KENNEDY, CUBAN MISSILE CRISIS & BAY OF PIGS.   Term Paper ID:21270 Click to get this paper

Essay Subject: President's leadership, handling, success/failure, objectives in 1961 & 1962 crises.... More...

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Paper Abstract: President's leadership, handling, success/failure, objectives in 1961 & 1962 crises. Paper Introduction: This paper will discuss the Cuban missile crisis and the involvement of John F. Kennedy's administration in the crisis. The purpose of this paper is to explain what the Cuban missile crisis was as well as how John F. Kennedy and his administration handled the crisis. This paper will also address the following issues: how the Bay of Pigs invasion related to the crisis; how Kennedy and the Democratic party played an important role in the crisis; how Kennedy delegated authority during the crisis; and how Kennedy waited until after the Bay of Pigs before making a public announcement about the crisis. Although many Americans refer to the Kennedy administration's fiasco as either the administration's fiasco as either the Bay of Pigs invasion or the Cuban missile crisis, those names are somewhat confusing. The Bay of Pigs invasion Text of the Paper: The entire text of the paper is shown below. However, the text is somewhat scrambled. We want to give you as much information as we possibly can about our papers and essays, but we cannot give them away for free. In the text below you will find that while disordered, many of the phrases are essentially intact. From this text you will be able to get a solid sense of the writing style, the concepts addressed, and the sources used in the research paper. The Kennedy Crisis: The Press, the Presidency, and Foreign Policy, Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina Press, 1983.Khrushchev, Nikita. Governor Adlai Stevenson was also ignorantabout "the true nature of U.S. The purpose of thispaper is to explain what the Cuban missile crisis was as well as how JohnF. This was called'Operation Mongoose' (Garthoff 7). Apparently Kennedy believed that he needed to maneuversecretly with respect to the invasion of Cuba, yet the press said that theywere entitled to know what he was doing under the Freedom of Informationact. But he failed to tellkey players in his administration about the plan until just before theinvasion, and, even then, he did not fully disclose all of the details ofthe upcoming invasion. Instead,Kennedy convened a group of 18 advisers which was later called theExecutive Committee of the National Security Counsel. The Bay ofPigs invasion actually occurred well before the Cuban missile crisis. One wonders why the events which occurred in 1962 are now called theCuban missile crisis After all, Kennedy succeeded in pressuring Khrushchevinto removing the missiles from Cuba. "Celebration of Fraternal Friendship on Bulgarian Soil, Speech by N.S. For example, in the beginning of the National SecurityCounsel's discussion about the crisis, many of group's members, such as theJoint Chief of Staff, opposed the idea of a blockade (Sorenson 692). According to Salinger, the Bay of Pigs invasion was Kennedy's firstmajor defeat as President (149). One final issue remains in dispute regarding the Cuban missilecrisis, One recently published book, The Missiles of October, criticizesKennedy's handling of the crisis and claims that Khrushchev, not Kennedy,was the winner in Cuba (Thompson 354-357). Robert Kennedythen led the group's discussions and steered them toward the president'spreference: a blockade. This paper will discuss the Cuban missile crisis and the involvementof John F. New York: Harper & Row, 1965.Tanzer, Lester, The Kennedy Circle, New York: Van Rees Press, 1961.Thompson, Robert Smith. Although Kennedy was harshly criticized for his handling of theCuban invasion, he could just have easily have said nothing to the pressabout it. (whom Kennedy had assigned to serve as aliaison to the United Nations) did meet with Stevenson a week before theactual invasion, Stevenson claimed that they gave him only a partialbriefing (Salinger 147). So Kennedy conveyedhis decision to push for a blockade to his brother Robert. naval ships at sea (Garthoff 69-7 ). On October 28, Khrushchev agreedto crate and return his missiles to the Soviet Union (Larson 189-193) . On October 22, 1962, Kennedy did two things: 1) he sent a message tothe Soviet Ambassador at Washington which was simultaneously telegraphed tothe American Embassy at Moscow; and 2) he delivered a public message fromthe White House by television and radio (Larson 5764). The author of that book claimsthat Kennedy somehow gave up the U.S. Over the next three weeks, the