Espen Rodsjo

Link 3rd
Thesis Paper
June 3, 2014

The Cuban missile crisis was inarguably one of the closest calls of the cold war.
Khrushchev and Kennedy were poised to strike and the world teetered on the brink of
world war three. however because of diplomatic negotiations, lack of desire for war, and
mutually assured destruction, there wasn't as much danger of a nuclear strike as
commonly thought.

On October 22, 1962 President Kennedy delivered a speech that shocked the
nation. He shared with the people his intelligence that Cuba has received nuclear arms
from Soviet Russia. Cuba was well within range of targeting many major American
cities. With the medium ranged ballistic missiles that were already present most of the
Southeast United States, including The District of Columbia, could be targeted.
President Kennedy and his cabinet had to plan a course of action for dealing with Cuba.
Kennedy briefed the world of his knowledge of the missiles on the evening of October
22, 1962.

The characteristics of these new missile sites indicate two distinct types
of installations. Several of them include medium range ballistic missiles, capable
of carrying a nuclear warhead for a distance of more than 1000 nautical miles.
Each of these missiles, in short, is capable of striking Washington, D.C., the
Panama Canal, Cape Canaveral, Mexico City, or any other city in the
southeastern part of the United States, in Central America, or in the Caribbean
area.
Additional sites not yet completed appear to be designed for intermediate range
ballistic missiles capable of traveling more than twice as far-and thus capable of
striking most of the major cities in the Western Hemisphere, ranging as far north
as Hudson Bay, Canada, and as far south as Lima, Peru. In addition, jet
bombers, capable of carrying nuclear weapons, are now being uncrated and
assembled in Cuba, while the necessary air bases are being prepared.
1


As President Kennedy stated in his speech, it was believed that the Soviet Union was in
the process of building sites for intermediate range ballistic missiles. If an Intermediate
ranged ballistic missile site was built in the island of Cuba, nearly any part of the United
States could be targeted and hit within a few minutes. The president had to act quickly

1
2005. Address to the American People about the Cuban Missile ...
http://www.atomicarchive.com/Docs/Cuba/CubaSpeech.shtml.
in order to prevent the introduction of IRBM warheads into Cuba. Kennedy assembled a
team known as the National Security Council Executive Committee or ExCom for short,
to assist him in devising a plan to handle the Cuban missile crisis. Many of Kennedys
military advisors advocated immediate military action. Most of them agreed that the best
course to take would be a series of surgical air strikes to destroy the missiles and the
missile stations. However Kennedy feared that airstrikes would have unintended
casualties, killing many Soviets and Cubans. Kennedy wished to avoid direct action to
prevent any type of retaliatory attack, and also believed that no airstrike could offer
100% effectiveness. Suggestions from ExCom advisors ranged from a full scale attack,
to simply ignoring the missiles. After much debate, Kennedy and ExCom decided the
best course of action would be a naval quarantine of Cuba. This would prevent further
shipment of warheads and materials to construct IRBMs and any new facilities to launch
them.
2

It would have seemed that the two victors of world war two were about to plunge
themselves into a third world war, and many people believed that it was imminent.
Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara shared his fear when he said I thought I might
never see another Saturday night However no one was as close to launching a missile
as it is commonly thought. Khrushchev and Kennedy were engaged in diplomatic
negotiations to avoid conflict as best as they could. A series of letters between the
soviet premier and U.S. president reveal their peaceful intentions. In a letter from
Kennedy in October 1962 to Nikita Khrushchev, Kennedy writes, At our meeting in
Vienna and subsequently, I expressed our readiness and desire to find, through
peaceful negotiation, a solution to any and all problems that divide us.
3
Khrushchev
was a bit more hard headed, even denying the quarantine in one letter, but also voices
his distaste for conflict,
I think you will understand me correctly if you are really concerned about the
welfare of the world. Everyone needs peace: both capitalists, if they have not lost
their reason, and, still more, Communists, people who know how to value not
only their own lives but, more than anything, the lives of the peoples. We,
Communists, are against all wars between states in general and have been
defending the cause of peace since we came into the world. We have always
regarded war as a calamity, and not as a game nor as a means for the
attainment of definite goals, nor, all the more, as a goal in itself. Our goals are
clear, and the means to attain them is labor. War is our enemy and a calamity for
all the peoples.

