Questions on The Globalisation of CW:

Introduction:

The Cold War, a bipolar conflict between the US and the USSR penetrated various regions of outside of Europe. This Cuban Missile Crisis (henceforth crisis), on the island of Cuba, 90 miles off the US was characterised by such tensions. There is continued contention over what caused the conflict. Some focus on the strategic reasons for the crisis, arguing that security concerns of USSR such as correcting the nuclear imbalances and political issues of maintaining solidarity of sphere of influence of US and exerting independence of Cuba played the dominant role. However, this is to neglect the ideological factors underlying the conflict in which the motivation of consolidating democracy superiority and communism strength are key. Thus ideology was in actual fact, the driver of the conflict even penetrating security concerns.

Body:

GA1: USSR had made use of CMC to correct the strategic nuclear imbalance between itself and US.

ü Missiles in Cuba in part as a response due to missiles installed in Turkey earlier by US

ü The US felt a great fear as the nuclear missiles installed on the nearby island of Cuba could hit many of its major cities, causing untold damage and destruction. Cuba conversely was willing to install massive defences against the US after the Americans tried to overthrow the government in the 1961 Bay of Pigs Incident. The Russians provided the weapons as the missiles on Cuba would provide a forward base against the US and deter US usage of missiles directed at itself from Turkey.

ü Resultantly, the Americans responded with calls for the withdrawal of such missiles leading to the standoff. Indeed, the missiles were removed when the US agreed to remove the missiles from Turkey.

ü Yet, considering a long term perspective, the crisis was merely a consequence of sustained ideological competition communism and democracy. Within the Americas, this was preceded by the late 1940s Rio Pact and Organisation of American States. Their message trumpeted the incompatibility of communism within the region. Thus, when Fidel Castro declared that Cuba would turn communist, the seeds of antagonism were already sown between both sides and eventuated in the abovementioned Bay of Pigs Incident which was followed by the crisis.

GA2: CMC was used by US and Cuba to gain political strength against each other

ü US was determined to maintain control of its backyard as seen from its willingness to engage in nuclear war if necessary and to impose embargo

ü Cuba wanted to exert its independence all years of US dollar imperialism with American holding huge stakes in telecommunications and other industries

ü Nevertheless, there was a considerable element of ideological motivation as well. The constant need to maintain control in the Americas was a legacy of the Monroe Doctrine (1823). Indeed, the American response in sparking off the crisis was actually demonstrating the consistent ideological bent behind US actions—in proving that democracy as an ideology was superior

GA3: More importantly, Cuban survival was critical to the ideological prestige of the USSR who was the leader of the communist movement.

ü Cuba was the first state in the western hemisphere that turned communist. Ensuring its existence would show the vitality of communism as an ideological reality. Concomitantly, Russian leader Khrushchev was attempting to use the missiles as deterrence towards US defence of Berlin. Berlin was a symbol of democracy in communist East Germany since the Berlin Blockade in 1949. He had threatened to take over the city. This would have struck a double blow to democracy

ü As such, the Russians refused to use the nuclear arms even when persuaded by Castro to do so; since the main aim was to make sure that Cuba continued to be an ideological thorn in the democratic world. Over the long term, Cuba was indeed useful in promoting communism in Latin America and even in Africa (Angola Civil War)

ü Desire of the creation and expansion of a communist bloc

GA4: The ideology of containment was similarly a key reason behind the crisis.

ü The US always intended to limit the spread of communism in the region and it was no different with Cuba. It did not want to directly tackle the Cuban threat such as through an invasion force. Hence it used the strategy of the naval embargo and economic blockade to stop the entry of USSR; in this sense it was applying militarised containment

ü ‘Brinksmanship’ of Kennedy clearly reflected that it was more concerned with maintaining ties with USSR than with actually going to war over Cuba

ü The priority placed on ideology of containment was way above that of real military needs strategic especially since missiles in Turkey were removed

Conclusion:

§Reiterate main arguments

§Reaffirm Stand

Question: How significant was Castro’s provocative actions in leading to the Cuban Missile Crisis?

