KENNEDY AND THE COLD WAR

1. KENNEDY AND THECOLD WAR THE NEW FRONTIER

2. JFK ELECTED We stand today on the edge of a New Frontier – the frontier of unknown opportunities and perils – a frontier of unfulfilled hopes and threats” Kennedy, Inaugural Speech Unknown Political Commodity *WWII Hero *Kennedy Scion *Lacked National Prominence *Mediocre Senate Record

3. 1960 ELECTION

4. BAY OF PIGS Eisenhower Administration: CIA Operation – prepare and arm 1,500 anti-Castro Cubans for an invasion of their homeland in hopes of overthrowing Castro. Kennedy February of 1961, Kennedy authorized the Cuban invasion plans on the condition that US support be sufficiently disguised. As a result of this decision, the landing point for the invasion was moved to the Bay of Pigs, an obscure area on the southern coast of Cuba The invasion was scheduled for April 17, 1961

5. THE PLAN The original invasion plan called for two air strikes against Cuban air bases. A 1400-man invasion force would disembark under cover of darkness and launch a surprise attack. Paratroopers would drop to advance positions in order to cut off transportation and to repel Cuban forces. The United Revolutionary Front would send leaders over and establish a provisional government.  The success of the plan depended on the presumption that the Cuban population would join the invaders.

6. WHAT WENT WRONG • Air support – CIA painted obsolete WWII era B-26s to look like Cuban Air Force planes. When it became apparent that the US was involved, Kennedy canceled the 2nd air strike. • Invasion force was hampered by bad weather • The invasion force came under heavy fire from planes not damaged in the US led air strikes • “Air Umbrella” – Kennedy ordered an “air umbrella” of 6 unmarked B-26s to protect the invasion force, but they arrived an hour late and were shot down. Within 24 hours, 1,000 members of the brigade had been captured and over 100 killed!

8. THE AFTERMATH The prisoners were held in captivity for 20 months. In December of 1962, a ceremony was held in the Miami Orange Bowl to honor the brigade Robert Kennedy negotiated a settlement with Castro that included $53 million in baby food and medical supplies. The failure led to the decision to establish Operation Mongoose – a plan to destabilize and sabotage the Cuban government.

10. THE ULTIMATUM Kennedy and Khrushchev Khrushchev tried to bully the young and inexperienced Kennedy. He tried to limit Western access to Berlin. Kennedy responds by mobilizing Army Reserves and National Guard units. Khrushchev responds by beginning construction on the Berlin Wall.

11. BERLIN WALL In the early morning hours of August 13, 1961, the people of Berlin were awakened by the rumbling of heavy machinery barreling down their street toward the line that divided the eastern and western parts of the city.

12. "It's not a very nice solution, but a wall is a hell of a lot better than a war.“ -JFK

14. Cuban Missile Crisis 14 October 1962

15. ExComm He met in secret with his advisors for several days to discuss the problem. After many long and difficult meetings, Kennedy decided to place a naval blockade, or a ring of ships, around Cuba. The aim of this "quarantine," as he called it, was to prevent the Soviets from bringing in more military supplies. He demanded the removal of the missiles already there and the destruction of the sites. On October 22, President Kennedy spoke to the nation about the crisis in a televised address. JFK LibraryEXCOMM

16. Quarantine DEFCON 3 – The U.S. prepares to stop and search Soviet ships headed for Cuba. Khrushchev saw the blockade as an act of aggression, nevertheless, some Soviet ships turned around, and the U.S. stopped and boarded others. “I don’t want to push him in a corner from which he can not escape.” -JFK

17. Adlai Stevenson

18. Kennedy’s Finest Hour Khrushchev agrees to withdraw his missiles, and is able to claim that he saved Cuban from an American invasion. Kennedy can claim that he forced Khrushchev to remove the missiles, and he secretly agrees to remove obsolete missiles from Turkey. “We’re eyeball to eyeball, and I think the other fellow just blinked.” -Dean Rusk, U.S. Secretary of State

19. SOLIDARITY w/Berlin Unable to stop the construction of the wall, President John F. Kennedy made a symbolic visit to the Brandenburg Gate in June, 1963, where, in a speech intended to demonstrate his unity with the citizens of West Berlin, he declared, ICH BIN EIN BERLINER, I am a Berliner.

20. VIETNAM Under the leadership of the Catholic premier Ngo Dinh Diem, the situation in Vietnam worsened. Scattered guerilla attacks and Diem’s failure to deliver on social and economic reforms, increased his growing unpopularity.

21. ESCALATION Kennedy resisted a larger military presence in Vietnam, but did send “advisers.” When he took office there were 2,000 troops in Vietnam and by the end of 1963, there were 16,000. By Fall of 1963, the Kennedy administration had concluded that Diem was a lost cause. When dissident generals proposed a coup d’etat, American Ambassador, Henry Cabot Lodge assured them the US would not stand in their way.

22. WHAT IF… In the final analysis, it is their war. They are the ones who have to win it or lose it. We can help them, we can give them equipment, we can send our men out there as advisers, but they have to win it, the people of Vietnam, against the Communists...  But I don't agree with those who say we should withdraw. That would be a great mistake.... [The United States] made this effort to defend Europe. Now Europe is quite secure. We also have to participate—we may not like it—in the defense of Asia.”