested in helping Cuba?
• What happened during the October Crisis?
• What was the outcome of the crisis?

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What was the background to the events in Cuba?

• Cuba, small island, 160 km from coast of Florida
• US ally, US businesses US military base
  (Guantanamo)
• 1959, Fidel Castro overthrows Battista (US-backed
  dictator), establishing Communist government.

Why was Cuba so important to the Americans?
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How successful were early attempts at
containment?

• Castro takes over US businesses
• January 1961, US breaks off diplomatic relations
• April, 1961, Bay of Pigs 1,400 anti-Cuban
  exiles attempted to overthrow Castro
• Autumn 1962, Cuba has received 1000s of USSR
  missiles, jets, boats personnel

The US committed 100 million to overthrowing
Castro, the CIA tried to sabotage the economy,
they even planned to send him an exploding cigar!
Why did they go to such lengths after April 1961?
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Why was the USSR interested in helping Cuba?

• Cuba was a new Communist state
• Cuba provided a launch base for USSR
  inter-continental missiles (ICMs)
• Khrushchev wanted to test strength of new US
  president, JFK
• Khrushchev wanted to force JFK into bargaining
  over US missile in Europe

Why does this cartoonist think that Khrushchev
was interested in Cuba?
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What happened during the October Crisis?
Why have some modern historians questioned the
accuracy of these spy plane pictures?

• 14 October 1962, US U2 spy plane takes photos of
  suspected USSR missile sites on Cuba
• Sites nearing completion, experts believe they
  could be ready in 7 days
• US spy planes identify 20 Soviet ships bound for
  Cuba carrying missiles

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Castros Role

• No real role in decision making
• Apparently out of touch with the situation
• Oct. 26 Aggression imminent/imperialists
  disregarding world opinionClearly not the case
• Khrushchev plays along to some extent but it is
  clear he disagrees with him (your suggestion
  would have started a thermonuclear world war)

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? Your task

• President John F Kennedy was faced with a number
  of extremely difficult decisions that could
  decide the fate of the world! Read through the
  list of options on your task sheet. Reduce the
  options to 2 and explain your reasons to the
  class.

Problem-solving task
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One of our U-2 flights over Cuba has revealed
what analysts believe to be nuclear missiles.
Sir, the missiles look to be from the Soviet
Union.
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The Missiles One Site
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? Your task

• You are about to find out what actually happened
  during the Cuban Missile Crisis. Complete a
  timeline in your notes. There are 10 key events
  to include.

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Its time to discuss military options sir. The
Soviets still deny that there are nuclear
missiles in Cuba.
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What happened during the October Crisis?

• 20 October, Kennedy decides to blockade Cuba
• 22 October, Kennedy publicly calls on Khrushchev
  to remove weapons

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What happened during the October Crisis?

• 23 October Khrushchev refuses to acknowledge
  blockade or presence of Soviet missiles on Cuba
• 24 October, 1st Soviet ships (accompanied by
  submarine) approach 800 km exclusion zone

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What happened during the October Crisis?

• 24 October, 1032 am, Soviet ships stop and turn
  round
• 25 October, aerial photos show continued
  construction of missile sites
• 26 October, Kennedy receives another letter
  offering to negotiate over missiles in Cuba with
  removal of blockade and US invasion threat
• 27 October, Kennedy receives second letter
  calling for withdrawal of US missiles in Turkey
  too

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The American Decision

• In September Kennedy had stated and Congress had
  passed a resolution saying that if the Soviet
  Union placed offensive weapons in Cuba we would
  not tolerate it.
• Could we then rely solely on diplomacy? Kennedys
  thought John could be impeached if he didnt
  act in accordance with his prior warnings
• Determined in first 48 hours of crisis that the
  removal of missiles was the primary objective
• This objective effectively ruled out isolated
  diplomacy, and left two options

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What happened during the October Crisis?

• 27 October, US U2 plane shot down over Cuba
  pilot killed.Kennedy decides to ignore second
  letter, but accepts terms of 1st letter
• 28 October, Khrushchev agrees to dismantle Soviet
  missiles in Cuba

What is this cartoonist trying to say about the
difficulties facing Kennedy during the Crisis?
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What was the outcome of the crisis?

• Cuba remained Communist heavily armed (without
  nuclear missiles)
• Both leaders didnt lose face and came away with
  concessions
• Helped renew the thaw world saw the futility of
  MAD
• Permanent hotline between White House Kremlin
  set up
• Supported theory of containment co-existence
  because alternatives unimaginable

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? Your task
Sources

• Read source 1 2 and discuss how they differ in
  their interpretation of the crisis.
• Read all 3 sources and discuss how useful they
  are to students studying the results of the Cuban
  Missile Crisis.
• Who do you think won the missile crisis? Kennedy,
  Khrushchev or neither? Explain your answer.

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? Extension task

• Divide into student A or B. Student A must
  produce a short press release explaining the
  background, key events outcome for the Soviet
  news agency Pravda. Student B must do the same
  for the White House spokesmens speech to
  journalists.

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Congratulations Mr. President, Khrushchev is
removing the missiles from Cuba. We made the
right choices.