4.2.6 Brinkmanship during the Cuban Missile Crisis
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4.2.6 The Cuban Missile Crisis
"Okay, Mr. President, let's talk."
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© by Leslie Illingworth. Published in the Daily Mail, October 29, 1962. Image courtesy National Library of Wales.
Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. In 1959, Fidel Castro and his party threw out the US-backed ruling dictatorship and established a communist government. In 1961, a CIA-trained force of Cuban exiles, with the support of the United States,
tried to invade Cuba in what is known as the Bay of Pigs incident. They were defeated by the Soviet-trained Cuban military in three days.
Cuba, fearing another invasion, set up nuclear missiles with the aid of the Soviet Union. American military intelligence observed the missiles being set up; this led to the Cuban Missile Crisis, an escalation of tension that pushed the world as close to nuclear war as it has even been.
The crisis occurred in October 1962. The United States demanded that the missiles be withdrawn. The Soviets replied that the missiles were defensive only and did not have the power to reach US territory. After two weeks of extreme global strain, US President John F. Kennedy and the Secretary General of the United Nations reached an agreement with the Soviets in which USSR agreed to dismantle the missiles in exchange for the US promise that it would not invade Cuba.
Brinkmanship occurs when one side tries to push the other as far as possible without giving up anything to the enemy.
Cuba, fearing another invasion, set up nuclear missiles with the aid of the Soviet Union. American military intelligence observed the missiles being set up; this led to the Cuban Missile Crisis, an escalation of tension that pushed the world as close to nuclear war as it has even been.
The crisis occurred in October 1962. The United States demanded that the missiles be withdrawn. The Soviets replied that the missiles were defensive only and did not have the power to reach US territory. After two weeks of extreme global strain, US President John F. Kennedy and the Secretary General of the United Nations reached an agreement with the Soviets in which USSR agreed to dismantle the missiles in exchange for the US promise that it would not invade Cuba.
Brinkmanship occurs when one side tries to push the other as far as possible without giving up anything to the enemy.
Read "Brinkmanship" on pages 254 to 255 of your text of your text Perspectives on Ideology.
Watch this video to review the causes and impact of the Cuban Missile Crisis.
""The History of the Cuban Missile Crisis"-Matthew A. Jordan, TED-Ed, You-tube
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"History Brief: Public Reaction to the Cuban Missile Crisis", Reading Through History, You-tube