THE CUBAN MISSILE CRISIS

Diplomatic Manoeuvring During the Cuban Missile Crisis

Diplomatic Manoeuvring During the Cuban Missile Crisis

Introduction

The Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962, an intense nuclear face-off between the United States and the Soviet Union concerning the Soviet build-up of mediumrange missiles in Cuba, marked the height of the Cold War era and a point when the world was brought to the brink of a nuclear war. The purpose of this study is to expand the boundaries of our knowledge by exploring some relevant facts and figures regarding the diplomatic manoeuvring and negotiations that took place during the Cuban missile crisis. In this paper, the author has examined the important aspects and the role of political negotiations in stabilizing the impact of the crisis. In 1962, the so-called Cuban missile crisis, flared when the U.S. authorities came to know that the Soviets were stationing ballistic missiles in Cuba (a Communist country, close to the U.S., with which Kennedy's government had broken off diplomatic relations). The missiles were capable of carrying nuclear warheads, and had sufficient range to reach the continental U.S.

The U.S. and the Soviet Union became embroiled in a tense diplomatic standoff over the presence of the missiles in Cuba; many historians agree that the situation had the potential to degenerate into a nuclear conflict between the superpowers. However, Kennedy and Khrushchev ultimately negotiated a solution to the conflict, in which the Soviets agreed not to station missiles in Cuba so long as the U.S. agreed to refrain from invading Cuba and removed its own missiles from bases in Turkey.

While Chamberlain's talks with Hitler are almost universally condemned today, the Kennedy-Khrushchev negotiations are more controversial. Some observers accuse Kennedy of repeatedly demonstrating weakness to Khrushchev, and even argue that the president's weak performance during the 1961 Vienna summit might have emboldened Khrushchev to station Soviet missiles in Cuba the following year. But Kennedy's defenders reject such arguments, emphasizing instead that Kennedy's openness to diplomacy enabled him to resolve the Cuban missile crisis and avert a potentially disastrous war.

Discussion & Analysis

Overview of the Cuban Missile Crisis

In October 1962, the United States and the Soviet Union were at the brink of war, because the Soviets had placed nuclear missiles in Cuba. Events of the preceding three years had led directly to the crisis. In 1959, the pro-U.S. Cuban government of Fulgencio Batista, which had granted major concessions to the United States in sugar, mining, and public utilities enterprises, was overthrown by Fidel Castro. Castro nationalized American companies, cancelled elections, and began to promote anti-U.S. revolutions in the rest of Latin America .

When Castro signed a trade agreement with the Soviet Union, President Dwight D. Eisenhower, in March of 1960, the agreement directed the Central Intelligence Agency to conduct a covert operation to remove Castro from power and cut off trade to Cuba. When Castro increased his dependence on the Soviet Union, Eisenhower ended diplomatic relations with Cuba. Upon taking office as Eisenhower's successor, President John ...