Crisis over Cuba

Cuba is an island nation only nin ety miles from

rhccoast ofthe United States. In 1951J a revolutionary

reformer named Fidel Castro took over its

government. Cuba's ban ks, railroads and many

other businesses were owned by Americans at rlus

rime. So, too, were many of its big sugar

plantations.

Castro needed money to make changes III Cuba.

To obtain ir he began to take over Americanowned

businesses. In the op inion of rhc United

States government this was stealing American

propt'rry. Not only this, but Castro seemed to be

organizing a com mun ist state right on the doorstep

of the United States.

In 1960 President Eisenhower agreed to give

weapons an d ships to refugees from Cuba who

wanted to overthrow Cas tro. Whl'n Eisenhower

retired in J anuary. IlJ61, the plan was supported

also by the new President, Joh n F. Kennedy.

On April 17, 1961, a fo rce of lAW ant i-Castro

Cubans landed at the Bay of Pigs on Cuba's sou th

coast. Castro had ranks and 20,000 men waiting,

Within days the invaders we re all captured or

killed. But Castro believed [hat Kennedy would

attack again, so he asked the Sevier Union for

help. Khrushchev sent him shiploads of rifles,

ranks, and aircratr. Kennedy grew worried and

o rdered a dose watch to be kept on Cuba.

On Sunday, October 1..1-, 1962, an American U-2

spy plane flew high over the island raking photographs

. They showed Russian missile launching

sites being bui lt. What had happ ened was this:

Ever since th e U-2 incident of 1%0 Khrushchev

had been making threats agains t the United Stares.

T hese had alarmed Kenned y. Although the

Americans already had mo re long-range missiles

[han the Russians, Kennedy ordered nearly a

thousand more. T he new missiles tipped [he

"balance ofterror" strongly In favor ofthe United

Scates. When Castro asked for help, Khr ushchev

saw a cha nce to level up the balance of [error. lie

would rhrearcn the United States from miss ile

bases on its own doorstep- Cuba.

Kenn edy was shocked by the U-2 photographs.

"This IS the week I better earn my salary," he said

grimly. Some adv isers wanted him to send bombers

to destro y the missile bases. He also thou ght

about sending American soldiers to captu re them.

But instea d he ordered Amcrican ships and aircra ft

to set up a blockade. They we re to stop any Soviet

ships carrying more missile equipment ro Cuba.

Kenned y then told Khrushchev to take away the

Soviet missiles and destroy the bases. He warned

that any missile fared from Cuba would be treated

as a direct Soviet attack on the United States and

o rdered 156 lon g-r ange missiles aimed at th e

Soviet Union to be made ready [Q fa re,

For tell terrifying da ys in O ctober 1<)62, the world

trembled on the edge o f nucl ear war. People

wai ted in fear fo r the next news flash on their

rad ios and televisions.. Finally Khru shchev ordered

his technicians in Cuba to destroy the launching

sires and retu rn rhe missiles ro the Soviet Unio n.

In return, Kennedy called off rhe blockade and

promised to leave Cuba alone. Privately. he also

ag reed to.rcmovc American missiles sited on the

bo rder of the Soviet Union in T urkey, The mo st

dangerous crisis of the Cold War was over.

12J.C.

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