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Cuba, 1959-62, Timeline, Kennedy: better reputation in US and West; but…

- - - - Creation of nuclear cannons, backpacks, bazookas, and other types of weapons
  - - - Pros
        
        Cheaper in the long run
        
        Eisenhower keen to balance federal budget
        
        Better than expensive long-term commitment of US land forces to regions threatened by Communism
        
        Forced a diplomatic solution
        
        Alternative of all-out war terrible
      - Cons
        
        Limited options in confrontation
        
        Dien Bien Phu, 1954, did not help French; Eisenhower didn't want to use atomic bombs
        
        Led to stockpiling of nuclear weapons
        
        USSR did the same - nuclear arms race began
  - - - Hence deterred each side from attacking
- - - - Economic - 1960 - Banned imports of Cuban sugar and other commodities
      - Diplomatic - Jan 1961, the US broke off diplomatic relations with Cuba
      - Military - April 1961, the US-backed Bay of Pigs Invasion happened
    - - Cuba sold sugar to the USSR instead; the USSR sold oil and weapons to Cuba in return
      - Cuba was pushed closer to the USSR; became more openly associated with Communism
      - Bay of Pigs made Kennedy look weak to the world and especially the USSR
        US appeared hostile and untrustworthy
  - - - Rest of 1961 - Soviets sending arms to Cuba
        
        May 1962 - USSR publicly admits it's selling arms to Cuba
        
        July 1962 - Cuba now has the best-equipped army in Latin America
        1000s of Soviet missiles, jet bombers and fighters, patrol boats, radar, tanks and Soviet technicians
        
        11 September 1962 - Kennedy warns USSR that he will use "any means necessary" to prevent Cuba from becoming an offensive/nuclear military base. The USSR claims they have no intention to put nuclear missiles on Cuba
        
        14 October 1962 - American U2 spy plane flies over Cuba and photographs Soviet nuclear missile sites under construction
- - - - Especially sugar export trade
      - By late 1950's US businesses owned:
        
        90% of Cuban mines
        
        80% public utilities
        
        50% railways
        
        40% sugar production
        
        25% bank deposits
      - Source of cheap labour
- - - - Nationalised industries - sugar production, oil refinement, taking over businesses owned by Americans or wealthy Cubans
      - Land reform
        
        Land ownership capped; land taken from wealthy landowners and redistributed to peasants
      - Collectivised farms
        
        Joining farms together to improve productivity
      - Increased education
        
        Opened new schools and nurseries
      - Nationalised healthcare
      - One-party govt.
      - Restricted religious freedom
      - Removed political opponents; executed many
      - Closed down casinos and brothels
      - Advertised Cuba as discrimination-free holiday destination for African Americans
  - - - Kept control of Guantanamo Bay naval base
      - CIA auth. by Eisenhower to try overthow Castro
        
        Assassination attempts
        
        Poison
        
        Explosives
        
        Exploding cigar
        
        Trying to discredit him by exposing him to LSD just before an important broadcast
      - July 1960 - US stopped buying Cuban sugar; made up 80% of Cuba's total export market. Later in the year, the US banned all trade with Cuba
      - January 1961 - the US broke off all diplomatic relations with Cuba
      - April 1961 - Bay of Pigs invasion
- - - - Kennedy was briefed when he became President; keen to conceal US involvement; willing to supply training and equipment but not US troops
  - - - All of the invading exiles were killed, captured or surrendered within a few days
      - Met by 20,000 Cuban troops.
      - What went wrong?
        
        Cuban planes heavily attacked Brigade 2506 (Cuban-exile invasion force)
        
        Ground force had to deal with:
        bad weather
        soggy equipment
        insufficient ammunition
        
        Castro ordered 20,000 troops to counter the exiles
        
        JFK sent 6 American fighter planes and B-26s an hour too late - shot down by Cubans, invasion crushed later that day
        
        Castro already knew
    - - Bay of Pigs chosen as landing site to disguise US support of the invasion and to receive little resistance to the force, especially at night.
        Bad idea - landing site was more than 80 miles away from refuge in the Escambray Mountains if anything went wrong
- - - - Missiles in Turkey and Italy - threatened USSR
      - Hostile policies towards Cuba that pushed Castro towards USSR
      - Bay of Pigs invasions, and Kennedy's desire to look strong at home afterwards
      - Kennedy rejects discreet diplomacy at the start of the crisis, goes public with naval blockade
    - - Delays air attack on Cuba despite pressure from hardliners
        Makes an offer based on Khrushchev's letter of Oct 26
  - - - Sent missiles to Cuba; highly provocative; unlikely to have stayed hidden for long
        Moreover, conventional Soviet forces would probably have been enough to deter US invasion of Cuba
      - K saw JFK as weak for not responding to Berlin Wall 1961 - now testing further
      - K was keen to appear strong to critics at home after Berlin crisis
      - K denies missiles presence 23rd October, triggering the US further
      - 25th October - USSR refuses to back down; missile sites work continues
      - 27th Oct - K's second later pushes for Turkish missiles to be withdrawn - more demands
    - - Sends letter seeking resolution, 26th October
  - - - Kennedy or Khrushchev
        
        For Kennedy…
        
        Kennedy came out of the crisis with a greatly improved reputation in his own country and the West - he had stood up to Khrushchev and forced him to back down.
        
        Cuba remained a Communist state in the USA’s ‘backyard’: containment had failed.
        
        Kennedy had proved he was able to stand up to the hardline ‘hawks’ in his own government and make wise strategic decisions.
        
        There was not a nuclear war.
        
        Kennedy had to remove US missiles from Turkey, which annoyed his NATO allies (technically this was supposed to be a joint decision, not just the USA).
        
        The removal of missiles from Turkey was kept secret so the US did not publicly lose face.
        
        For Khrushchev….
        
        Khrushchev claimed the crisis as a victory and was able to present himself as a responsible peacemaker who had been willing to compromise.
        
        Cuba remained a valuable ally for the USSR and a useful base to support Communists in Latin America.
        
        The USA removed its nuclear missiles from Turkey, reducing the threat to the USSR.
        
        Khrushchev had to keep the removal of US missiles from Turkey secret, so he was unable to use it for propaganda purposes.
        
        Khrushchev had been forced to back down and remove Soviet missiles from Cuba - this was regarded as a humiliating climb-down by hardliners in the Kremlin and by the Soviet military. This may have contributed to his removal from power by his rivals in 1964 and his replacement by Brezhnev.
        
        The missile gap remained - the USSR went on to develop a stockpile of ICBMs at great expense but it never caught up with the USA.
      - What about Cuba and Castro?
        
        Remains Communist state to this day, free from US control
        
        Castro very upset by K's deal but needed support of USSR so could do little about it
        
        Cuba remained an important military base for Communist supporters in South America
        
        Cuba kept control of the US companies and assets he had nationalised during the revolution