Cuban Missile Crisis

U.S. GovernmentMr. Lynne

Monroe Doctrine

• Doctrine was first stated by President John Monroe in 1823– Asserted that the Western Hemisphere was not to be

further colonized by European countries, and that the United States would not interfere with existing European colonies

• Spanish control over its Latin American colonies had begun to fall apart– Doctrine was meant to protect these colonies from further

European interventions• Would be invoked by President John F. Kennedy

Rising Tensions• July 12, 1960: Khrushchev declares the Monroe Doctrine "dead.”• April 17-19, 1961: CIA-sponsored Bay of Pigs invasion fails• February 3, 1962: President Kennedy embargoes all trade with

Cuba except for medical necessities.• September 4: President Kennedy issues a press statement that

denies evidence of offensive military weapons in Cuba but warns, "Were it otherwise, the gravest issues would arise."

• September 13: At a press conference, President Kennedy declares that if Cuba were to "become an offensive military base of significant capacity for the Soviet Union, then this country would do whatever must be done to protect its own security and that of its allies."

Reasons for the Crisis

• Expansion of Stalinism to Third-World countries– Would communism spread to Latin America?

• Eastern Bloc Strategy– Khrushchev reacts to U.S. missiles installed in Turkey– Soviet leadership felt President Kennedy would avoid

confrontation• Balance of Power– President Kennedy vows to close the “missile gap”

between the Soviet Union and United States

September 28

Soviet ships spotted off the coast of Cuba carrying offensive armaments.

The Threat

October 14: Missile sites in Cuba are spotted by U.S. Recon Planes

Possible Courses of Action

1. Do nothing2. Diplomatic Pressure3. Invasion4. Air Strike5. Blockade of Cuba

Executive Committee (EXCOMM)

• Met throughout the day on October 21, 1962• Two courses of action remained:– Naval Blockade– Air strikes against the missile bases

• Sec of Defense McNamara supports Naval Blockade– Idea gains support of other EXCOMM members– Officially called a “Quarantine”• Naval Blockades were considered an “act of war” by

International Law

President Kennedy Addresses the NationOctober 22, 1962

Nikita Khrushchev’s Response to Quarantine

“Imagine, Mr. President, what if we were to present to you such an ultimatum as you have presented to us by your actions. How would you react to it? I think you would be outraged at such a move on our part. And this we would understand. Having presented these conditions to us, Mr. President, you have thrown down the gauntlet. Who asked you to do this? By what right have you done this? Our ties with the Republic of Cuba, as well as our relations with other nations, regardless of their political system, concern only the two countries between which these relations exist. And, if it were a matter of quarantine as mentioned in your letter, then, as is customary in international practice, it can be established only by states agreeing between themselves, and not by some third party. Quarantines exist, for example, on agricultural goods and products. However, in this case we are not talking about quarantines, but rather about much more serious matters, and you yourself understand this.”

-N. KHRUSHCHEV

October 25 – United Nations

• Adlai Stevenson presents evidence to the U.N. Security Council of a threat from the Soviet Union

• Most negotiations between the two countries were secret

Letter from Nikita Khrushchev “This is why I make this proposal: We agree to remove those weapons from Cuba which you regard as offensive weapons. We agree to do this and to state this commitment in the United Nations. Your representatives will make a statement to effect that the United States, on its part, bearing in mind the anxiety and concern of the Soviet state, will evacuate its analogous weapons from Turkey. Let us reach an understanding on what time you and we need to put this into effect.”

“The U.S. Government will make the same statement in the Security Council with regard to Cuba. It will declare that the United States will respect the integrity of the frontiers of Cuba, its sovereignty, undertakes not to intervene in its domestic affairs, not to invade and not to make its territory available as a place d'armes for the invasion of Cuba, and also will restrain those who would think of launching an aggression against Cuba either from U.S. territory or from the territory of other states bordering on Cuba.”

-October 26, 1962

Response from President Kennedy“I have read your letter of October 26th with great care and welcome the statement of your desire to seek a prompt solution to the problem. The first things that needs to be done, however, is for work to cease on offensive missile bases in Cuba and for all weapons systems in Cuba capable of offensive use to be rendered inoperable, under effective United Nations arrangements. “Assuming this is done promptly, I have given my representatives in New York instructions that will permit them to work out this weekend--in cooperation with the Acting Secretary General and your representative--an arrangement for a permanent solution to the Cuban problem along the lines suggested in your letter of October 26th.”

-October 27, 1962

October 28 – Agreement Reached

Soviet Union agrees to:•Remove missiles from Cuba

United States agrees:•Not to invade Cuba•To remove missiles from Italy and Turkey

How Close to Nuclear Warfare?

It was the most dangerous moment of the Cold War. At about 5 p.m. on Oct. 27, 1962, a Soviet submarine armed with a nuclear warhead found itself trapped and being bombarded by a US warship patrolling off Cuba One of the Soviet captains gave the order to prepare to fire. But a cooler-headed officer persuaded him to wait for instructions from Moscow before unleashing a nuclear attack. ''We thought - that's it - the end,'' Vadim Orlov, a Soviet intelligence officer, was quoted as saying in recently declassified documents from the Cuban missile crisis.

-The Boston Globe, October 13, 2002

Doomsday Clock

• Maintained since 1947 by the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists

• The closer the clock moves towards midnight, the greater the estimate that the world moves towards global disaster

1962: 7 minutes to midnight2010: 6 minutes to midnight

Outcomes

• Hotline between Washington D.C. and Moscow is created

• Also known as the “red phone”• Used for direct communication between the

United States and Soviet Union (Russia)• Allows for quicker response to crises – No need to translate

1963: Limited Test Ban Treaty

• Signed by the Soviet Union and United States• Prohibited test detonations of nuclear weapons,

except underground• Purpose was to:– Slow the arms race– Stop the excessive amount of nuclear fallout into the

Earth’s atmosphere

1968: Non Proliferation Treaty

• Three pillars of the treaty:– Non-proliferation • Stopping the spread of nuclear weapons

– Disarmament • The reduction or elimination of nuclear weapons

– The right to use nuclear technology peacefully• Not for the production of nuclear weapons• Primarily for civilian energy programs

Signatories of Treaty

Conclusions

• Generally seen as an embarrassment for the Soviet Union– U.S. removal of missiles from Italy and Turkey was

made secretly– Eventually cost Khrushchev his job

• Legacy for the rest of the Cold War• “Eyeball to eyeball, they blinked first.”– Dean Rusk, U.S. Secretary of State