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The Cuban Missile Crisis was a political and military standoff between the United States and the Soviet Union in October 1962. The crisis was triggered when the US discovered that the Soviet Union had deployed nuclear missiles in Cuba, which could potentially reach major US cities. The US imposed a naval blockade of Cuba, demanding that the missiles be removed, and both sides engaged in a tense standoff that lasted for several weeks. The crisis ended when the Soviet Union agreed to remove the missiles in exchange for a US promise not to invade Cuba and a secret agreement to remove US missiles from Turkey. The crisis marked the closest the world ever came to nuclear war and had a significant impact on US-Soviet relations and the Cold War.

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President JFK's Letter to Chairman Khrushchev

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President JFK's Letter to Chairman Khrushchev

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The White House
Washington, October 22, 1962.

Sir:

A copy of the statement I am making tonight concerning developments in Cuba and the reaction of my Government thereto has been handed to your Ambassador in Washington. In view of the gravity of the developments to which I refer, I want you to know immediately and accurately the position of my Government in this matter.

In our discussions and exchanges on Berlin and other international questions, the one thing that has most concerned me has been the possibility that your Government would not correctly understand the will and determination of the United States in any given situation, since I have not assumed that you or any other sane man would, in this nuclear age, deliberately plunge the world into war which it is crystal clear no country could win and which could only result in catastrophic consequences to the whole world, including the aggressor.

At our meeting in Vienna and subsequently, I expressed our readiness and desire to find, through peaceful negotiation, a solution to any and all problems that divide us. At the same time, I made clear that in view of the objectives of the ideology to which you adhere, the United States could not tolerate any action on your part which in a major way disturbed the existing over-all balance of power in the world. I stated that an attempt to force abandonment of our responsibilities and commitments in Berlin would constitute such an action and that the United States would resist with all the power at its command.

It was in order to avoid any incorrect assessment on the part of your Government with respect to Cuba that I publicly stated that if certain developments in Cuba took place, the United States would do whatever must be done to protect its own security and that of its allies.

Moreover, the Congress adopted a resolution expressing its support of this declared policy. Despite this, the rapid development of long-range missile bases and other offensive weapons systems in Cuba has proceeded. I must tell you that the United States is determined that this threat to the security of this hemisphere be removed. At the same time, I wish to point out that the action we are taking is the minimum necessary to remove the threat to the security of the nations of this hemisphere. The fact of this minimum response should not be taken as a basis, however, for any misjudgment on your part.

I hope that your Government will refrain from any action which would widen or deepen this already grave crisis and that we can agree to resume the path of peaceful negotiations.

Sincerely,

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John F. Kennedy Presidential Library & Museum

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Letter From President Kennedy to Chairman Khrushchev, October 22, 1962

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The John F. Kennedy library and museum Cuban Missile Crisis page. Access the Kennedy Library Digital Archives, which includes 300,000 scanned documents, films, and audio clips with materials such as early drafts of the John F. Kennedy inaugural address, Fidel Castro, Bay of Pigs, Missiles, Russia, Sviet Union, John f.

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The history of the Cuban Missile Crisis - Matthew A. Jordan

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What are some modern connections to or ramifications of the Cuban Missile Crisis?

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What are some modern connections to or ramifications of the Cuban Missile Crisis?

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1. US-Cuba relations: The US and Cuba have had a complicated relationship in the decades since the crisis. The US embargo on Cuba, which was initially imposed in response to the crisis, remains in place to this day, although there have been some recent efforts to normalize relations between the two countries.

2. Arms control and disarmament: The crisis underscored the danger of nuclear weapons and the importance of arms control and disarmament. Today, the US and Russia continue to negotiate arms control agreements, and the threat of nuclear war remains a concern.

3. Ukrainian - Russian War: Recently, President Vladimir Putin has threatened nuclear war against the West. See More:

https://www.reuters.com/world/putin-update-russias-elite-ukraine-war-major-speech-2023-02-21/

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MOSCOW, Feb 21 (Reuters) - President Vladimir Putin will update Russia's political and military elite on the state of what he calls his "special military operation" in Ukraine on Tuesday with many Russians eager to know what his plans are for the year ahead.

Putin will set out his latest thinking in a speech to members of both houses of parliament and to military commanders and soldiers nearly one year after he sent troops into Ukraine, a decision that triggered the biggest confrontation with the West since the depths of the Cold War.

"At such a crucial and very complicated juncture in our development, our lives, everyone is waiting for a message in the hope of hearing an assessment of what is happening, an assessment of the special military operation," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told state television.

Putin will also give his analysis of the international situation and outline his vision of Russia's development after the West imposed sweeping sanctions on it, the Kremlin said.

The speech is due to begin at 0900 GMT in central Moscow.

The Ukraine conflict is by far the biggest bet by a Kremlin chief since at least the 1991 fall of the Soviet Union - and a gamble Western leaders such as U.S. President Joe Biden say he must lose.

