1962 : Cuban Missile Crisis
In a televised speech of extraordinary gravity, President John F.
Kennedy announces that U.S. spy planes have discovered Soviet missile
bases in Cuba. These missile sites--under construction but nearing
completion--housed medium-range missiles capable of striking a number
of major cities in the United States, including Washington, D.C.
Kennedy announced that he was ordering a naval "quarantine" of Cuba to
prevent Soviet ships from transporting any more offensive weapons to
the island and explained that the United States would not tolerate the
existence of the missile sites currently in place. The president made
it clear that America would not stop short of military action to end
what he called a "clandestine, reckless, and provocative threat to
world peace."
What is known as the Cuban Missile Crisis actually began on October
15, 1962--the day that U.S. intelligence personnel analyzing U-2 spy
plane data discovered that the Soviets were building medium-range
missile sites in Cuba. The next day, President Kennedy secretly
convened an emergency meeting of his senior military, political, and
diplomatic advisers to discuss the ominous development. The group
became known as ExCom, short for Executive Committee. After rejecting
a surgical air strike against the missile sites, ExCom decided on a
naval quarantine and a demand that the bases be dismantled and
missiles removed. On the night of October 22, Kennedy went on national
television to announce his decision. During the next six days, the
crisis escalated to a breaking point as the world tottered on the
brink of nuclear war between the two superpowers.
On October 23, the quarantine of Cuba began, but Kennedy decided to
give Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev more time to consider the U.S.
action by pulling the quarantine line back 500 miles. By October 24,
Soviet ships en route to Cuba capable of carrying military cargoes
appeared to have slowed down, altered, or reversed their course as
they approached the quarantine, with the exception of one ship--the
tanker Bucharest. At the request of more than 40 nonaligned nations,
U.N. Secretary-General U Thant sent private appeals to Kennedy and
Khrushchev, urging that their governments "refrain from any action
that may aggravate the situation and bring with it the risk of war."
At the direction of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, U.S. military forces
went to DEFCON 2, the highest military alert ever reached in the
postwar era, as military commanders prepared for full-scale war with
the Soviet Union.
On October 25, the aircraft carrier USS Essex and the destroyer USS
Gearing attempted to intercept the Soviet tanker Bucharest as it
crossed over the U.S. quarantine of Cuba. The Soviet ship failed to
cooperate, but the U.S. Navy restrained itself from forcibly seizing
the ship, deeming it unlikely that the tanker was carrying offensive
weapons. On October 26, Kennedy learned that work on the missile bases
was proceeding without interruption, and ExCom considered authorizing
a U.S. invasion of Cuba. The same day, the Soviets transmitted a
proposal for ending the crisis: The missile bases would be removed in
exchange for a U.S. pledge not to invade Cuba.
The next day, however, Khrushchev upped the ante by publicly calling
for the dismantling of U.S. missile bases in Turkey under pressure
from Soviet military commanders. While Kennedy and his crisis advisers
debated this dangerous turn in negotiations, a U-2 spy plane was shot
down over Cuba, and its pilot, Major Rudolf Anderson, was killed. To
the dismay of the Pentagon, Kennedy forbid a military retaliation
unless any more surveillance planes were fired upon over Cuba. To
defuse the worsening crisis, Kennedy and his advisers agreed to
dismantle the U.S. missile sites in Turkey but at a later date, in
order to prevent the protest of Turkey, a key NATO member.
On October 28, Khrushchev announced his government's intent to
dismantle and remove all offensive Soviet weapons in Cuba. With the
airing of the public message on Radio Moscow, the USSR confirmed its
willingness to proceed with the solution secretly proposed by the
Americans the day before. In the afternoon, Soviet technicians began
dismantling the missile sites, and the world stepped back from the
brink of nuclear war. The Cuban Missile Crisis was effectively over.
In November, Kennedy called off the blockade, and by the end of the
year all the offensive missiles had left Cuba. Soon after, the United
States quietly removed its missiles from Turkey.
The Cuban Missile Crisis seemed at the time a clear victory for the
United States, but Cuba emerged from the episode with a much greater
sense of security. A succession of U.S. administrations have honored
Kennedy's pledge not to invade Cuba, and the communist island nation
situated just 80 miles from Florida remains a thorn in the side of
U.S. foreign policy. The removal of antiquated Jupiter missiles from
Turkey had no detrimental effect on U.S. nuclear strategy, but the
Cuban Missile Crisis convinced a humiliated USSR to commence a massive
nuclear buildup. In the 1970s, the Soviet Union reached nuclear parity
with the United States and built intercontinental ballistic missiles
capable of striking any city in the United States.
history.com/tdih.do
1797 : The first parachutist
history.com/tdih.do?action=tdihArticleCategory&id=5459
1975 : Gay sergeant challenges the Air Force
history.com/tdih.do?action=tdihArticleCategory&id=5460
In a televised speech of extraordinary gravity, President John F.
