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Cuban Missile CrisisBasically, through photographic evidence convened through U-2 flights over Cuba, the US discovered that the Soviet Union was deploying nuclear missiles in Cuba. The crisis began on October 14th, 1962, and lasted for 38 days. It is regarded as the time when the Cold War came the closest to an actual nuclear confrontation between the US and the Soviet Union; it could have developed into WWIII.

With the news of this confirmed evidence, President Kennedy called together a special group of senior advisers to meet secretly at the White House to help him come to a strategy as to avoid nuclear destruction of the United States. At this point in time, at the Cuban missile base, the Soviets were capable of hitting any city in the United States sans the far reaches of Washington state. This group created by Kennedy came to be known as the ExComm, or Executive Committee of the National Security Council. These officials discussed the various options, such as an immediate bombing strike or an appeal to the United Nations, both of which were dismissed early on. The real options for ExComm were only military- either a naval blockade and an ultimatum, or a full-scale invasion. The blockade was eventually chosen, even though a few of the officials of ExComm, notably Paul Nitze and Generals Curtis LeMay and Maxwell Tayler, pushed for more aggressive actions.

In the end, it came down to the wire. Soviet ships threatened to break the blockade and, at the last moment, turned back. The Soviets removed the missiles- under the condition that the US removed their own missiles from Turkey. President Kennedy ordered an end to the quarantine of Cuba on November 20th.

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  • Cuba was afraid that, after the bay of pigs (in which US-backed rebels attacked Cuba and failed) the US would try to topple the Communist party there. So they went to Khrushchev, an ally, and asked for help, and received some missiles. The Americans, who happened to be spying on Cuba at the time, discovered the missiles and raised a fuss, blockading the island. Khrushchev responded by telling his commanders that they could launch the missiles at the US if the Americans made any aggressive move. The world was sitting on the brink of nuclear war. Khrushchev realized this and, knowing that nuclear war would probably kill all human life, gave the order to remove the missiles.
  • The Cuban Missile Crisis occurred in October 1962. When the Soviet Union secretly put nuclear missiles on the island of Cuba, it nearly started a nuclear war between the U.S. and the Soviet Union. The missiles were discovered by routine spy-plane surveillance. The missiles were still in the process of being made launch-ready. However, President Kennedy had very little time to make a decision regarding what to do about it. His military advisers all but demanded a full-scale air strike, followed by an invasion of the island. Instead, President Kennedy order the U.S. Navy to "quarantine" the island by not allowing any Soviet ships to travel to Cuba. This, combined with diplomacy, forced Soviet Premier Khrushchev's hand, and the missiles were withdrawn.
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12y ago
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11y ago

The Cuban Missile Crisis was a conflict primarily between the United States and the Soviet Union. This crisis was brought on after the Soviets placed nuclear missiles in Cuba, which is very close to the United States. This is considered a crisis because the missiles placed in Cuba were dangerous since they could have easily been launched at the United States, hence starting the world's first nuclear war.

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12y ago

The missiles where in Cuba, placed there by the Soviet Union. President Kennedy wanted them gone, too close for comfort. Missiles were removed.
It was between the US and Cuba it was feared that Cuba had missles that were aimed and ready to be launched at America.

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12y ago

The Cuban Missile Crisis was the closest the world has ever been to WW3 and a nuclear war. It happened in 1962 when the Soviet Union discovered U.S. Jupiter Nuclear Missiles in Turkey, which was closer to Moscow than the Soviet's comfort. In retaliation, the Soviets began to build nuclear missiles silos in Cuba, which is awfully close to Washington D.C. and the C.I.A. found out about this and President Kennedy issued a navel blockade of Cuba, preventing the nukes from reaching Cuba. And at the point when the Soviet ships discovered this, the tensest staring contest of the 20th century started; between the U.S. Navy and the Soviet Navy.

The Soviets were ordered to wait until further orders and the U.S. Navy were ordered to obliterate anything that tried to cross their line. If the Soviets continued or if they didn't get their order in time, the world would've been a VERY different place today. During the stand off, both the Soviet Union and America prepared to go to total war with the other, whilst Soviet Premier Kruschev and President Kennedy had intense negotiations to advert a nuclear catastrophe and about two weeks later, a agreement was met. The Soviets agreed to dismantle their silos in Cuba and turn their ships around in exchange that the U.S. dismantle her Jupiter Missile System in Turkey and diplomacy prevailed. The Crisis really altered the coarse of the Cold War and helped to slow it down (given that both powers felt the gravity of what they were doing) and it put a hotline between the President and Premier in case another crisis were to emerge.

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13y ago

The Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962 was the closest the USA and Soviet Union ever came to nuclear war. A US spy plane took photographs of Russian missiles in Cuba. Cuba is 90 miles off the coast of Florida. President Kennedy told Nikita Krushchev, the Russian Prime Minister to remove the missiles. Krushchev refused to do so. Kennedy ordered a naval blockade of Cuba - nothing in or out. In response, The Soviet Navy headed towards Cuba to take on the US Navy. Kennedy left the blockade in place,. Krushchev backed down and had the Soviet ships return to the Soviet Union. Dean Rusk, the American Secretary of State stated"We are eyeball to eyeball with the enemy and he just blinked." The way Kennedy handled this crisis led historians to believe it was Kennedy's finest hour. The Soviets removed the missiles from Cuba and as a show of good faith, Kennedy had American missiles removed from Turkey.

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11y ago

It was a crisis because it almost led to a nuclear WWIII, which would basically mean the end of life on the planet, as both sides had nukes. It was the closest the Doomsday Clock has ever been to midnight.

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15y ago

The Soviets placed nuclear missiles in Cuba. They had to be removed. We moved military forces towards Cuba with the intent to destroy them. The Soviets removed them.

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The Cuban missile crisis started on October 16, 1962


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The Cuban Missle Crisis was done in 1984


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The united states and the soviet union came very close to nuclear war during the?

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