two superpowersdebated what Kennedy considered offensive weapons (other than missiles):how would they arrange for the inspection of Cuba to prove that themissiles were gone? Kennedy in Power. Kennedy's messageto the Soviets told them that he was aware of the long-range missiles andother offensive weapons systems which the Soviets had placed in Cuba. And, after Kennedy implementedhis quarantine program, the Soviets did nothing to challenge the presenceof U.S. On Sunday, November 11, 1962, 42 missiles had been'photographed on their return to the Soviet Union' (Larson 11) . Meanwhile, Salinger was kept busydrafting press releases. Levering, and Ralph B. By taking responsibilityfor his blunders in Cuba, at least Kennedy kept his straightforward imageintact. Although many Americans refer to the Kennedy administration's fiascoas either the administration's fiasco as either the Bay of Pigs invasion orthe Cuban missile crisis, those names are somewhat confusing. Cuban Crisis of 1962. Kennedy considered erecting a naval blockade to'interdict any further shipment of Soviet arms to Cuba' (Garthoff 49). While this may be the case, it wasnot openly discussed in the exchange of letters between Kennedy andKhrushchev which preceded Soviet's agreement to remove the missiles fromCuba. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1992.----------------------- 1 Although this agreement should have marked the end of the Cubanmissile crisis, it did not. decision tobase missiles in Turkey and, to a lesser extent, in Italy andGermany("Celebration" 1962). By Wednesday afternoon, April 19, 1961,the Cuban Brigade was defeated. According to Khrushchev, he was justgiving the United States a little taste of its own medicine: 'The Americanshad surrounded our country with military bases and threatened us with learnjust what it threatened us with nuclear weapons, and now they would learnjust what it feels like to have enemy missiles pointing at you' (Khrushchev492-494). governmenthad focused its attention on the removal of the IL-28 bombers (Garthoff 118-119). italso stated that the United States perceived these weapons as a threat toits security and wanted them removed, Kennedy also explained to theAmerican public his opposition to the presence of missiles in Cuba.Kennedy spoke about how the Soviet missiles posed a nuclear threat to theUnited States and told the American public that he had decided to implementa blockade or @quarantine" (Larson 59-64). Apparently, he had also decided to discuss this idea with FidelCastro. But there were hints of trouble in many of the newspaperarticles which had appeared. Kennedy wanted the missiles removed, He considered destroyingthem, pressuring the Soviets into removing them, and inducing the Sovietsthrough American concessions into removing them (Garthoff 44). Yet after the failure of the Cuban invasion, Kennedy went on recordas taking full responsibility for it (Crown 92). Reflections on the Cuban Missile Crisis. Garden City, NY: Doubleday & Company, Inc., 1966.Sorenson, Theodore C. Kennedyinherited this plan and decided to proceed with it. and how was the United States going to promise not to invadeCuba? All he has to do is read our papers.It's all laid out for him' (146). Khrushchev," Pravada, 17 May, 1962.Chayes, Abram. Although Kennedy convened this group, he did not delegate all of hisauthority to it. New York: Ballentine Books, 1961.Garthoff, Raymond L. Pierre Salinger was one of the people who worked for the Kennedyadministration during the crisis. Salinger said that the@y of Pigs invasion (and Cuban missile crisis) issues took more of his timeduring the three years and two months that he was press secretary than anyother issue (149). The Bay of Pigs invasion began on Monday morning, April 17, 1961,when Cuban Brigade 25 6 landed at the Bay of Pigs. In early 1963,Khrushchev withdrew several thousand Soviet personnel from Cuba, but thesubmarine base issues had fallen by the wayside since the U.S. Salinger was Kennedy's press secretary.One book, called the Kennedy Circle, described Salinger as one of Kennedy'sright-hand men (Tanzer, 58-81), Obviously, Salinger was one of the key menin Kennedy's administration; he was also someone whom Kennedy relied on.In his own book, With Kennedy, Salinger stated that he was not involved inthe Bay of Pigs decision and therefore did not attempt to defend thosepeople who advised Kennedy on that decision (145). The group includedthe special assistant to the president for national security affairs, theSecretary, Undersecretary, and Deputy Undersecretary of State, theSecretary, Deputy Secretary, and Assistant Secretary of Defense, theSecretary of the Treasury, presidential