Cuban Missile Crisis Research Paper

Words: 874
Pages: 4

On October of 1962, a political crisis erupted in a standoff between the United States and the Soviet Union. The installation of nuclear armed Soviet missiles on Cuba caused a 13 day political and military impasse. President John F. Kennedy alerted the people of the United States through a television address of the presence of the missiles, their threat to the United States, and the use of a blockade to remove the threat. Despite, the tension around the world over the perceived threat of nuclear war an agreement was reached between United States and the Soviet Union to remove the missiles from Cuba for the promise that the United States would not invade Cuba and remove nuclear missiles from Turkey and Italy.
Fidel Castro took control over Cuba
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Gromyko conveyed Moscow’s position as it related to Cuba to Kennedy. He explained that the Soviet Union did not support interfering in the internal affairs of other countries and favored peaceful coexistence. He stated that all Soviet military aid to Cuba was for defensive purposes only. Although the president was aware that Gromyko was lying about the defensive nature of the missiles; he reiterated that the United States did not plan to attempt another invasion of Cuba and that he would not allow offensive weapons in Cuba (Cuban Missile Crisis Day Three).
Kennedy and his ExComm agreed that they would not allow Cuba to become a nuclear power. The next phase of their planning had to deal with the removal of the missiles that were there already. For the next few days different options were discussed that ranged from bombing the missiles to a full scale invasion of the island to stop the missiles from becoming operational. However, a different approach was accepted which included utilizing the United States Navy to quarantine the island and communicating to the Soviets that they need to remove the nuclear missiles from the