Cuban Missile Crisis Analysis

For thirteen days in October of 1962, the world lingered on the verge of a nuclear conflict of unparalleled proportions. In the eyes of those involved with the crisis every action seemed to flirt with disaster and beckon doomsday. The United States discovered the presence of Soviet missile silos in Cuba, capable of launching nuclear-tipped weaponry that could target much of the Eastern United States. President John F. Kennedy, under pressure from his advisors chose to order a naval “quarantine” of Cuba. He gambled that this maneuver would force the Soviets to end their missile shipments to Cuba yet not provoke the USSR to respond militarily. The world waited on edge as the Soviets and Americans drew closer to confrontation, hoping this
For many who remember President Kennedy favorably, the answers to those questions are likely: JFK and the Soviet Union, respectively. This analysis of the Cuban missile crisis lacks nuance and is riddled with bias. To understand the history of the missile crisis, it is necessary to understand what shaped President Kennedy’s actions during those thirteen days and break from the popular account of Kennedy’s heroism and calculated strategy in diverting a nuclear
Faced with the evidence of Soviet nuclear-capable weapons in Cuba, Kennedy found his available methods of response limited. There were several factors that likely weighed heavily on Kennedy’s mind as he debated what action to take. First, the humiliation of the failed Bay of Pigs invasion attempt still resonated in the President’s mind. Kennedy believed he could not risk another disaster in Cuba without crippling U.S. prestige as well as his own. Second, during the 1960 Presidential election, John F. Kennedy made the “missile gap” between the U.S. and USSR as a major topic of his campaigning rhetoric. If the Soviets successfully established nuclear missile silos, he would appear to have failed to uphold his commitments to the American people. Third, the Joint Chief of Staff put severe pressure on President Kennedy not only to react militarily to the Soviet’s missile deployment in Cuba, but suggested that the president authorize an airstrike on the Soviet missile bases. Lastly, and perhaps the important factor that kept President Kennedy from escalating the crisis into a direct conflict, was his fear of Soviet retaliation for an American attack on Soviet or Cuban military assets or personnel. Instead of authorizing military intervention, President Kennedy sought to resolve the