Cuban Missile Crisis: At the Brink of Abyss
Uploaded by harsh_way on May 11, 2005
The Cuban Missile Crisis was a major confrontation between the United States of America (U.S.A) and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (U.S.S.R). This major confrontation was in 1962 over the issue of Soviet supplied missile installations in Cuba. Regarded as the world’s closest approach to a nuclear war, the Cuban Missile Crisis was a brief encounter during the Cold War in which the United States, Cuba, and the Soviet Union were engaged in a potentially dangerous confrontation that could have led to a deadly nuclear war, however, the bravery of the leaders led to negotiations that avoided such a conflict and they took steps to avoid a possible war between the two superpowers. Even though the Cuban Missile Crisis was a brief thirteen-day period, the situation was very edgy and the leaders had to make smart and calm decisions to avoid the conflict.
The crisis was a result of the growing tension between the United States and Cuba following the Cuban Revolution of 1959. This revolution brought to power Fidel Castro who then brought in Communism. The United States was stunned by the new communist nation merely ninety miles from its borders. The Americans did not want any communist government near its borders, so they applied economic pressure on Cuba to make Cuba weak and try to topple the communist government. Knowing that the United States had significant influence in Cuba’s economic and political affairs, Castro’s government refused to be influenced by the United States. Later in 1960, the United States implemented an embargo that cut off trade. After this Castro still refused to give in to the pressure and responded by establishing closer relations with the communist government of the Soviet Union. During this time the United States was also involved in a Cold War with the Soviet Union. This was an economic, military, and diplomatic struggle between communist and capitalistic nations. The United States, however, still did not give up trying to topple Castro’s government. The United States also trained an army of anti-Castro exiles living in the United States to go and attack Cuba. This was known as the Bay of Pigs invasion. Although Castro’s army won easily, the Cubans were certain that the United States would not give up and will try to invade Cuba again. Cuba knew that if it tried to protect itself from the Americans it would loose, so they needed help...