preview

Causes Of The Cuban Missile Crisis

Better Essays

During the Cuban Missile Crisis, President John F. Kennedy said, “It is insane that two men, sitting on opposite sides of the world, should be able to decide to bring an end to civilization,” (Nuclear Ban Test Treaty). This quote directly describes the overall idea of Cuban Missile Crisis. The “Thirteen Days” of the Cuban Missile Crisis refer to the closest point where the Soviet Union and the United States came to nuclear war. For thirteen days both nations waited in fear, for news if there was about to be an attack. The Cuban Missile Crisis was a dilemma that could have been solved easier if more communication would have been involved.
There had been a great amount of conflict leading up to the Cuban Missile Crisis. The conflict began …show more content…

The Soviet leader, Nikita Khrushchev risked the missile bases for the goal of being in range for a nuclear strike. Khrushchev was apprehensive about the number of nuclear weapons that were targeted at The Soviet Union from countries in Europe and Turkey, so he needed to find away to even out the playing field (Cuban Missile Crisis. History.com). The finding of the missile bases imposed a sense of urgency on the situation. The base unit in Cuba was only ninety miles away from the southern coast of Florida. This information was alarming because the communist were finally capable of reaching the eastern United States. From that moment, President Kennedy knew something that had to be done about the medium-ranged missile sites in Cuba. Both superpowers were aware of the others aggressiveness and assertiveness. This means that once one missile goes off, there will be massive havoc; both sides will strike until they are defeated. If a nuclear missile went off, there could have easily been an end to a civilization. President Kennedy immediately formed a group of advisors and officials. Eventually this group was called the executive committee, or the Excom. From the beginning, the executive committee and Kennedy agreed the missiles in Cuba had to go. The Excom had many different choices of ways they could approach the situation. From bombing the missile bases or a full invasion of Cuba, but their ultimatum was to remove the missile bases from Cuba without stirring up

Get Access