Kennedy and the Cold War

1. Kennedy and the Cold War

2. New Military Strategy • Flexible Response- aimed to give the President a range of options for dealing with an international crisis • Increased nuclear stockpile • Expanded non-nuclear forces • Created the Green Berets- special forces

4. Crises over Cuba • 1959 Cubans overthrew the dictatorship of Fulgencio Batista • Uprising led by Castro who began jailing and murdering opponents and seized American property (oil refineries) • Made trade agreement with the USSR U.S. canceled imports of sugar and broke diplomatic ties

6. The Bay of Pigs • March 1960 • President Eisenhower gave CIA permission to train Cuban exiles for an invasion of Cuba • Hoped it would trigger mass uprising • Kennedy decided to go along with the plan • April 17, 1961 1,300-1,500 Cuban exiles landed on island at Bay of Pigs

8. The Bay of Pigs • Invasion was a DISASTER!!! • Failed to knock out Cuban air force • Small advance force never reached shore • Main force faced 25,000 Cuban troops backed by Soviet tanks and jet aircraft • Invading exiles killed or imprisoned

9. Impact • Media: • The Americans, “look like fools to our friends, rascals to our enemies, and incompetents to the rest.” • JFK accepted blame for the fiasco

11. Hostility in Berlin • 1961 Berlin is in great turmoil • East Germans fled into West Berlin to avoid communism • East Berlin’s economy threatened • Khrushchev wanted to close all access to West Berlin • JFK refused

12. “ I want peace. But if you want a war, that’s your problem.” -Khrushchev

13. JFK returns home and warns the nation of possible nuclear war • Asks for more defense spending • Mobilizes the national guard • Tells Americans to build fallout shelters

15. Khrushchev’s Response • Built the Berlin Wall • 200 people died trying to get passed the wall • Wall will not come down until 1989

16. Berlin Wall Hungarian Composer György Ligeti described the walled-in region as a “surrealist cage in which those inside are free.” Why is this ironic?

18. The Cuban Missile Crisis

19. Background • Summer of 1962- Soviets sent nuclear weapons to Cuba • JFK warned Soviets that we would not tolerate nuclear weapons in Cuba • “It shall be the policy of this nation to regard any nuclear missile launched from Cuba against any nation in the Western Hemisphere as an attack on the United States, requiring a full retaliatory response upon the Soviet Union.”

20. Evidence • Oct. 14 –U-2 found the 1st evidence • Soviets had missile bases in Cuba, some ready to launch, can reach U.S. cities in minutes. (NY- 10 min.)

23. The Climax of the Cold War • October 14-28, 1962 • News was withheld from the nation for 1 week in an attempt to VERIFY and seek some sort of DIPLOMATIC result How should we handle this? What are our options?

24. Options • Blockade (Quarantine) • Negotiation • Air Strikes/Invasion

25. Kennedy’s plan of action • Oct. 22- Kennedy told the nation about the crisis • He warned that any missile attack would lead to an all out attack on Soviet Union

26. Our Choice- Blockade

27. Nation was terrified of nuclear war. • What will the Soviet’s do when they reach our quarantine?

28. Oct. 24th Soviet ships met blockade line Who Will Blink? “We are eyeball to eyeball, and the other fellow just blinked.” - Dean Rusk

29. Read Castro’s letter to Khrushchev

30. U.S. and Soviet Union made a secret deal to end crisis • Soviets will remove missiles if U.S. does not invade Cuba • US will also remove its missiles from Turkey

31. World Reaction • Khrushchev’s prestige damaged • JFK criticized • Shouldn’t have practiced brinkmanship • Should have ousted Castro • Lost Cuba

32. Searching for Ways to Ease Tensions 1963- Hot Line established between the White House and the Kremlin • Nuclear Test Ban Treaty barred nuclear testing in the atmosphere