Why did the Soviet Union decide to place missiles in Cuba?
Uploaded by wiegerp on Nov 09, 2008
In December 2 1961; Castro declared in a speech that he was a true follower of Marxism; therefore, Cuba was socialist country. Although it is that Khrushchev decided to place missiles in Cuba in response to the Jupiter missile being established in Turkey; or the fact that he wanted to test the president Kennedy and his commitment towards the battle against communism. The main reason to why Khrushchev decided to place missiles in Cuba was to secure Castro’s position as a leader and show the world that he was committed to aid any socialist country risked to be domed by the capitalist forces.
By October 1962; U2 spy planes from the USA shot pictures of a nuclear base under construction at 2000 miles from the main eastern and central cities of USA. These cities included New York, Washington, Boston and Miami. The duration of the event lasted 13 days in which the “eyes of the world were attracted to the point of friction” argued by Bradley Lightbody to a possible Nuclear War. The Soviet involvement signified that the Warsaw pact in which 6 countries were involved in the “Treaty of friendship, commitment and mutual assistance” would get involved in aiding Cuba. On the other hand; in defense of USA; the NATO or “North Atlantic Treaty Organization” would get involved in protecting USA. The propaganda released by the media was sufficient not only to show the world that Khruchev was committed to expanding communism; but to show that the USSR, mother of Communism would stand firm in protecting the socialist countries.
Khrushchev wanted to address at a stroke the nuclear imbalance between the east and the west. The creation of the ICBM and anti ballistic missiles signified that the west had bigger nuclear oppressive forces that could be used at any moment against an armed confrontation or threat. This was because; the USA was rather keen to use nuclear weapons instead of getting involved in an armed confrontation against USSR. USSR was in command of 260 divisions whereas USA had less than 1 division and any attack on USA would be more likely to be counteracted by nuclear atomic bombs.
On the other hand; in 1960 and early 1961; USA established a nuclear base in Turkey. The “Jupiter” missiles had a range of 2400 km (1491 miles). These aimed directly at the heart of Russia and could easily destroy any city of...