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