Occurred
in 1962 as a result of conflict between the United States
and the Soviet Union. The United States had deployed
nuclear missiles all around the Soviet Union, most threateningly
in Turkey. Meanwhile, Fidel
Castro was worried about an American invasion
of Cuba. He requested that the Soviet Union place nuclear
missiles in Cuba, thinking that this would prevent an
invasion.
On
October 14, 1962, an American U-2 spying on Cuba spotted the missle
installations. U.S. President John F. Kennedy was informed, and
a debate as to how to react ensued among the American leadership.
Most of Kennedy's advisors wanted to invade Cuba immediately or
bomb the missile sites. Kennedy objected to this. In since declassified
tapes of the conversation, Kennedy stated his opinion that the missiles
added nothing to the Soviet's military capabilities.
Kennedy
used the crisis as a political tool. His approach was one of strength
and resoluteness towards the nuclear threat. About a week after
spotting the missile sites, Kennedy ordered a naval blockade of
Cuba. This was meant to prevent ships with more missiles from reaching
the island. At the same time, the US brought its nuclear arsenal
to full wartime readiness.
On
October 26, American nuclear bombers flew past their turnaround
points and invaded Soviet airspace. At that point, fearing a
nuclear war, Khrushchev agreed to remove the missiles. In return,
the United States promised not to invade Cuba and removed some
of its missiles from Turkey. The no-invasion promise still stands
today. The next day an American U-2 was again spotted over Cuba.
It was shot down, leading to the crisis' only casualty. The
situation was very delicate to say the least. Had American forces
invaded, a nuclear war would likely have started. The Soviets
placed short range nuclear missles in Cuba that probably would
have been used on the invaders to defend the island. Kennedy
had promised that a nuclear attack from Cuba would be interpreted
as a nuclear attack by the USSR, meaning that such a Cuban attack
could have lead to full-scale nuclear war.
With
many thanks to the students project of Thinkquest
