Soviet Union

History

02/21/14

The New World Order

In 1962, the Soviet Union was desperately behind the United States in the arms race. Soviet missiles were only powerful enough to be launched against Europe but U.S. missiles were capable of striking the entire Soviet Union. In late April 1962, Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev came up with the idea of placing intermediate-range missiles (1,000-5,500 km) in Cuba. The idea of a deployment in Cuba would double the Soviet strategic arsenal and provide a real discouragement to a potential U.S. attack against the Soviet Union.

While the idea was still simmering, Fidel Castro was looking for a way to defend his island nation from an attack by the United States. Castro approved of Khrushchev’s plan to place missiles on the island. Since October of 1962, the world had gone through a major event that caused it to change as we know it. For fourteen days, the world stood on the verge of a nuclear war. The world would never be the equivalent due to this event that is now known as the Cuban Missile Crisis.

The Soviets were building nuclear missile bases on the island of Cuba, which the government of United States had discovered. They started to build these bases because the Soviets wanted to close the missile gap due to the fact the U.S had them out powered. Hoping the United States wouldn’t find out, the Soviet Union placed nuclear weapons in Cuba after the they promised they would not attempt to. The plan almost worked and was nearly completed until a U.S. U-2 spy plane discovered the bases. The United States demanded withdrawal from the Soviets. On October As these events unraveled before the United States, the world began to hold its breath and watch.

Looking back at the events and how John Kennedy handled the situation I do not believe that he made the right decision. Instead of dropping the atomic bomb which killed many of innocent lives of everyday people, which is believed to roughly 66,000 causalities I felt that the...