Download The 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis: Three Perspectives

The 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis: Three Perspectives
The Basic Scenario
On October 16, 1962 President John F. Kennedy was informed that the Soviet Union was building launching sites in
Cuba for ballistic missiles with a range of 1000 miles. Cuba is approximately 90 miles from the United States. The
missiles could have carried warheads 60 times more powerful than the atomic bomb that destroyed Hiroshima.
Kennedy called together a group of advisors (informally named the EX COMM) who weighed several strategies for
responding to the presence of missiles in Cuba.
Other important information to note at the time of the Cuban Missile Crisis:
- The U.S. possesses nuclear weapons in Turkey, about the same distance from the Soviet Union as Cuba is from the
U.S. These nuclear weapons were scheduled to be dismantled (only to the knowledge of the top government
officials, however) in the near future.
- The U.S. had already failed to invade Cuba at the Bay of Pigs.
- Military leaders had 180,000 troops ready to invade Cuba
- The Soviet Union had tactical nuclear missiles already installed in Cuba to launch at an invasion force.
President Kennedy's first reaction to the information about the missiles in Cuba was to call a meeting to discuss
what should be done. Fourteen men attended the meeting and included military leaders, experts on Latin
America, representatives of the CIA, cabinet ministers and personal friends whose advice Kennedy valued. This
group became known as the Executive Committee of the National Security Council. Over the next few days
they were to meet several times. During their discussions they considered several options.
(1) Do nothing. The United States should ignore the missiles in Cuba. The United States had military bases in
127 different countries including Cuba. The United States also had nuclear missiles in several countries close to
the Soviet Union. It was therefore only right that the Soviet Union should be allowed to place missiles in Cuba.
(2) Negotiate. The United States should offer the Soviet Union a deal. In return for the Soviet Union
dismantling her missiles in Cuba, the United States would withdraw her nuclear missiles from Turkey and Italy.
(3) Invasion. Send United States troops to Cuba to overthrow Castro's government. The missiles could then be
put out of action and the Soviet Union could no longer use Cuba as a military base.
(4) Blockade of Cuba. Use the United States Navy to stop military equipment reaching Cuba from the Soviet
Union.
(5) Bomb Missile Bases. Carry out conventional air-strikes against missiles and other military targets in Cuba.
(6) Nuclear Weapons. Use nuclear weapons against Cuba and/or the Soviet Union.
Instructions
1. Read on your own and decide what you would do in this event – 5 minutes
2. Debate with your table group your decisions. With your table group write out the
following:
1) Rank all 6 choices from 1-6, 1 being the best, 6 being the worst
2) Explain in at least 3 sentences, why you chose your top choice and why you chose your
worst choice
- 20 minutes
3. Debate your group vs. the other groups in the class. DEFEND YOUR CHOICE!!! – 20
minutes
4. The whole class will come to a consensus and compare it to what the Kennedy
Administration did in the Cuban Missile Crisis