Romy Attias

History

September 22, 12

History Questions
The Cuban Missile Crisis 1959-1962
1) What was the Bay of Pigs Incident and what were its effects?
The Bay of Pigs Invasion was an unsuccessful attempt by United States-backed
Cuban exiles to overthrow the government of the Cuban dictator Fidel Castro.
Eisenhower's response to the conflicting situation between America and Cuba was to
have the CIA train a group of 1400 Cuban exiles who would invade and overthrow
Castro. However, he was unconvinced about the plan and when he handed over to
Kennedy in January 1961 he did not give clear advice as to how to proceed. The CIA
mistakenly believed that Castro was unpopular and poorly armed. They assured
Kennedy that the operation would be simple and that once the rebels had landed a
popular uprising against Castro would begin.
In April 1961 they landed in Cuba at the Bay of Pigs, but Cuban forces numbered
20,000, and they were backed up by Russian tanks. They easily defeated the
invaders. It was a disaster for the CIA and a huge propaganda coup for Castro. The
defeat was hugely embarrassing for the new president. When he met Khrushchev at
the Vienna Summit in June 1961 (two months later) the relationship between the
two superpowers was at an all-time low. In October, the Soviets detonated their
largest ever H-Bomb, called the Tsar Bomb & It had an enormous 50 megaton
capacity.
After the defeat, the prisoners were transferred to prisons around Cuba. Some of
them were interrogated live on television: Castro himself showed up to the studios
to question the invaders and answer their questions when he chose to do so. He
reportedly told the prisoners that executing them all would only lessen their great
victory. He proposed an exchange to President Kennedy: the prisoners for tractors
and bulldozers. The negotiations were long and tense, but eventually the surviving
members of the 2506 Brigade were exchanged for about $52 million worth of food
and medicine. Most of the CIA operatives and administrators responsible for the
fiasco were fired or asked to resign. Kennedy himself took responsibility for the
failed assault, which severely damaged his credibility.

2) Why did the USSR install missile bases in Cuba?

The introduction of nuclear weapons to Cuba was decided on by Khrushchev in the
summer of 1962. America, as part of NATO, had put strategic nuclear weapons in
Italy and Turkey. The latter country was so close to the USSR that little response time
would be possible if a missile were to be launched. Khrushchev wanted to counter
this threat by placing nuclear missiles only 90 miles from Americas eastern coast.

Romy Attias

History

September 22, 12

Yet in September 1962, when JFK warned the USSR that he would prevent by
whatever means necessary the placement of nuclear weapons on Cuba, Khrushchev
gave his word that this would not happen. One month later, the crisis began when a
U2 spy plane found clear evidence of missile silos on Cuba.

3) Why did both sides back down?

Kennedy had five realistic options in the crisis:
1. Do not react: The US had more nuclear weapons, and the Turkish site gave
them the same advantage. MAD meant that nothing essentially had changed.
However, this would be a sign of weakness after the Bay Of Pigs.
2. Surgical Air Attack: destruction of all the missile silos. However, Soviet
engineers would be killed, and if one silo remained it could be used to
counter- attack.
3. Invasion: this would remove the missiles, and communism, altogether.
However, a similar Soviet response (e.g. in Berlin) would be expected.
4. Use diplomacy: the UN could provide a forum, but Khrushchev still denied
that the missiles existed. Again, it might look like weakness.
5. Naval Blockade: it could prevent warheads arriving, and avoid hot war.
However, it might trigger a similar Soviet response ( a rerun of the Berlin
Blockade?). Also, some missiles were already in Cuba and could be
operational within a week.
In the event, Khrushchev backed down, even though he later claimed it was a
triumph for him personally, and for Cuba. Other Russian Soviets did not share this
view- he was deposed by Leonid Brezhnev in 1964. Kennedy managed to resist his
military advisors, who called for air strikes and invasion, but he took a huge risk in
doing so. The final settlement terms looked much better for him, though in reality
the US had a weaker position than before the crisis as Castro was still in power, but
they lost their Turkish missile sites. Yet to US and world opinion, he had successfully
stood up to Khrushchev, and saved everyone from a nuclear war.