Edited by Gerald Boerner
Commentary:
The Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962 haunts our memories to this day. I remember people building bomb shelters in their back yards, supplying it with food for six or more months, and listening to radio and/or TV news broadcasts for an indication that Nikita Khrushchev had stations nuclear missiles in Cuba, only 90 miles from U.S. territory. Our U-2 spy planes discovered them on one of its photoreconnaissance flights. This triggered a crisis meeting in the President John F. Kennedy’s White House.
Much debate took place to determine a course of action. Adlai Stevenson, our U.N. Ambassador, took these photos to the Security Council to get their support for action. Kennedy finally called for a naval blockade of Cuba to prevent any additional supplies, missiles, or technicians from getting to Cuba. About two weeks of confrontation ended on this day with both sides agreeing to a mutual de-escalation.
The Cuban Missile Crisis was the fourth major confrontation of the Cold War. It had been preceded by the Berlin Blockade/Airlift, the Suez Canal Crisis, and the Yom Kippur War. This type of brinksmanship usually pitted proxy states against each other rather than a direct confrontation of the U.S. and Soviet Union. Each of these superpowers had sufficient nuclear weapons to assure that any conflict using these weapons would result in “Mutually Assured Destruction”.
But now it’s time to dive into our brief exploration of this important event of the Cold War. So, let’s proceed with a look, not so much at the crisis overall, but how this crisis was brought to a peaceful end… GLB
These Introductory Comments are copyrighted:
Copyright©2011 — Gerald Boerner — All Rights Reserved[ 3569 Words ]
Quotations Related to Missile:
“America must be a light to the world, not just a missile.”
— Nancy Pelosi
“As far as missile defense is concerned, a very thorough consultation process is underway.”
— Gerhard Schroder
“I feel like a nuclear missile. Point me in that direction, I’ll go.”
— George Dzundza