Cold War Crises - Cuban Missile Crisis

Causes - Castro revolution, takeover of Havana

January 1959

Causes - Bay of Pigs incident (4)

17 April 1961, 1500 exiles, cancelled air support, defeat in 72 hours

Causes - American sphere of influence (2)

Cuba in American sphere, Monroe Doctrine

Causes - Deterioration of Cuba-US relations (2)

US supported Batista, CIA mission to kill Castro

Causes - Building of Cuba-USSR relations

USSR support Castro, buying Soviet oil

Soviet Motives

Nuclear parity (Turkey, Italy), Nuclear base

Secret Soviet Cuban Accord

August 1962

U2 discovery of missiles + call for air strike and invasion

16 October 1962

Announcement of naval blockade (‘quarantine’) (800 then 500 miles off coast)

22 October 1962

Soviet response to blockade (3)

Seen as act of war, challenging blockade, brinkmanship

U2 spy plane shot down by soviet missile

27 October 1962

Soviet submarine misunderstanding (arming nuclear torpedo)

27 October 1962

Secret meeting between Rob Kennedy and Soviet Ambassador Dobrynin (3)

Remove missiles from Cuba, remove missiles from Turkey, US never invade Cuba

US DEFCON (Defence Readiness Condition) state

2 (highest ever)

Withdrawal of Soviet missiles starts

29 October 1962

Hotline Kremlin to White House established

1963

Impact - Long Peace (3)

More communication, mutually assured destruction, no more brinkmanship

Impact - Nuclear weapons (2)

US missiles withdrawn from Turkey, USSR not equal to US