Tensions over Cuba

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A is the Bay of Pigs invasion of April 1961. B is the setting up of the hotline between Washington and Moscow in 1963.

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Source A criticises Kennedy because it shows him shooting himself in the foot, which means harming himself through his own mistake. The pistol is labelled 'CIA plan', showing that Kennedy had approved a plan drawn up by the CIA, and the injured foot is labelled 'Bay of Pigs'. This fits what happened: in April 1961 about 1,400 CIA-trained Cuban exiles landed at the Bay of Pigs, but Kennedy refused to give them American air cover, the expected uprising never happened, and they were defeated within three days, with about 1,100 captured. Because American involvement was obvious, the USA was humiliated. Castro laughing in the background shows that he was the real winner: the failure made him more popular and pushed him closer to the Soviet Union, and he declared Cuba a socialist state. The provenance supports this: it was published in an American newspaper in April 1961, just after the failure, which shows that Kennedy faced criticism at home only three months into his presidency.

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On 14 October 1962 an American U-2 spy plane flew over Cuba and photographed Soviet missile sites under construction. On 16 October President Kennedy was shown the photographs. He set up a special group of advisers, known as ExComm, including his brother Robert Kennedy, Defense Secretary Robert McNamara and Secretary of State Dean Rusk, as well as military chiefs. To keep the discovery secret, Kennedy carried on with his normal public schedule while ExComm met.

ExComm discussed several options. Doing nothing would make Kennedy look weak and leave the missiles in place. The military chiefs, such as General Curtis LeMay, wanted air strikes followed by an invasion. However, an air strike could not be certain of destroying all the missiles, and both an air strike and an invasion would kill Soviet troops on Cuba, which could lead to nuclear war or a Soviet move against West Berlin. Gradually ExComm came to favour a naval blockade. Because a blockade was an act of war under international law, Kennedy called it a 'quarantine'. It would stop more missiles reaching Cuba, show American determination and give Khrushchev time to back down, while stronger options remained available.

On 22 October Kennedy went on television to tell the American people about the missiles. He announced the quarantine and warned that any nuclear missile launched from Cuba would be treated as an attack by the Soviet Union on the United States, requiring a full retaliatory response. America's allies were informed, and on 23 October the Organisation of American States voted to support the quarantine, giving it legal backing. Meanwhile US forces gathered in Florida in case an invasion was needed.

The quarantine came into force on 24 October, about 500 nautical miles from Cuba, and American nuclear forces were put on DEFCON 2, their highest state of alert ever. As Soviet ships approached the line, the world held its breath, but they stopped or turned back. Dean Rusk remarked, 'We're eyeball to eyeball, and I think the other fellow just blinked.' The quarantine had worked, but the missiles already on Cuba remained, so the crisis was not yet over.

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The Cuban Missile Crisis began in October 1962, eighteen months after the failed Bay of Pigs invasion of April 1961. The invasion was an important cause of the crisis, because it pushed Castro towards the Soviet Union, convinced both Castro and Khrushchev that Cuba needed protection, and made Khrushchev think Kennedy was weak. However, I think the main reason for the crisis was the nuclear rivalry between the superpowers, which made Khrushchev willing to take such a risk.

The Bay of Pigs was clearly important. About 1,400 CIA-trained Cuban exiles landed on 17 April 1961 and were defeated within three days. The invasion convinced Castro that the USA would try again, this time with American troops. On the eve of the landing he declared his revolution socialist, and by December 1961 he called himself a Marxist-Leninist, moving Cuba firmly into the Soviet camp. The invasion was followed by further American pressure, including Operation Mongoose, a CIA campaign of sabotage and plots against Castro, and Cuba's suspension from the Organisation of American States in January 1962. All this explains why Castro was willing to accept Soviet missiles, and why Khrushchev could present them as defensive.

The Bay of Pigs also shaped Khrushchev's view of Kennedy. He concluded that the young President was weak and indecisive, because Kennedy had approved the invasion but would not use American forces to make it succeed. This view was strengthened at the Vienna Summit in June 1961 and when Kennedy accepted the Berlin Wall in August. Khrushchev therefore believed he could place missiles on Cuba and Kennedy would accept them.

However, other factors were also important. Relations between the USA and Cuba had already collapsed before the invasion. Castro's land reform and nationalisation of American businesses, his trade deal with the Soviet Union in 1960, and the American sugar cut and trade embargo had already turned Cuba towards the USSR. The Bay of Pigs made this worse but did not start it.

The most important factor was the nuclear balance. Although Khrushchev boasted about Soviet rockets, the USA had far more long-range missiles than the USSR, and it had placed Jupiter missiles in Turkey, on the Soviet border. Missiles on Cuba were a cheap way to close this gap and to give the Americans what Khrushchev called 'a little of their own medicine'. He may also have hoped to use them to win concessions over Berlin. This explains why Khrushchev sent nuclear missiles, including intermediate-range missiles that could reach almost the whole USA, rather than simply sending troops to defend Cuba.

Finally, the crisis was also caused by the American reaction. Kennedy decided that the missiles were unacceptable because they had been placed in secret, because they challenged American power in its own hemisphere and because he could not afford to look weak, especially before the November elections. A crisis happened because both leaders were determined not to back down.

In conclusion, the Bay of Pigs was an important cause of the Cuban Missile Crisis, because it drove Castro into the arms of the Soviet Union and convinced Khrushchev that Kennedy was weak. But it was not the main reason. Relations had already broken down before 1961, and the decision to send nuclear missiles is best explained by the superpowers' nuclear rivalry and Khrushchev's wish to close the missile gap. The Bay of Pigs helped make the crisis possible, but superpower rivalry made it happen.