13 Days- the Cuban Missile Crisis Essay example

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John Kennedy was faced with a decision that held the lives of thousands, perhaps millions, of people in the Cuban Missile Crisis. It was crucial to make the right decision to protect those lives. As relations between the United States and the Soviet Union grew tenser, the need for action quickly became imperative.
As pressure rose, President Kennedy was almost at war with both the Soviet Union and his very own military advisors. His advisors were urging a Cuban invasion to dismantle the missiles. This aggressive approach held many concerns. The Soviet Union will take this aggressiveness as an invitation for war. This potential war could very easily turn into the next world war, and this time much, much more devastating, as nuclear weapons would surely be involved. Kennedy’s military advisors wanted to take this approach because it would be a swift and sure way to destroy the missiles. The issue still remained that the Soviet Union would have more missiles prepared to fire at the United States.
President Kennedy did not want to risk developing the next world war. His approach needed to be aggressive enough to scare the Soviets, but passive enough as to avoid war. After much deep thought, Kennedy settled on a quarantine. He could not call it a blockade, as this was perceived as an act of war by congress. His decision proved to be successful when the Soviets retreated and they came to an agreement. If I were faced with this situation, I would take a passive approach. Starting a world war would put millions of lives at risk. Human life is something to be cherished, not thrown away like pawns in a game of war.

With millions of lives at risk, a third world war had to be avoided at all cost. President Kennedy knew this and refused to listen to his military advisors whom were only hungry for war and bloodshed. This crisis needed to be handled with great care to be resolved. After deciding to implement a naval blockade of Cuba, the Soviets retreated. The Soviet Union wanted the United States to remove their missiles in Turkey. Kennedy was hesitant to comply, but eventually he agreed. Kennedy realized it was a small price to pay in
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