Kennedy announces that U.S. spy planes have discovered Soviet missile
bases in Cuba. These missile sites--under construction but nearing
completion--housed medium-range missiles capable of striking a number
of major cities in the United States, including Washington, D.C.
Kennedy announced that he was ordering a naval "quarantine" of Cuba to
prevent Soviet ships from transporting any more offensive weapons to
the island and explained that the United States would not tolerate the
existence of the missile sites currently in place. The president made
it clear that America would not stop short of military action to end
what he called a "clandestine, reckless, and provocative threat to
world peace."
What is known as the Cuban Missile Crisis actually began on October
15, 1962--the day that U.S. intelligence personnel analyzing U-2 spy
plane data discovered that the Soviets were building medium-range
missile sites in Cuba. The next day, President Kennedy secretly
convened an emergency meeting of his senior military, political, and
diplomatic advisers to discuss the ominous development. The group
became known as ExCom, short for Executive Committee. After rejecting
a surgical air strike against the missile sites, ExCom decided on a
naval quarantine and a demand that the bases be dismantled and
missiles removed. On the night of October 22, Kennedy went on national
television to announce his decision. During the next six days, the
crisis escalated to a breaking point as the world tottered on the
brink of nuclear war between the two superpowers.
On October 23, the quarantine of Cuba began, but Kennedy decided to
give Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev more time to consider the U.S.
action by pulling the quarantine line back 500 miles. By October 24,
Soviet ships en route to Cuba capable of carrying military cargoes
appeared to have slowed down, altered, or reversed their course as
they approached the quarantine, with the exception of one ship--the
tanker Bucharest. At the request of more than 40 nonaligned nations,
U.N. Secretary-General U Thant sent private appeals to Kennedy and
Khrushchev, urging that their governments "refrain from any action
that may aggravate the situation and bring with it the risk of war."
At the direction of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, U.S. military forces
went to DEFCON 2, the highest military alert ever reached in the
postwar era, as military commanders prepared for full-scale war with
the Soviet Union.
On October 25, the aircraft carrier USS Essex and the destroyer USS
Gearing attempted to intercept the Soviet tanker Bucharest as it
crossed over the U.S. quarantine of Cuba. The Soviet ship failed to
cooperate, but the U.S. Navy restrained itself from forcibly seizing
the ship, deeming it unlikely that the tanker was carrying offensive
weapons. On October 26, Kennedy learned that work on the missile bases
was proceeding without interruption, and ExCom considered authorizing
a U.S. invasion of Cuba. The same day, the Soviets transmitted a
proposal for ending the crisis: The missile bases would be removed in
exchange for a U.S. pledge not to invade Cuba.
The next day, however, Khrushchev upped the ante by publicly calling
for the dismantling of U.S. missile bases in Turkey under pressure
from Soviet military commanders. While Kennedy and his crisis advisers
debated this dangerous turn in negotiations, a U-2 spy plane was shot
down over Cuba, and its pilot, Major Rudolf Anderson, was killed. To
the dismay of the Pentagon, Kennedy forbid a military retaliation
unless any more surveillance planes were fired upon over Cuba. To
defuse the worsening crisis, Kennedy and his advisers agreed to
dismantle the U.S. missile sites in Turkey but at a later date, in
order to prevent the protest of Turkey, a key NATO member.
On October 28, Khrushchev announced his government's intent to
dismantle and remove all offensive Soviet weapons in Cuba. With the
airing of the public message on Radio Moscow, the USSR confirmed its
willingness to proceed with the solution secretly proposed by the
Americans the day before. In the afternoon, Soviet technicians began
dismantling the missile sites, and the world stepped back from the
brink of nuclear war. The Cuban Missile Crisis was effectively over.
In November, Kennedy called off the blockade, and by the end of the
year all the offensive missiles had left Cuba. Soon after, the United
States quietly removed its missiles from Turkey.
The Cuban Missile Crisis seemed at the time a clear victory for the
United States, but Cuba emerged from the episode with a much greater
sense of security. A succession of U.S. administrations have honored
Kennedy's pledge not to invade Cuba, and the communist island nation
situated just 80 miles from Florida remains a thorn in the side of
U.S. foreign policy. The removal of antiquated Jupiter missiles from
Turkey had no detrimental effect on U.S. nuclear strategy, but the
Cuban Missile Crisis convinced a humiliated USSR to commence a massive
nuclear buildup. In the 1970s, the Soviet Union reached nuclear parity
with the United States and built intercontinental ballistic missiles
capable of striking any city in the United States.
history.com/tdih.do
1797 : The first parachutist
history.com/tdih.do?action=tdihArticleCategory&id=5459
1975 : Gay sergeant challenges the Air Force
history.com/tdih.do?action=tdihArticleCategory&id=5460
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