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Analytical Essay: The Cuban Missile Crisis

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The Cuban Missile crisis is a historic event that lasted a total of thirteen days. It was the Soviet and Cuban response to the United States Bay of Pig invasion in 1961. After the United States invaded Cuba the USSR decided to give more support to its communist ally. The true incident started after U.S intelligence agencies found nuclear Soviet warheads in Cuba during a surveillance mission of the island. Over the thirteen days, the United States considered 6 different options. “Do nothing: American vulnerability to Soviet missiles was not new. Diplomacy: Use diplomatic pressure to get the Soviet Union to remove the missiles. Secret approach: Offer Castro the choice of splitting with the Russians or being invaded. Invasion: Full force invasion of Cuba and overthrow of Castro. Airstrike: Use the U.S. Air Force to attack all known missile sites. Blockade: Use the U.S. Navy to block any missiles from arriving in Cuba” (Allison, Graham). The United States chose to use a blockade to stop any imports going into Cuba. Kennedy also stated that any missile launched from Cuba would be followed by a retaliatory attack by the United States. Kennedy’s response only made situations more tense between the U.S and the USSR. After many days of the blockade going nowhere, the diplomatic route was the next option. An agreement was finally …show more content…

To better understand how the individual level of analysis impacted the Cuban Missile Crisis, the criteria used will be John F Kennedy, as well as his National Security Council and how their decisions have impacted the outcome of the crisis. The leaders of the USSR and Cuba, as well as the Cubans that rebelled against their own country in the Bay of Pigs invasion, also affected the outcome of the

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