1. Kennedy and Foreign Affairs Mr. Chojnacki US II Honors

3. “Flexible Response” JFK felt that U.S. needed to be more flexible in fighting communism Eisenhower had focused on A- Bombs Felt that the “real” struggle against communism would take place in the 3 rd World Increased # of Special Ops troops (Green Berets)

4. Expanding America’s Influence Peacefully “Alliance for Progress” in Latin America to rebuild and maintain peace Increased foreign aid greatly Created the Peace Corps: sent young Americans to work in developing countries

5. Bay of Pigs Invasion Disastrous assault on Castro Govt. in Cuba Started by Eisenhower: Trained small army of Cuban exiles in Central America April 17, 1961: JFK authorized 2,000 exiles to attack Southern Cuba

7. What Went Wrong? Exiles expected American air support and uprising by Cuban people They got neither When invasion went poorly at first, JFK called off air support Well armed Castro forces slaughtered exile army Kennedy eventually paid $53 million for the survivors release

8. Aftermath Kennedy meets w/ Khrushchev in June Little was accomplished Khrushchev threatens war if U.S. continues to support West Berlin He was unhappy about people fleeing from the East Built Berlin Wall to stop exodus Stood for 30 Years

10. Cuban Missile Crisis October 1962: U-2 spy plane shows evidence of construction of missile sites Soviets wanted to place missiles in Cuba to counteract U.S. missiles in Turkey Kennedy viewed it as an act of aggression towards the U.S.

13. Brinksmanship Oct. 21 Kennedy is told that an air strike could not guarantee to destroy all Soviet missiles in Cuba. Kennedy decides on a quarantine of Cuba for the time being Another U-2 flight that day reveals bombers and Migs being rapidly assembled and cruise missile sites being built on Cuba's northern shore.

14. October 22 nd The President addresses the nation in a televised speech, announcing the presence of offensive missile sites in Cuba. U.S. military forces go to DEFCON 3. U.S. base at Guantanamo Bay is reinforced by Marines.

15. October 23 rd Organization of American States (OAS) unanimously approves of the quarantine against Cuba. By the end of the day U.S. ships had taken up position along the quarantine line, 800 miles from Cuba. JFK gets letter, decides to give Khrushchev more time and pulls the quarantine line back to 500 miles.

16. October 24 th Soviet ships en route to Cuba with questionable cargo either slow down or reverse their course except for one. Military forces go to DEFCON 2 the highest ever in U.S. history.

17. October 25 th Kennedy sends a letter to Khrushchev laying the responsibility for the crisis on the Soviet Union. Advisors discuss a proposal to withdraw U.S. missiles from Turkey in exchange for the withdrawal of Soviet missiles in Cuba.

18. October 26 th Kennedy says that he believes the quarantine alone can not force the Soviet government to remove its offensive weapons from Cuba. Khrushchev sends another letter to Kennedy proposing removing his missiles if Kennedy would publicly announce never to invade Cuba.

19. October 27 th A new letter from Khrushchev arrives, proposing a public trade of Soviet missiles in Cuba for U.S. missile in Turkey. An American U-2 is shot down over Cuba killing the pilot, Major Rudolf Anderson. Kennedy writes Khrushchev a letter stating that he will make a statement that the U.S. will not invade Cuba if Khrushchev removes the missiles from Cuba.

20. October 28 th Khrushchev announces over Radio Moscow that he has agreed to remove the missiles from Cuba.

21. Causes of the Crisis Poor Communication: Written communications Press Statements Indirect communication almost led to Nuclear War A “Hot Line” between JFK and Khrushchev was established

22. Aftermath Nine months later, JFK and Khrushchev agree to ban nuclear testing in the atmosphere Marked the beginning of what seemed to be a new willingness to cooperate and communicate Unfortunately, JFK is assassinated and Khrushchev is removed from office