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2) The Cuban missile Crisis (1959) - Coggle Diagram
2) The Cuban missile Crisis (1959)
The crisis
The USSR initially said that they would not respect the 'quarantine zone'. They said that any action towards their ships would provoke military action
If the Soviet and American ships had engaged in any battles or conflict, it could have provoked a nuclear war.
On the 27th of October 1962, Krushchev and Kennedy compromised. The Soviet Union would not place any missiles on Cuba, if the USA removed its warheads (likely ICBMs) from its army bases in Europe (mainly in Italy and Turkey).
This would mean that neither superpower had missiles within range of the opposition's territory
The end of the crisis
The USA takes missiles out of Europe without telling the public (allowing Kennedy and the American hawks to save face).
On the 28th of October, Krushchev goes on television, agreeing not to send missiles to Cuba. Soviet ships never crossed the blockade and war was avoided.
Kennedys options
1) invaded Cuba and destroyed the missile sites,
2) done nothing and allowed the missile sites to be built,
3) find a creative solution in the middle ground.
Kennedys decision
On the 20th October 1962, President Kennedy decided on a 'quarantine zone'
He thought an invasion of Cuba risked nuclear war. Instead the blockade would try to stop any Soviet ships from reaching Cuba.
The consequences for the USA
The Cuban Missile Crisis showed that there was no appetite for a war between the USA and USSR. This strengthened the doves' position politically in the USA
A 'hotline' connecting the US President and Leader of the Soviet Union was created so that they could communicate immediately during a crisis.
Consequences for the USSR
Even after 1962, the Soviets accumulated more and more nuclear weapons. By the year 1965, the USA and USSR had the same number of nuclear missiles.
The USSR looked weaker than the USA. The USSR had changed its course in response to the blockade, and it was not public knowledge that American missiles had been removed in Europe.
Khrushchev was removed as the leader of the Soviet Union 2 years later.
Consequences for Cuba
Relations between Cuba and the Soviet Union remained very strong.
Brezhnev would go on to visit Cuba in 1974 as the relationship blossomed.
Nuclear Treaties
In August 1963, the Limited Test Ban Treaty was signed by the USA and USSR. Nuclear weapons could no longer be tested above ground.
The Outer Space Treaty of 1967 agreed not to use nuclear weapons in outer space. This seems like a patch to the 1963 Limited Test Ban Treaty. If nations could not test above the surface of the Earth, there was an incentive to test in space.
In 1968, both countries signed the Nuclear Non Proliferation Treaty. This stopped the USA and USSR from sharing their nuclear missiles with other nations. People believe that Israel had secured nuclear weapons in 1967.