"We went Eyeball to eyeball and I think the other fellow just blinked"
American's Supported a corrupt regime under Fulgencio Batista until the Cuban revolution in 1959
Fidel Castro took over
Aligned with the Soviets
The Bay of Pigs (Failed invasion of Cuba)
1962 Soviets begin to put Nuclear weapons into Cuba (Noticed by U2 spy planes)
The Crisis
The US had 3 options:
Diplomatic Solution (Negotiated settlement)
A conventional attack (Air attack followed by invasion)
A Naval blockade
Robert Kennedy, Attorney general, convinced security council to go with blockade
ships turn around at the quarantine
2 Letters sent from Krushchev to Kennedy
Brinkmanship ensues (U.N. gets involved)
Directly resulted in the Partial Test Ban Treaty of 1962
Hotline
Summary
Fidel Castro was the communist Cuban leader that was aligned with the Soviets. USA trained people to start a counter-revolution to get rid of communism but were annihilated. This was the closest that the world has ever come to Nuclear Warfare, it was also the first time thatMutually Assured Destruction had been discussed to determine an international arms agreement.
Quote:
The most terrifying moment in my life was October 1962, during the Cuban Missile Crisis. I did not know all the facts - we have learned only recently how close we were to war - but I knew enough to make me tremble. - Joseph Rotbalt