Cuban Missile Crisis: Difference between revisions
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== Histroy == | == Histroy == | ||
[[Image:Cubacastro.gif|thumb|Description]] [[Image:Cubakhrushchev.gif|thumb|Description]] [[Image:Cubakennedy2.gif|thumb|Description]] | [[Image:Cubacastro.gif|thumb|Description]] [[Image:Cubakhrushchev.gif|thumb|Description]] [[Image:Cubakennedy2.gif|thumb|Description]] | ||
During the Cold War, the Soviet Union was perpetually behind in the arms race. To combat this in 1962, Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev decided to place intermediate-range ballistic missiles (IRBM) in Cuba, thus giving the Soviet Union the ability to launch a nuclear strike on the United States. Cuban President Fedel Castro agreed to this after the Bay of Pigs incident in 1961. The United States discovered the construction of IRBM sites on October 15, 1962, from reconnaissance photos. President Kennedy responded by imposing a naval blockade of the island and announcing that any missile attack from Cuba would be considered an attack by the Soviet Union. Premier Khrushchev agreed in a letter on October 26th that the Soviet Union would dismantle the missiles if the U.S. promised not to invade Cuba. Khrushchev sent another letter on October 27th saying that now the Soviet Union would dismantle the missiles if the U.S. would dismantle their IRBM sites in Turkey. The U.S. ignored the second letter and agreed to the terms of the first. On October 28th Khrushchev publicly announced that the Soviet Union would dismantle the missiles. | |||
Revision as of 00:58, 11 April 2006
Histroy
During the Cold War, the Soviet Union was perpetually behind in the arms race. To combat this in 1962, Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev decided to place intermediate-range ballistic missiles (IRBM) in Cuba, thus giving the Soviet Union the ability to launch a nuclear strike on the United States. Cuban President Fedel Castro agreed to this after the Bay of Pigs incident in 1961. The United States discovered the construction of IRBM sites on October 15, 1962, from reconnaissance photos. President Kennedy responded by imposing a naval blockade of the island and announcing that any missile attack from Cuba would be considered an attack by the Soviet Union. Premier Khrushchev agreed in a letter on October 26th that the Soviet Union would dismantle the missiles if the U.S. promised not to invade Cuba. Khrushchev sent another letter on October 27th saying that now the Soviet Union would dismantle the missiles if the U.S. would dismantle their IRBM sites in Turkey. The U.S. ignored the second letter and agreed to the terms of the first. On October 28th Khrushchev publicly announced that the Soviet Union would dismantle the missiles.
