Military Response
The Start of the Cuban Missile Crisis
Upon receiving Soviet aid, Cuba began construction of Surface-to-Air missile (SAM) sites. SAMs are defensive weapons, whose aim was to prevent an invasion from the United States. The Soviet Union claimed that only defensive missiles were in Cuba, and no nuclear missiles would be brought. In September 1962, a Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) agent noticed that the SAM missile sites were arranged in the same pattern the Soviet Union used to protect their Intermediate-Range Ballistic Missile (IRBM) sites. This prompted U-2 flights in Cuba to scout for nuclear missile sites. On October 14, 1962, the reconnaissance flight took place and the CIA analyzed and confirmed nuclear missile launch sites the following day. On October 16, 1962, President John F. Kennedy was alerted of nuclear missiles in Cuba and the Cuban Missile Crisis began.
The Executive Committee of the National Security Council (EXCOMM) had a few options on how to deal with this crisis:
1) Do nothing: The United States has always been under nuclear threat from the Soviet Union. Additionally, the United States still has nuclear missiles in Europe as a deterrent against Soviet missiles.
2) Diplomacy: The United States could negotiate for the removal of missiles from Cuba. However, the United States would probably have to remove some of its missiles from Europe to make this possible.
3) Approach Castro: Give Fidel Castro an ultimatum between removing the Soviet missiles and an invasion. Due to relations between the United States and Cuba, it was likely that Castro would stay with the Soviets.
4) Invasion: Invade Cuba and overthrow Castro before the nuclear missiles are ready to launch. This could start a nuclear war if the missile sites are completed before the invasion is successful. This would also allow the Soviet Union to be more bold and take more direct action in the future.
5) Air Strike: Use the U.S. Air Force to aerally bombard missile sites. Same cons as an invasion.
6) Blockade: Establish a naval blockade to prevent the arrival of more nuclear missiles from the Soviet Union. This does not deal with the existing missiles in Cuba and is an act of war.
EXCOMM wanted to do an invasion of Cuba, however, Kennedy believed that this would prompt the Soviet Union to conquer Berlin. Additionally, he was worried about the international reputation of the United States as "trigger-happy cowboys." Kennedy decided to make a blockade. EXCOMM had concerns about how the Soviet Union would take the blockade, however, it was believed that it would not provoke the Soviets.
The Blockade is Made
On October 22, Kennedy ordered a blockade in Cuba and made his public address about the Cuban Missile Crisis. In this address, he informed the public of nuclear missiles in Cuba and affirmed to them that he would remove the missiles from the Western Hemisphere. Additionally, the United States was raised to DEFCON 2, the second highest state of emergency where the United States is in danger of major military action. This is the only time in U.S. history where the United States reached DEFCON 2. The Strategic Air Command (SAC) bombers were moved to military and civilian airfields and ready to take off with a 15-minute notice and about 145 Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles stood at the ready to fire at Cuba. Additionally, the Air Defense Command (ADC) deployed 161 nuclear-armed interceptors, and nuclear-armed bombers were sent to orbit points near the Soviet Union. It is estimated that 80 percent of the SAC's planes were ready for launch. For reference, during the September 11 terrorist attacks, the United States reached DEFCON 3, one step below DEFCON 2.
Despite the blockade, Khrushchev told Kennedy his ships would ignore the blockade. However, once the ships reached it, they either stopped or turned around. This resulted in the Cuban Missile Crisis being in a stalemate, as the Soviet Union could not get to Cuba out of fear of the U.S. military and the United States got the Soviet Union to remove Cuba's missiles.
Tensions Rise and "Black Saturday"
On October 26, Kennedy informed EXCOMM that he believed an invasion would be necessary to remove the missiles from Cuba. This would break the deadlock in Cuba and potentially in the Cold War as well. Khrushchev was made aware of this as Kennedy did not care about the Soviet spies. This led Khrushchev to try to diplomatically resolve this crisis by sending a letter to Kennedy that night calling for a non-aggression pact between the United States and Cuba. In Cuba, Castro believed that an invasion was coming, so he prepared the missiles and ordered any aircraft to be shot down.
The following day, on October 27, Khrushchev sent Kennedy a new message, calling for the removal of missiles in Cuba in exchange for the removal of missiles in Turkey and Italy. A little over two hours later, Khrushchev sent a more demanding letter pointing out the hypocrisy of the United States panicking over missiles in Cuba when they have missiles in Turkey, which shares a maritime border. One hour later, at approximately 12:00 pm EDT, a U-2 spy plane was shot down by Cuba, killing the pilot, Major Rudolf Anderson Jr. The United States believed this to be an accident, but prepared to start an invasion if it were to happen again. Later that evening, Attorney General Robert Kennedy met with Soviet Ambassador Anatoli Dobrynin to determine if Khrushchev's proposal was genuine. Robert Kennedy was convinced and President Kennedy sent a response to Khrushchev's first message.
This day became known as "Black Saturday" much later, as the U.S. Navy dropped "signaling" charges on a Soviet submarine at the blockade. This ship had a nuclear-tipped torpedo and was too deep to receive communications, so they did not know if fighting had broken out. Captain Valentin Grigoryevich Savitsky was ready to fire, but luckily Commander Vasily Arkhipov did not agree. If Arkhipov approved the launch, then a nuclear war would have likely broken out.
On October 28, Khrushchev made a public announcement that the Soviet Union would remove and dismantle the missiles. This was in exchange for the United States removing 15 Jupiter missiles from Turkey and making a non-aggression pact with Cuba. Kennedy quickly agreed despite opposition from his advisors and resolved the Cuban Missile Crisis.
Aerial Military Photograph of Cuban Missile Sites