2
"The Cuban Missile Crisis: Decision Making Under Pressure." 2010. 30 May. 2014
<http://www.thepresidency.org/storage/documents/Cuban_Missile_Crisis.pdf>
3
"Kennedy-Khrushchev Exchanges - Office of the Historian." 2013. 30 May. 2014
<https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1961-63v06/comp1>
It is thus that we, Soviet people, and, together with US, other peoples as well,
understand the questions of war and peace. I can, in any case, firmly say this for
the peoples of the Socialist countries, as well as for all progressive people who
want peace, happiness, and friendship among peoples.
4

As neither party desired a war, Khrushchev proposed a compromise. He desired a deal
with Kennedy. Khrushchev would promise to remove all missiles from Cuba and never
install any more. In turn Kennedy would remove the United States missiles from Turkey
and pledge not to invade Cuba. Both would be subject to UN investigations to ensure
that all the missiles have been removed, thus increasing the security of both nations.
Although Khrushchev seemed stubborn at first, he was willing to compromise, and when
the khrushchev-Kennedy letters are analyzed, it is apparent that the Cuban missile
crisis may not be as dangerous as some people believed. Because of the diplomatic
negotiations between The President, and The Soviet Premier, the world was spared
from all out Nuclear War.
The reason that the negotiations were successful was in no way by chance.
Neither party had any desire to ignite a world war that would cost millions of lives on
both sides. The actions taken by Khrushchev and Kennedy were very deliberate, with a
peaceful resolution being their only intention. Kennedys actions directly reflect his
desire for peace. The fact that he chose a naval blockade over other options indicates
his desire for a peaceful resolution to the Cuban missile crisis. He remained calm and
turned down many harsher actions such as an air strike to disable Cuban missile silos.
Kennedy believed this would have severe consequences. The scenario that Kennedy
believed would occur would be a retaliatory series of airstrikes in Turkey on American
missile silos. This in turn would call for more US action and the North Atlantic Treaty
Organization would be drawn into a third world war. Kennedy knew that this would
portray the United States as an aggressor, and that is not what he wanted. Several
members of EXCOM including Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson advocated air strikes
followed by a full scale invasion of Cuba. Kennedy disregarded this option because he
knew that it would call for a Soviet invasion of an American ally, presumably, West
Berlin. When EXCOM chose a naval blockade they gave the Soviet Union an option to
back down.
5

Two wise, and learned military men of antiquity, Sun Tzu, and Vegetius warned
posterity in their respective books that you must leave your enemy a way out.

