Khrushchev, Castro, and Kennedy.
Complicated and tension-filled negotiations between the United
States and the Soviet Union finally resulted in a plan to end the
two-week-old Cuban Missile Crisis. A frightening period in which
nuclear holocaust seemed imminent began to come to an end.
The Cuban Missile Crisis was a 13-day confrontation between
the governments of the United States and the Soviet Union,
when American deployments of nuclear missiles in Italy and
Turkey were matched by Soviet deployments of nuclear missiles
in Cuba.
The crisis lasted from 16 to 28 October 1962. The confrontation
is widely considered the closest the Cold War came to escalating
into full-scale nuclear war.
President Kennedy announces U.S. naval blockade of Cuba.
MIKE GRACIA
In a televised speech of extraordinary gravity, President John F.
Kennedy announces on October 22, 1962 that U.S. spy planes
discovered Soviet missile bases in Cuba. These missile sites—
under construction but nearing completion—housed medium-
range missiles capable of striking a number of major cities in
the United States, including Washington, D.C.
Kennedy announced that he was ordering a naval “quarantine”
of Cuba to prevent Soviet ships from transporting any more
offensive weapons to the island and explained that the United
States would not tolerate the existence of the missile sites
currently in place. The president made it clear that America
would not stop short of military action to end what he called a “clandestine, reckless and provocative threat to world peace.”
In a televised speech of extraordinary gravity, President John F.
Kennedy announced on October 22, 1962 that U.S. spy planes
had discovered Soviet missile bases in Cuba. These missile
sites—under construction but nearing completion—housed
medium-range missiles capable of striking a number of major
cities in the United States, including Washington, D.C.
Kennedy announced that he was ordering a naval “quarantine”
of Cuba to prevent Soviet ships from transporting any more
offensive weapons to the island and explained that the United
States would not tolerate the existence of the missile sites
currently in place. The president made it clear that America
would not stop short of military action to end what he called a “clandestine, reckless and provocative threat to world peace.”
What is known as the Cuban Missile Crisis actually began on
October 14, 1962—the day that U.S. intelligence personnel
analyzing U-2 spy plane data discovered that the Soviets were
building medium-range missile sites in Cuba.
MIKE GRACIA
