Question

1. How did the Superpowers come to the brink of full-scale nuclear war over Cuba?

2. How do you think the Bay of Pigs invasion affected the popularity of President John F. Kennedy?

3. Why was the United States so concerned about the presence of missiles in Cuba?

4. “We’re eyeball to eyeball, and I think the other fellow just blinked.” Explain this quote by Secretary of State Dean Rusk with regards to the Cuban Missile Crisis.

5. How do you think the outcome of the Cuban Missile Crisis affected Kennedy’s reputation in the United States?
ANSWER ANY! THANK YOUUU!<3

Answer 1

3. Because of the missiles range, between 1000 and 3000 kms, able to destroy 2/6 of the USA -so a direct threat. Because of the Monroe Doctrine "America to Americans", = everything in the continent must be under US control. Because it was the cold war, and Kennedy could'nt be humiliated by the soviet President M. Krushev.

Answer 2

1. The Soviet Union wished to place nuclear missiles on Cuba giving them early strike capability and range over most of North America. The United States saw this as a provocative move and demanded that the missiles be removed and initiated a blockade of Cuba to keep further Soviet shipments of missiles and supplies from reaching their sites there, saying that they would fire upon any Soviet vessel that tried to run the blockade. It was one of the most tense moments of the entire Cold War.

2. The failed Bay of Pigs invasion embarrassed the United States and Kennedy in particular to the world. In Cuba, Castro spun it as an example of US intentions and it actually bolstered his popularity.

4. Soviet ships closing in on the blockade line stopped. They didn't force their way across cross it which is what prompted the quote. It has since gone on to become identified with the US standing tough on the blockade and the Soviets pausing in their aggression.

5. Kennedy received a massive popularity boost from the resolution of the Cuban Missile Crisis while the Soviet Union was humiliated. He was seen as the victor, but part of that was also due to what wasn't said in public. The Soviet Union would remove its missiles from Cuba but secretly, the US had also agreed to remove missiles it had placed in Turkey.