counsel, chairman of the JointChiefs of Staff, Assistant Secretary of State for Latin America, Ambassadorto the United Nations, appointments secretary, and a former Secretary ofState. By the spring of 1962, both Soviet andCuban leaders were concerned that the United States might attempt furtherhostile action toward Cuba (Garthoff 9), So, in 1962, the Soviets decidedto deploy mid-range missiles in Cuba. involvement in the Bay of Pigs invasion'(Salinger 147). Kennedy's administration was responsible for thecrisis, but it was also responsible for getting Khrushchev to remove themissiles. On thesame day, a U.S. With Kennedy. Several developmentsfollowed the Soviet decision to deploy missiles in Cuba in the late springof 1962: 1) the initiation of secret, intense internal negotiations betweenthe Soviets and the Kennedy administration between October 16 and October22, 1962, 2) the confrontation of the two superpowers and the negotiations,which occurred on October 22-28 which resulted in an agreement to resolvethe crisis; and 3) the negotiations which took place on October 28-November2 wherein the two wherein the two countries began to implement theagreement and the Soviets also began negotiations with Cuba. The failure of the Bay of Pigs invasion was a good example ofMurphy's Law: Anything that can go wrong will go wrong. Kennedy. Then Kennedy sent another message to Khrushchev.Kennedy's message accepted Khrushchev' s first proposal by assuringKhrushchev that, if Khrushchev guaranteed to remove the missiles from Cuba,the United States would not attack Cuba. Indeed, on November 3 , 1962, the Kennedy administration sent a secondgroup of Cuban emigres to sabotage and raid Cuba. Salinger was not the only person whom Kennedy kept in the dark aboutthe Bay of Pigs invasion. military advantage by secretlyagreeing to remove the U.S. Immediately after Kennedy gave his public speech,Salinger briefed the press correspondents on the issues and then pulledmembers of the Washington, D.C. Anotherdisappointing result of the confrontation was the escalation of the armsrace by both the United States and Soviet Union. Was it because the Cuban missile crisis was thefirst and only direct nuclear confrontation between the two superpowers?Perhaps, but the press and the Kennedy administration were probably moredisappointed with the cost of buying back the Brigade prisoners of war:about $6 million in food, drugs, medicine and cash (Larson 11). Kennedyalso delegated authority during the crisis to his brother Robert, who metwith the ambassador to the Soviet Union to ascertain the Soviet response tothe blockade (Sorenson 7 9). Although Kennedy's Brigade had failed to invade Cuba at the Bay ofPigs, Kennedy and his administration continued to think about other waysthat they could remove Castro and the presence of communist troops in Cuba. New York: Oxford University Press, 1974,Crown, James Tracy. The Bay of Pigs invasion was organized by Kennedy and hisadministration. press aside to advise them that they couldgo with the president to Virgin-la if war broke out (Kern 127). If you do, just say that you know only what you've read in thenewspapers' (145). But Kennedy had made uphis mind that a blockade would be the best decision. After the Bag of Pigs fiasco, Khrushchev believed that the U.S.intended to invade Cuba and that Kennedy was also very concerned about thepresence of Soviet missiles in Cuba. Meanwhile,Khrushchev was planning to announce the presence of missiles in Cuba(Garthoff 48-49). Negotiations on these matters lasted from October 28to November 2 , 1962. On October 16, the CIA provided Kennedy with photographs of 'SovietSS-4 launching installations under construction in Cuba' which had beentaken two days earlier by a U-2 reconnaissance airplane (Garthoff 43).This began a series of meetings between Kennedy and other senior governmentofficials. Unfortunately, Castro captured1,113 members of the Brigade and held them for ransom-which was finallyraised in December 1962 (Larson 3). Also, Salinger claimedthat he was not aware of the Bay of Pigs invasion until he got a telephonecall from Kennedy: "I want you to stick close at home tonight, Pierre. would the Soviets promise not to send more missilesback later? (Garthoff 97). Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1963.Salinger, Pierre. So by mid-April of 1961, Salinger was not aware thatthe United States was about to invade Cuba, all he knew was what he read inthe newspapers. Nikita Khrushchev was uncomfortable with thecloseness of U.S. New York: Bantam Books, 1971.Larson, David L. The Missiles of October. As the missiles were being taken out, the Kennedy administrationbegan to consider other issues. missiles to the Soviet Union, so he responded byformulating a plan to locate some Soviet missiles close to the UnitedStates. And there was a subsequent disagreementon the removal of the IL-28 bombers.