4
"Kennedy-Khrushchev Exchanges - Office of the Historian." 2013. 30 May. 2014
<https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1961-63v06/comp1>
5
Seibert, EW. "THE CUBAN MISSILE CRISIS - Hawaii Pacific University." 2003.
<http://www.hpu.edu/CHSS/History/GraduateDegree/MADMSTheses/files/2003EdwardSeibert.pdf>
Without heeding that advice, The Cuban Missile Crisis would have erupted into
conflict. When an animal is cornered and has no chance of escape, it will
suddenly gain great courage and resist its predator with impressive ferocity,
fighting a last stand. When, however, an escape route is available, the animal will
inevitably flee for its life. Men too are animals, and our instincts are not far off
from creatures of the wild. A blockade afforded the Soviets a critically necessary
way out.
6
(Seibert 32)
When Kennedy chose a blockade over the many other options, he was leaving the
Soviets an escape route. Instead of being forced into escalating matters, a blockade
was made to pressure Soviets into backing down without any conflict. When
Khrushchev was presented with the blockade, he chose the escape route when he
made the agreement with the United States. Khrushchev himself had no desire for war
either. His original intention for installing nuclear weapons in Cuba was not even to
launch against the United States. Khrushchev gave the nukes to Castro to show
backing for his communist government. In letters between Castro and Khrushchev,
Castro proclaims his immense gratitude and personal admiration towards Nikita
Khrushchev. I convey to you the infinite gratitude and recognition of the Cuban people
to the Soviet people, who have been so generous and fraternal, along with our profound
gratitude and admiration to you personally. We wish you success with the enormous
task and great responsibilities which are in your hands.
7
Evidently, Khrushchevs
support gained the trust of Cuba and Castro. When Khrushchev gave nuclear weapons
to Castro they were not meant to be used for offensive purposes. He wanted the
missiles to be used as a deterrent to U.S. attacks on Cuba, after the failed Bay of Pigs
invasion. He had no intention of igniting a nuclear crisis with the United States. He
proves this when he denies Castro the permission to fire a nuke at the United States. I
believe that the imperialists' aggressiveness makes them extremely dangerous, and that
if they manage to carry out an invasion of Cuba--a brutal act in violation of universal and
moral law--then that would be the moment to eliminate this danger forever, in an act of
the most legitimate self-defense. However harsh and terrible the solution, there would
be no other.
8
When Castro refers to the Solution, he is of course bringing up the
possibility of a nuclear attack on the United States. It is never said for sure, but it is
likely Khrushchev would have denied Castro the ability to fire a missile at the United
States. As the crisis was coming to a close, he urged Castro not to give the United

6
Seibert, EW. "THE CUBAN MISSILE CRISIS - Hawaii Pacific University." 2003.
<http://www.hpu.edu/CHSS/History/GraduateDegree/MADMSTheses/files/2003EdwardSeibert.pdf>
7
"Cuba Missile Crisis / Khrushchev / Castro letters ... - Cubanet." 2011. 30 May. 2014
<http://www.cubanet.org/htdocs/ref/dis/10110201.htm>
8
"Cuba Missile Crisis / Khrushchev / Castro letters ... - Cubanet." 2011. 30 May. 2014
<http://www.cubanet.org/htdocs/ref/dis/10110201.htm>
States any type of provocation to invade, and to show patience, firmness and more
firmness.
9

A new element of the cold war arose from the Cuban Missile Crisis. The Cuban
Missile Crisis was the first time that mutually assured destruction was mentioned.
Mutually assured destruction means that there can be no winner from nuclear war.
What it says is that if either the U.S. or U.S.S.R. launched a nuke at one another, the
last thing the other would do is fire as many nukes as they can back. The theory of
mutually assured destruction is what made nuclear war completely unacceptable to
either party. MAD was a huge disincentive to Khrushchev when he considered the
nuclear imbalance. At the time, America had around 7 times more nukes than the
Soviets. However the Soviets estimated that there were up to 15 times more nukes,
including Jupiter and Thor missiles in Turkey and Eastern Europe which were fixed on
Russia. Khrushchevs awareness of Americas weapons ensured that he would not
allow Cuba to fire a single missile, and there was nowhere near as much danger as
previously assessed.
Although the Cuban Missile Crisis was the closest to nuclear war the world has
ever come, it was not nearly as close as most people believe. Secret letters between
the White House and The Kremlin reveal that neither party had any interest in war, and
both sides were putting all of their effort into finding a peaceful compromise. Even if
things escalated to the point of warfare, it is unlikely that either power would have fired
nuclear weapons at each other because of the theory of mutually assured destruction.
Luckily Khrushchev and Kennedys determination for peace prevailed, and the world
was spared from what would undoubtedly be the most devastating event in history.









9
"Cuba Missile Crisis / Khrushchev / Castro letters ... - Cubanet." 2011. 30 May. 2014
<http://www.cubanet.org/htdocs/ref/dis/10110201.htm>