Goals and objectives
- Prevent the Soviet Union from bringing in more nuclear armament
- Destruction of nuclear weapons already brought by the Soviet Union into Cuba
- Prevent direct military confrontation between the United States and the Soviet Union
- Maintaining and protecting American values in the face of conflict
Introduction
The Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962 was a 13-day confrontation between the United States of America and the Soviet Union. The issues present during this confrontation between these two countries were primarily grounded in the fact that the Soviet Union was deploying missiles in Cuba (Norris & Kristensen, 2012). The president during this crisis was the primary decision maker. The president at the time was tasked with successfully resolving the Cuban Missile Crisis (Hayes, 2019). President Kennedy’s course of action and decision were guided by a number of pressure points. These included issues such as public opinion, military and economic consideration, as well as diplomatic alliances. Public opinion on how the president handled the Cuban missile crisis was a matter that handled word glee and could have made President Kennedy lose public approval (Nunez, 2022). Political, military, and economic considerations were significant pressure points that had a significant influence on how the Cuban Missile Crisis was handled. This is because prior to the Cuban Missile Crisis, the United States had a failed coup attempt to remove Fidel Castro’s government. Therefore, this meant that the subsequent decisions, especially when it comes to the military, needed to be strategic as another loss would not only make the United States appear weak but would also locally have political implications (Kokoshin, 2012).
Thesis
President John F Kennedy’s actions during the Cuban missile crisis of 1962 were majorly influenced by the need for the United States to prevent the escalation of the conflict into a nuclear conflict. The need to prevent further escalation of the crisis was necessitated by political, military, and psychological factors. By careful consideration of these factors the interdependence of these factors, President John. F . Kennedy was able to successfully navigate through the foreign policy challenge that was brought about by the Cuban Missile Crisis and prevented armed conflict between the United States and the Soviet Union.
Discussion
Civilian perception
The American populace wildly celebrated President John F Kennedy because of how he was able to handle the Cuban Missile Crisis as well as promote nationalism at the time of conflict. However, it is essential to note that the public did not know a lot about what was going on during the war (Nunez, 2022). There was a need to control the public perspective on the issue and maintain support locally because media outlets were selling fearful headlines regarding the Cuban missile crisis. This created a very anxious state because there was content anticipation of conflict escalation (Nunez, 2022). Therefore, in a bid to reduce civilian anxiety, President Kennedy resorted to strategic decision-making that would ensure there was no further escalation of conflict. This involved making decisions like the withdrawal of United States Missiles (Jupiter) after the end of the crisis. This deal was a form of compromise that was reached by the parties involved to prevent further escalation of the conflict.
Political pressure
It is also important to note that there was a need by the president to ensure that the United States did not suffer another public embarrassment after the failure of the Bay of Pigs invasion (Milestones: 1961–1968 – Office of the Historian, n.d.).The failure experienced during the Bay of Pigs invasion was blamed on a number of factors, key to them being President Kennedy’s hesitancy which led to the cancellation of additional D-day air strikes(Laykó, 2017). This placed a great deal of political pressure on the president. To establish dominance and regain political favor, President Kennedy was able to assert his position by engaging in a naval quarantine and negotiating with the Soviet Union at the same time (Weaver, 2014). This was a display of strength as he did not bow to the Soviet Union because the naval blockade was considered to be an act of aggression by the Soviet Union, but he still held his stance
Diplomatic relations
Kennedy displayed a deep understanding of international relations in his conduct during the crisis. This is because he was able to make a number of bargains, like the withdrawal of Jupiter missiles from Turkey, and still maintain a naval blockade, as he understood that the withdrawal of missiles from Turkey would be a strategic loss. However, he recognized that one of the significant reasons why the Soviet Union had established missiles in Cuba was because of the missiles the USA had set up in not only Turkey but also Italy(Fuelling, 2017). It is also important to note that in the wake of the 1960s, many Middle Eastern countries, including Israel, were in the age of nuclear proliferation. The United States took active diplomacy to call on the Middle Eastern countries to tone down on the nuclear race; therefore, the decision to have the conflict not end in aggression would be an indicator of the s precious stance the USA had taken in the aversion to countries in participating in a nuclear race, by not using its nuclear weapons.
Conclusion
The Cuban Missile Crisis was a foreign policy challenge that required President Kennedy to make strategic decisions that would ensure that he could successfully navigate the crisis. During this challenge, the principal objective was to avoid further escalation of the conflict and protect American interests. However, realizing these objectives would be a complex issue because of pressure points like public perception, diplomatic relations, and political pressures. Careful consideration of these factors was reflected in the president’s decision-making process, which saw the prevention of direct armed conflict and the protection of American interests.
References
Fuelling, C. (2017). To the brink: Turkish and Cuban missiles during the height of the Cold War. International Social Science Review, 93(1), 1–15.
Hayes, M. A. (2019). Robert Kennedy and the Cuban Missile Crisis: A Reassertion of Robert Kennedy’s Role as the President’s ‘Indispensable Partner ‘in the Successful Resolution of the Crisis. History, 104(361), 473–503.
Kokoshin, A. (2012). Reflections on the Cuban Missile Crisis in the Context of Strategic Stability. Harvard Kennedy School, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs.
Laykó, D. (2017). Causes of the Bay of Pigs invasion’s failure. Corvinus Journal of International Affairs, 2(1), 43–55.
Milestones: 1961–1968 – Office of the Historian. (n.d.). https://history.state.gov/milestones/1961-1968/cuban-missile-crisis
Norris, R. S., & Kristensen, H. M. (2012). The Cuban missile crisis: A nuclear order of battle, October and November 1962. Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, 68(6), 85-91.
Nunez, C. (2022). THE CUBAN MISSILE CRISIS: CIVILIAN RESPONSE AND EXPECTATIONS.
Weaver, M. E. (2014). The Relationship between Diplomacy and Military Force: An Example from the Cuban Missile Crisis. Diplomatic History, 38(1), 137–181.
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