Nuclear Base In Cuba In October 1962 example essay topic

In December 2 1961; Castro declared in a speech that he was a true follower of Marxism; therefore, Cuba was socialist country. Although it is that Khrushchev decided to place missiles in Cuba in response to the Jupiter missile being established in Turkey; or the fact that he wanted to test the president Kennedy and his commitment towards the battle against communism. The main reason to why Khrushchev decided to place missiles in Cuba was to secure Castro's position as a leader and show the world that he was committed to aid any socialist country risked to be domed by the capitalist forces. By October 1962; U 2 spy planes from the USA shot pictures of a nuclear base under construction at 2000 miles from the main eastern and central cities of USA.

These cities included New York, Washington, Boston and Miami. The duration of the event lasted 13 days in which the "eyes of the world were attracted to the point of friction" argued by Bradley Light body to a possible Nuclear War. The Soviet involvement signified that the Warsaw pact in which 6 countries were involved in the "Treaty of friendship, commitment and mutual assistance" would get involved in aiding Cuba. On the other hand; in defense of USA; the NATO or "North Atlantic Treaty Organization" would get involved in protecting USA. The propaganda released by the media was sufficient not only to show the world that Khruschev was committed to expanding communism; but to show that the USSR, mother of Communism would stand firm in protecting the socialist countries. Khrushchev wanted to address at a stroke the nuclear imbalance between the east and the west.

The creation of the ICBM and anti ballistic missiles signified that the west had bigger nuclear oppressive forces that could be used at any moment against an armed confrontation or threat. This was because; the USA was rather keen to use nuclear weapons instead of getting involved in an armed confrontation against USSR. USSR was in command of 260 divisions whereas USA had less than 1 division and any attack on USA would be more likely to be counteracted by nuclear atomic bombs. On the other hand; in 1960 and early 1961; USA established a nuclear base in Turkey. The "Jupiter" missiles had a range of 2400 km (1491 miles).

These aimed directly at the heart of Russia and could easily destroy any city of Russia in a matter of hours. The establishment of a nuclear base in Cuba would balance the nuclear threat amongst countries. As Khrushchev writes in his memoirs; "the Americans surrounded Russia with missiles. We wanted to make them know how it feels to have missiles pointing directly at you". By establishing the Jupiter missiles; USSR could have a hidden ace card to promote the disarmament of the nuclear base in Turkey. Whereas it may be that it was done in response to the Jupiter missiles; it is more likely to say that Khrushchev began the construction of a nuclear base in Cuba to test Kennedy as a president with a clear intention to destabilize his political acceptance.

By establishing in a visible way a nuclear base at 2000 miles; it pressurizes Kennedy and his government to make a quick lethal decision to repressive the action. During the meeting Kennedy had with the military advisors EX COMm "Executive Committee of the National Security Council", conformed of 14 officials there were 5 possibilities. Do nothing, use diplomatic pressure, an air attack, full military invasion or a naval blockade. The Joint chief of staff agreed that a full scale attack and invasion was the only solution and agreed that the soviets would not act to stop the U. S from conquering Cuba. The pressure upon Kennedy to decide in a counteracting solution is seen as a way to test the president of the USA.

Any decision he'd take on that moment would result in criticism from the public and destabilize his political acceptance as a leader. The last and main reason to why Khrushchev decided to place the missiles in Cuba was to secure Cuba's communist future and Castro's rule. By doing this; Khrushchev was portraying a gesture of kindness and commitment to a socialist partner. Cuba had already been invaded once in April 1961 and was under constant threat of future invasions. In the Bay of Pigs incident; Kennedy agreed to spend 52 million dollars in an unsuccessful attempt to overtake Fidel Castro from power. As Lynch states "Americans believed that Cubans would be grateful of getting rid of Fidel Castro".

During 1 year; 1400 exiled Cubans were trained and given weapons, in the 15th October of 1962, 8 B-26 planes destroyed Cuban air resistance for the invasion to take place; luckily Castro had the support from the people and was able to survive. During the time of negotiations, the USSR agreed to disarm the nuclear missiles if America agreed not to attack Cuba in the future. Although some historians argue that Castro condemned the USSR for retrieving the missiles without consultation saying to Khrushchev things like: "mari cones" or "sin co jones", it is more valuable to state that from that point forward; Cuba wasn't invaded. Due to the "socialist solidarity" given by the USSR as Arthur Schlesinger argues; Castro was able to survive and stay in power; consolidating himself as the autocratic ruler of Cuba. To conclude; there may be many reasons for Khrushchev to place a nuclear base in Cuba; in October 1962. These involve nuclear parity, the establishment of the Jupiter missiles and test Kennedy as a president.

However; the main reason to his plan of action is that by placing a nuclear base in Cuba; it would show the world that Khrushchev was committed to aid a fellow country which was at risk of falling to capitalist forces. Parallel to that; he would secure and protect Castro's position as a ruler and the country's communist path.