- but, on November 28, 1962, Castro andKhrushchev agreed to return them as well (Larson 11). missiles in Turkey in exchange for Khrushchev'spromise to remove the missiles in Cuba. Kennedy wanted to make sure that therewere no nuclear warheads in Cuba (and, if there were, he wanted themremoved, too) He also wanted the Soviets to promise not to build asubmarine base in Cuba and to remove the Soviet combat troops which werestationed in Cuba (Garthoff 115). And, after the invasion, the Kennedyadministration was widely criticized by the press. The result of the Cuban missile crisis was probably the escalation ofthe arms race John F. Salinger later remarked that later remarked that the Bay of Pigsinvasion demonstrated, %%as no single other event during the Kennedyadministration, how difficult--if not impossible-- it is for a free, openand democratic society to mount a covert operation against an enemy thatgenerally operates in secrecy" (Salinger 15 ). But it was really the Eisenhower administrationthat initiated the Bay of Pigs invasion. However, a secondmessage sent from Khrushchev the following day was not as encouraging: nowKhrushchev wanted the United States to withdraw its missiles in Turkey inexchange for a Soviet withdrawal of missiles in Cuba (Garthoff 81). Cuban Missile Crisis. Kennedy's administration in the crisis. Fortunately, Kennedy and his staff achieved their goal withoutsubjecting the United States to a nuclear war with the Soviet Union. TheCuban missile crisis began as a Soviet response to the U.S. It was a secret plan that called for American-armed Cubanemigres to attack Cuba. This paper will alsoaddress the following issues: how the Bay of Pigs invasion related to thecrisis; how Kennedy and the Democratic party played an important role inthe crisis; how Kennedy delegated authority during the crisis; and howKennedy waited until after the Bay of Pigs before making a publicannouncement about the crisis. On October 26, Khrushchev sent a message to Kennedy stating that, ifKennedy would assure Khrushchev that the United States would not attackCuba, the Soviets could withdraw the missiles from Cuba. According to the book, CubanCrisis of 1962, "the Eisenhower administration began to recruit and trainCuban refugees to return and try to overthrow Castro" (Larson 3). Othergroup members preferred the idea of an air strike. Although Stevenson admitted that a top CIA operativeand Arthur Schlesinger, Jr. However, the United States was clearly getting whatKennedy wanted. But, even before presenting the idea of a quarantine or blockade tothe public, Kennedy delegated authority to key members of hisadministration, such as Defense Secretary Robert McNamara, who organizedmilitary research into an important and confidential 'backgrounder'document for the Pentagon (Kern 127). Levering. Khrushchev Remembers. U-2 reconnaissance plane was shot down above Cuba; thepilot was killed. Another unusual aspect of the Cuban missile crisis was the fact thatthe United States had been brought to the brink of nuclear war by adecision which was made solely by the executive branch: Kennedy neverconsulted Congress before exchanging letters with Khrushchev. Washington, D.C.: The Brookings Institution, 1989.Kern, Montague, Patricia W. Then, after Kennedy took office but a week before theinvasion, Kennedy said to Salinger, 'I can' t believe what I'm reading!Castro doesn't need agents over here. But the invasion endedalmost as quickly as it began. Youmay have some inquiries from the press about a military affair in theCaribbean. In fact, Salinger said that reports beganappearing as early as October 196 --three months before President Kennedytook office (146). So why were these events considered(by the press as well as members of his administration) damaging to thepresident's reputation? If Khrushchev wasunaware of the Kennedy administration's foreign policy with respect to Cubabefore the invasion, he certainly was aware of it afterward (Khrushchev 54 -546). The Soviet government's decision to install mid-range missiles inCuba, together with the Kennedy administration's failure at the Bay ofPigs, led directly into the Cuban missile crisis. Kennedy and his administration handled the crisis. At least he attempted to explain the situation to the public. If this paper is not what you are looking for, you can search again: Search for: or Click here to request an essay written just for you.

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