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Khrushchev Speech Analysis

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Words 3219
Pages 13
Minh Nguyen
April 21, 2015
HIS 333
Mr. Kilinc

It was the Wednesday morning of October 24, 1962. Attorney General Robert Kennedy sat across the table from President Kennedy, waiting as Russian ships were steadily swimming toward the quarantine line. The line stretched 500 miles, covered by more than a hundred Navy ships was waiting for the arrival of the Soviet fleet. The blockade was ordered to prevent the Soviet Union from sending more nuclear missiles to Cuba, which the Russians denied. If one of the Soviet boats crossed the line, the military response could lead to a nuclear war. Khrushchev, the leader of the Soviet Union, has been aggressive in denouncing the quarantine. President Kennedy sat in the room with Robert, waiting for the news …show more content…
Domestically, production was strong. Internationally, “the world generally assumed that the military and strategic balance had significantly shifted in the Soviets’ favor.” In the eyes of the USSR, John F. Kennedy was a young and inexperienced president, facing a stagnant political position and a non-productive economy. There was little unity between countries in the Western hemisphere. Khrushchev saw communist opportunities in underdeveloped countries, and on January 6, 1961, gave a speech of a plan to expand Communism around the world. By the end of the year, Moscow’s confidence was lowered. Every advantage the USSR had was switching to the US. The US and Latin America agreed more in foreign relations, the US and Europe was together against Khrushchev’s plan on Berlin, and the prospects in underdeveloped countries started to show …show more content…
Ex Comm (Executive Committee of the National Security Council) was split on what to do. Some felt nothing had to be done, some that a bit of action was required, but most thought that bombing the missile sites was the only way. McNamara advocated for a blockade of ships heading to Cuba, while others argued that the blockade would not remove or stop missiles already on Cuba - “closing the door after the horse left the barn.”The danger was the lives of 80 million Americans, and all hinged on whether it was worth starting a war or causing conflict by stopping shipments. General LeMay stated that the Russians would not respond to a strike, to which President Kennedy wisely

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