shoreline.Īs noted in the Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States, in his televised address, Kennedy said, "Should these offensive military preparations continue … further action will be justified. The president had undisputable evidence that Soviet-built nuclear missiles capable of reaching the United States and many Latin American countries were in place in Cuba, 90 miles (145 kilometers) from the U.S. A prime example of this was displayed on the evening of October 22, 1962, when Kennedy addressed the nation via television. relations with the Soviet Union were declining, and the world seemed to be proceeding deeper into crisis and conflict. Kennedy was taking on a difficult job: U.S. Nixon (1913–1994) in the presidential election. Kennedy (1917– 1963) of Massachusetts defeated Vice President Richard M. Soviet naval officer Vasili Arkhipov vetoed the launch of the nuclear torpedo.I n November 1960, U.S. missiles from Turkey and gave assurances that the United States would not to invade Cuba or assist others in doing so. In return, President Kennedy agreed to the non-publicised removal of U.S. This fact was only revealed in 2002 at a conference to mark the 40th anniversary of the crisis.Īfter tense negotiations, the crisis ended on 28 October when Chairman Khrushchev agreed to the removal of Soviet nuclear weapons from Cuban soil. However, naval officer Vasili Arkhipov refused to grant his authorization that was required for the nuclear attack and persuaded the captain to surface and await orders from Moscow.
The United States did not know of this nuclear armament. Cut off from communications with Moscow, and under the impression that war had started, Captain Vitali Grigorievitch Savitsky wanted to retaliate by launching the nuclear-tipped torpedo warhead that the vessel was carrying. Later that same evening, in waters near Cuba, the destroyer USS Cony fired depth charges near a Soviet B-59 submarine in an effort to force the soviet submarine to the surface. The months before the Cuban Missile Crisis saw an all-time high in nuclear testing – click to enlarge.
Local Soviet commanders had even readied these systems by “mating” the warheads with the missiles, without authorization from Moscow. In addition, President Kennedy’s military advisors were pushing for an invasion of Cuba, a step that would undoubtedly have caused a nuclear escalation: Unknown to the United States, over 100 tactical nuclear warheads were already on Cuban soil. The United States reacted by implementing a blockade or “quarantine”, preventing Soviet ships from delivering further weapons to Cuba.
This discovery came amidst a political climate already marked by tension and an intensifying nuclear arms race: In the 16 months before this, both superpowers had conducted over 250 nuclear tests, more than in the 16 preceding years together. It was triggered on 16 October 1962 when the United States discovered that the Soviet Union had stationed nuclear capable missiles in Cuba, placing Washington and other major cities within reach. October 2012 marks the 50th anniversary of the Cuban Missile Crisis. Read also the related OP-ed by CTBTO Executive Secretary Tibor Tóth, A nuclear world - 50 years after Cuban Missile 'Crisis,' the world waits to move back the hands on doomsday clock (Chicago Tribune, 26 October 2012).
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