Russian forces have suffered three major battlefield reversals since the war began but still control around one fifth of Ukraine.

Tens of thousands of men have been killed, and Putin, 70, now says Russia is locked in an existential battle with an arrogant West which he says wants to carve up Russia and steal its vast natural resources.

Jailed Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny accused Putin on Monday of destroying Russia's future for the sake of his own personal ambitions.

"The real reasons for this war are the political and economic problems within Russia, Putin's desire to hold on to power at any cost, and his obsession with his own historical legacy," Navalny said.

"He wants to go down in history as 'the conqueror tsar'."

With the West supporting Ukraine, China's position has come under scrutiny in recent weeks.

China's top diplomat, Wang Yi, is due to visit Moscow shortly, and may possibly even meet Putin, as the United States says it is concerned Beijing may be considering supplying weapons to Russia.

Chinese weapons supplies to Russia would risk a potential escalation of the Ukraine war into a confrontation between Russia and China on the one side and Ukraine and the U.S.-led NATO military alliance on the other.

Reporting by Guy Faulconbridge; Editing by Andrew Osborn and Alison Williams

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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Putin to update Russia's elite on Ukraine war in major speech

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MOSCOW, Feb 21 (Reuters) - President Vladimir Putin will update Russia's political and military elite on the state of what he calls his "special military operation" in Ukraine on Tuesday with many Russians eager to know what his plans are for the year ahead.

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As a result of the Cuban Missile Crisis, was communism contained or did it expand?

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As a result of the Cuban Missile Crisis, was communism contained or did it expand?

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The Cuban Missile Crisis did not result in a significant expansion or containment of communism. While the Soviet Union was forced to remove its missiles from Cuba, the overall influence of communism in the world remained largely unchanged.

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Why was the US deeply invested in the Cuban missile crisis? How did it affect the region involved?

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Why was the US deeply invested in the Cuban missile crisis? How did it affect the region involved?

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The United States was deeply invested in the Cuban Missile Crisis because the deployment of Soviet missiles in Cuba posed a direct threat to national security. The US saw the missiles as a potential attack on their homeland, as the missiles were capable of striking major US cities with nuclear weapons. Additionally, the US was concerned about the spread of communism in the Western Hemisphere and the potential for Cuba to become a Soviet ally.

"As US-Cuban relations deteriorated, Castro turned to the Soviet Union for support. The Soviets signed multiple trade and aid agreements with Cuba, provided Castro with arms and weaponry, and also gave political support to the Cuban Revolution in the United Nations and other international organizations."

https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/us-history/postwarera/1960s-america/a/the-cuban-missile-crisis

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The Cuban Missile Crisis (article) | Khan Academy

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Read about the tense 1962 standoff between the United States and the Soviet Union that nearly resulted in nuclear war.

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What did the USSR want during the Cuban Missile Crisis? How did they try to meet their goals?

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What did the USSR want during the Cuban Missile Crisis? How did they try to meet their goals?

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During the Cuban Missile Crisis, the Soviet Union wanted to establish a nuclear missile presence in Cuba as a means of countering the US nuclear capabilities in Europe and elsewhere. Specifically, they wanted to place medium-range ballistic missiles in Cuba that could potentially reach major US cities, in order to create a strategic balance of power with the United States.

To achieve this goal, the Soviet Union began to secretly transport nuclear missiles and other military equipment to Cuba, in defiance of US demands for them to stop. The Soviet Union also engaged in diplomatic efforts to defend their actions and justify their presence in Cuba, while seeking to avoid an all-out military conflict with the US.

https://www.britannica.com/event/Cuban-missile-crisis

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Table of Contents

What was the Cuban missile crisis?

When did the Cuban missile crisis take place?

What was the outcome of the Cuban missile crisis?

This article was most recently revised and updated by

Cuban missile crisis, (October 1962), major confrontation that brought the United States and the Soviet Union close to war over the presence of Soviet nuclear-armed missiles in Cuba.

Having promised in May 1960 to defend Cuba with Soviet arms, the Soviet premier Nikita Khrushchev assumed that the United States would take no steps to prevent the installation of Soviet medium- and intermediate-range ballistic missiles in Cuba. Such missiles could hit much of the eastern United States within a few minutes if launched from Cuba. The United States learned in July 1962 that the Soviet Union had begun missile shipments to Cuba. By August 29 new military construction and the presence of Soviet technicians had been reported by U.S. U-2 spy planes flying over the island, and on October 14 the presence of a ballistic missile on a launching site was reported.

