Cuban Missile Crisis
In October of 1962, the United States and the Soviet Union became involved in a standoff regarding Russian armed nuclear weapons being placed in Cuba. Prime Minister Fidel Castro became friendly with the Soviet Union. He relied on them for military backup when needed. The United States and the Soviet Union were involved in the Cold War at the time. On October 14, 1962, an American spyplane got a picture of a Soviet ballistic missile being assembled and prepped for installation in Cuba. President Kennedy was told two days later and called together advisers and officials called ExCom. the situation was incredibly urgent for the Americans because the nuclear armed missiles were so close to the United States. If the Cuban nukes were launched, it would change the complexion of the rivalry between the United States and the USSR, which was heavily weighed toward the United States. USSR leader Nikita Khrushchev had multiple reasons for deploying nuclear weapons in Cuba. First, they felt uneasy with all the nuclear weapons aimed at the from Turkey and Western Europe so deploying the nukes would level the playing field. Another reason is that the U.S. already had a failed invasion in Cuba, so sending the nukes would discourage the U.S. from attacking Cuba again.
Kennedy and ExCom decided that nukes in Cuba would have to be dealt with as they're too much of a threat to just leave them there. They came up with a plan safe enough to not start a nuclear war. The plan was to first establish a blockade of the island to prevent the USSR from sending more nuclear missiles. Next he would send an ultimatum that the nuclear missiles in Cuba to be taken out. On October 24th, the USSR sent ships to Cuba. the ships neared the blockade and stopped short of it. An attempt to breach the blockade by the USSR ships would have more than likely ended in the use of nuclear missiles. The standoff between the ships lasted a week until the compromise was worked out. Khrushchev sent a letter to Kennedy in which he offered to have the missiles dismantled in Cuba if he removed the Americans missiles in Turkey. ExCom decided to publicly agree to the missiles being dismantled in Cuba and privately accepted the removal of the American missiles in Turkey. On October 28th, the situation officially came to a close. In 1963, a hotline between Moscow and Washington was installed to help prevent similar issues. Also, the USSR and the United States signed two treaties regarding nuclear weapons.
The Cuban Missile Crisis was the closest thing the world has seen to a nuclear war breaking out. If the Soviet ships decided to attempt to break the blockade it is highly likely nuclear missiles would have been used by both counties. It is unknown which other countries would have gotten involved if a nuclear war did break out or how much destruction would be caused. However, the threat of nukes being present in countries is enough to give them a tremendous amount of power. Further actions by the Atomic Energy Agency is needed to guarantee stability in the world and make sure that events such as the Cuban Missile Crisis never happen again.
Kennedy and ExCom decided that nukes in Cuba would have to be dealt with as they're too much of a threat to just leave them there. They came up with a plan safe enough to not start a nuclear war. The plan was to first establish a blockade of the island to prevent the USSR from sending more nuclear missiles. Next he would send an ultimatum that the nuclear missiles in Cuba to be taken out. On October 24th, the USSR sent ships to Cuba. the ships neared the blockade and stopped short of it. An attempt to breach the blockade by the USSR ships would have more than likely ended in the use of nuclear missiles. The standoff between the ships lasted a week until the compromise was worked out. Khrushchev sent a letter to Kennedy in which he offered to have the missiles dismantled in Cuba if he removed the Americans missiles in Turkey. ExCom decided to publicly agree to the missiles being dismantled in Cuba and privately accepted the removal of the American missiles in Turkey. On October 28th, the situation officially came to a close. In 1963, a hotline between Moscow and Washington was installed to help prevent similar issues. Also, the USSR and the United States signed two treaties regarding nuclear weapons.
The Cuban Missile Crisis was the closest thing the world has seen to a nuclear war breaking out. If the Soviet ships decided to attempt to break the blockade it is highly likely nuclear missiles would have been used by both counties. It is unknown which other countries would have gotten involved if a nuclear war did break out or how much destruction would be caused. However, the threat of nukes being present in countries is enough to give them a tremendous amount of power. Further actions by the Atomic Energy Agency is needed to guarantee stability in the world and make sure that events such as the Cuban Missile Crisis never happen again.