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Essay on Why Did Khrushchev Plant Missiles in Cuba?
In October 1962, U.S. aerial reconnaissance pictures showed about forty offensive nuclear missiles being installed and manned in Cuba by Soviet technicians. These missiles had an effective range of a little more than two thousand miles and threatened much of America. Although the United States had already broken off diplomatic relations with Cuba after the revolution led by Fidel Castro, President John F. Kennedy refused to authorize air strikes against the missile installations and instead demanded the immediate removal of the missiles (The Journal of Commerce). To achieve that, he ordered a naval blockade and quarantine of all offensive military equipment under shipment to Cuba. By a vote of 20 to 0, the Organization of American States also recommended that member nations take necessary measures to stop the flow of offensive weapons to Cuba.
Kennedy told Nikita Khrushchev, the Soviet leader, that if Cuba launched any missiles at the United States it would be considered an act of war by the Soviet Union, and the U.S. would retaliate directly against the Soviet Union. Americans waited while Soviet ships carrying offensive weapons to Cuba approached the blockade, while cargo ships were allowed to pass. On 28 October Khrushchev accepted the American demands. The Soviet government agreed to dismantle its bases and remove the missiles. Kennedy and Khrushchev came to a compromise that if the nuclear missiles were pulled out of Cuba, the American quarantine against Cuba would end and the U.S. would not invade the island.
The U.S. also agreed to speed up removal of nuclear missiles from Turkey. The world was never as close to nuclear warfare as it was during the Cuban Missile Crisis (The Journal of Commerce).Starting in the early 1960s, the Soviet Union under Khrushchev's guidance sought to moderate its relations with the United States.....