After carefully considering the alternatives of an immediate U.S. invasion of Cuba (or air strikes of the missile sites), a blockade of the island, or further diplomatic maneuvers, U.S. Pres. John F. Kennedy decided to place a naval "quarantine," or blockade, on Cuba to prevent further Soviet shipments of missiles. Kennedy announced the quarantine on October 22 and warned that U.S. forces would seize "offensive weapons and associated matériel" that Soviet vessels might attempt to deliver to Cuba. During the following days, Soviet ships bound for Cuba altered course away from the quarantined zone. As the two superpowers hovered close to the brink of nuclear war, messages were exchanged between Kennedy and Khrushchev amidst extreme tension on both sides. On October 28 Khrushchev capitulated, informing Kennedy that work on the missile sites would be halted and that the missiles already in Cuba would be returned to the Soviet Union. In return, Kennedy committed the United States to never invading Cuba. Kennedy also secretly promised to withdraw the nuclear-armed missiles that the United States had stationed in Turkey in previous years. In the following weeks both superpowers began fulfilling their promises, and the crisis was over by late November. Cuba's communist leader, Fidel Castro, was infuriated by the Soviets' retreat in the face of the U.S. ultimatum but was powerless to act.

The Cuban missile crisis marked the climax of an acutely antagonistic period in U.S.-Soviet relations. The crisis also marked the closest point that the world had ever come to global nuclear war. It is generally believed that the Soviets' humiliation in Cuba played an important part in Khrushchev's fall from power in October 1964 and in the Soviet Union's determination to achieve, at the least, a nuclear parity with the United States.

The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica Adam Augustyn.

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Cuban missile crisis | History, Facts, & Significance

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Cuban missile crisis, (October 1962), major confrontation that brought the United States and the Soviet Union close to war over the presence of Soviet nuclear-armed missiles in Cuba. Having promised in May 1960 to defend Cuba with Soviet arms, the Soviet premier Nikita Khrushchev assumed that the United States would take no steps to prevent the installation of Soviet medium- and intermediate-range ballistic missiles in Cuba.

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What did the U.S. want during the Cuban Missile Crisis? How did they try to meet their goals?

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What did the U.S. want during the Cuban Missile Crisis? How did they try to meet their goals?

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During the Cuban Missile Crisis, the United States wanted the Soviet Union to remove the ballistic missiles they had deployed in Cuba. The US government saw these missiles as a direct threat to national security, as they could potentially strike major US cities with nuclear weapons.

"Kennedy decided to place a naval blockade, or a ring of ships, around Cuba. The aim of this "quarantine," as he called it, was to prevent the Soviets from bringing in more military supplies. He demanded the removal of the missiles already there and the destruction of the sites."

https://www.jfklibrary.org/learn/about-jfk/jfk-in-history/cuban-missile-crisis#:~:text=After%20many%20long%20and%20difficult,the%20destruction%20of%20the%20sites.

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For thirteen days in October 1962 the world waited-seemingly on the brink of nuclear war-and hoped for a peaceful resolution to the Cuban Missile Crisis.

In October 1962, an American U-2 spy plane secretly photographed nuclear missile sites being built by the Soviet Union on the island of Cuba. President Kennedy did not want the Soviet Union and Cuba to know that he had discovered the missiles. He met in secret with his advisors for several days to discuss the problem.

After many long and difficult meetings, Kennedy decided to place a naval blockade, or a ring of ships, around Cuba. The aim of this "quarantine," as he called it, was to prevent the Soviets from bringing in more military supplies. He demanded the removal of the missiles already there and the destruction of the sites. On October 22, President Kennedy spoke to the nation about the crisis in a televised address.

Click here to listen to the Address in the Digital Archives (JFKWHA-142-001)

No one was sure how Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev would respond to the naval blockade and US demands. But the leaders of both superpowers recognized the devastating possibility of a nuclear war and publicly agreed to a deal in which the Soviets would dismantle the weapon sites in exchange for a pledge from the United States not to invade Cuba. In a separate deal, which remained secret for more than twenty-five years, the United States also agreed to remove its nuclear missiles from Turkey. Although the Soviets removed their missiles from Cuba, they escalated the building of their military arsenal; the missile crisis was over, the arms race was not.

Click here to listen to the Remarks in the Digital Archives (JFKWHA-143-004)

In 1963, there were signs of a lessening of tensions between the Soviet Union and the United States. In his commencement address at American University, President Kennedy urged Americans to reexamine Cold War stereotypes and myths and called for a strategy of peace that would make the world safe for diversity. Two actions also signaled a warming in relations between the superpowers: the establishment of a teletype "Hotline" between the Kremlin and the White House and the signing of the Limited Nuclear Test Ban Treaty on July 25, 1963.

In language very different from his inaugural address, President Kennedy told Americans in June 1963, "For, in the final analysis, our most basic common link is that we all inhabit this small planet. We all breathe the same air. We all cherish our children's future. And we are all mortal."
Visit our online exhibit: World on the Brink: John F. Kennedy and the Cuban Missile Crisis

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In October 1962, an American U2 spy plane secretly photographed nuclear missile sites being built by the Soviet Union on the island of Cuba. Because he did not want Cuba and the Soviet Union to know that he had discovered the missiles, Kennedy met in secret with his advisors for several days to discuss the problem.