Wednesday, October 14, 2009

Cuban Missile Crisis


The Cuban Missiles crisis was one of the major events in both American and World history. More than 200 million lives both American and Russian could have been lost, that is not taking into account the Cubans. Had war began; this could have gone down in history as one of the worst catastrophic events that could have brought another world war close to hand. How did these two states, which were allies during the Second World War, become bitter enemies? A better question yet- how did Kennedy and Khrushchev manage to put their competition behind to come to an agreeable outcome? There exist no black and white answers to these questions, but more puzzling is what appears to have been negligence for the Cubans whose lives could also have been affected if war was to break out. This crisis taught the world that the little powers or states do not matter in the long run. While Cuba might have gotten the protection and a promise of no future attacks, this was not about them. This was about two superpowers still in a non-combat struggle termed as the ‘cold war’. This is why to the Soviets; it was not a Cuban crisis but a Caribbean crisis. Fidel Castro realized too late that he was not the key player in the crisis. He realized that, just like the Bay of Pigs invasion, this was another crisis that he had to deal with, henceforth the name October Crisis. It was late before Castro discovered that, Cuba was a lynchpin, on what was an ongoing strife between the Soviet and the US. Kennedy walked with the glory, Khrushchev walked away with his convictions and shame, and Castro remained in Cuba still facing US’s antagonism.

It was obvious that after the crisis, the Soviet people were unhappy with the situation with the US especially when it wasn’t long before Khrushchev was demoted from power. The Soviet and the US were in constant argument especially about Berlin. The US considered themselves as the ally of Germany’s future and USSR was seen as holding back the progress. Therefore, events like the Berlin Blockade only intensified the tension between the Soviets and the US. All parties involved felt misunderstood especially when there was a lot of history between them. During the crisis, several rights were broken, like the right for the Soviets to trade with Cuba, which was violated by Kennedy’s blockade. In the face of the international community especially in the west, it was Kennedy who was much credited for the peaceful solution of the crisis. However, the real man behind the solution was Khrushchev. He is the one who made a choice to not go into Cuba through the blockade and when he was given an ultimatum, he made a choice that was a suicide to his political career.

All three sides wanted to avoid war that seemed inevitable. Cubans wanted protection from the United States, and the offer of help from the Soviets was much welcome. However, Castro realized that he had provided the US and the Soviet another warring ground. Kennedy and Khrushchev, being described as men of integrity, despite their advisers saw this as a bargaining chip. At a time that both political realms had been taught to distrust each other, these two world leaders decided to take a chance and trust each other’s word. In the process, they were able to prevent a war that could have resulted into casualty numbers worse than both of the world wars combined. The Soviets were quite aware of the relationship between Cuba and the United States. They chose to ally themselves with the very same regime that the United States was trying to eliminate. There were also the missiles in Turkey and Italy under the control of the US that were pointed to the Soviets. To add to this equation was the conflict between the soviets and the US in Berlin. Through out the negotiation, US promised to not attack Cuba and secretly remove the missiles in Turkey. In the end, the Soviets got what they wanted. Khrushchev in front of the Supreme Soviet stated, “At the request of the Cuban government we shipped arms there…Our Purpose was only the defence of Cuba’” (Allison, 47). Therefore, while Khrushchev lost face in the global platform and his own state; Kennedy got the glory. However, Soviets (Khrushchev) objectively got what they wanted namely, Cuban protection and the removal of the missiles in Turkey.

4 comments:

Azazel said...

lol likkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

Anonymous said...

I live in Dallas. Despite the fact that you will find nearly twenty,000 more males within this metropolis than ladies,
this figure is really a little bit deceptive. There is certainly a higher quantity of
gay males, and also immigrant employees, who skew the figures.

All the locations on the checklist appear to become
large towns that probably have equivalent kinds of populations.
If you're just seeking for a fantastic spot to party then it really is wonderful. If you are searching to get a boyfriend or partner, you will be disappointed.

Check out my web page marcus london

Anonymous said...

Also, talking of sex schooling in the Gym. I was at a gaming club
years ago that was below a gym, and I was speaking about joining it, and the
other individuals mentioned it was quite well known that it was a gay gym.
I stated I was? curious about becoming gay, and they
mentioned "Go there and you happen to be confident to uncover out!", lol.
..

my web site ... watch 60 minute stamina free

Anonymous said...

Agree entirely. One particular of my pet peeves
is the way western media constantly uses the phrase "China" when what they are actually
speaking about will be the unelected CCP regime, which not merely is just not equivalent to China
(=the country, the individuals, the civilization, the culture),
but will not have any legal, political, or moral proper to signify China.


Also visit my web site - attracting women tips