The Cuban Missile Crisis

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The Cuban Missile Crisis

Causes

  • American humiliation of the fact that Cuba was a country so close to the USA, and yet it was still communist.
  • Failed American CIA invasion of the Bay of Pigs at Cuba.
  • Popularity of Fidel Castro made the Americans feel threatened.
  • Nuclear missiles being planted by Kennedy in Turkey, and by Khrushchev in Cuba.
  • Americans facing the risk of a nuclear attack by the nuclear missiles in Cuba.

Effects

  • Risk of a potential nuclear war between the two superpowers of the world.
  • Deal over Turkey had been kept secret, which as a result damaged Khrushchev's image and led to his downfall in 1964.
  • European allies of the USA felt as if the Americans thought them to be insignificant, considering how little they consulted them during such a critical period of time.This further caused France to pull out of NATO.
  • The Chinese were disappointed with the way Khrushchev dealt with the situation at Cuba. They thought that Khrushchev appeared as weak and cowardly when he removed the missiles. This encouraged China to follow their own independent line of world politics.
  • Both the sides realised how close they had come to an actual nuclear war, and to prevent such level of conflict from being formed again, a special telephone 'hotline' was set up so that the leaders could communicate with one another easily during a period of hostility.

Overall summary

The Cuban Missile Crisis happened due to the insecurity of the USA. This crisis damaged the image of the USSR and its leader, and weakened the alliances the two superpowers had with other countries. 

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