Intro:

· Interpretation and Assumption of Question:

§ The Cuban Missile Crisis (henceforth CMC) was the closest the world came to large scale nuclear warfare within the context of the Cold War (an era of bipolar competition between the US and the USSR). The question assumes that Fidel Castro, the leader of Cuba’s actions, namely in the arena of foreign policies and controversial economic policies, precipitated the 1962 CMC.

· Questioning the Assumption:

§ However, other causes such as the aggressive foreign policy decisions of the USSR as well as the controversial planting of the USSR missiles combined to increase tensions that built up the CMC.

· Thesis:

§ The degree of importance of the factor responsible for the CMC will be determined by the degree of impact and reactions from the involved parties in the security, political, economic and ideological aspects. The actions of USSR while antagonizing played merely supporting roles as it was Castro who made the most influential decision. American actions too were only reactionary unlike the provocative nature of Castro.

Body:

I Castro was responsible.

GA1: Castro’s controversial economic and foreign policy decisions deteriorated the US-Cuban relationship and laid the conditions for the CMC.

El/Ex: Castro intended to oust US dollar imperialism and embarked on a series of economic and foreign policies that not only damaged the stability of the US – Cuba relations but also threatened the US economic security sphere so much that prompted a US reaction with the Bay of Pigs Incident that was the precursor to the CMC.

Evi: US owned 90% in the telephone and electric services and about 50% in the public service railways and roughly 40% in the raw sugar production. Cuba ranks third in Latin America in the value of US direct investments. Castro sought to oust this US dollar imperialism in Cuba through nationalising of industries, expropriation of land including those owned by Americans. He also took over the Cuban Communist Party and declared Cuba being communist.

Eval: The evidence points at the accumulative nature of Castro’s aggressive actions. Time and again Castro’s actions drew Cuba away from the US sphere of influence until relations broke down. This spawned the US supported Bay of Pigs invasion (led by Cuban exiles) in 1961 which made the Castro wary of the US and cemented his need to ally with the USSR. In effect, US (negative) perceptions of Cuba made tough US reaction measures necessary. This led to the outbreak of the Crisis. Therefore, Castro could have brought about the CMC.

GA2: A short term catalyst for the CMC to happen would be Castro’s provocative move to openly align Cuba with the USSR in 1960 following his declaration of being Communist and to install nuclear missiles in Cuba which presented an immediate security threat to the US and therefore caused the Crisis.

El/Ex: The installation of the missiles was due to Cuba’s own security fears. The US had supported the Bay of Pigs invasion in 1961, thus Cuba had to be prepared. For defensive reasons, Castro acceded to Russian suggestions of nuclear deterrence in addition to the earlier reason of needing to oust US dollar imperialism.

Evi: Castro integrated Cuba into the Soviet trading bloc and gained economic/ military aid. He also allowed the USSR to install 20 Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles and 200 long range bombers in Cuba. Cuba was 90 miles away from the US state of Florida. With nuclear missiles set up there, it meant that attacks could reach most parts of the US. In addition, these missiles were manned with the aid of 40,000 or so Russian soldiers, the arch enemies of the US in the Cold War period who could have launched attacks unilaterally.

Eval: It should be noted that if Castro’s intent were truly for defence, nuclear weapons would not have been necessary. However, Castro chose to allow the installation of nuclear missiles which aggravated already deteriorating US-Cuban relations further. With the depth of animosity between the two sides, the continued existence of the nuclear missiles meant a ticking time bomb in the US backyard. Coupled with the increased USSR presence in the area, the US had a very real security threat and decided to respond with intensity.

II There were other factors aside from Castro that led to the CMC like Soviet and US actions.

GA3: The CMC was started because the Soviets decided to ‘defend’ Cuba which led to them offering military aid and installing missiles in Cuba.

El/Ex: To the Soviets, it was important to defend Cuba. USSR maintained this position throughout the crisis. Soviet aid to Cuba ‘is exclusively designed to improve Cuba’s defensive capability’. The Bay of Pigs events merely hastened the defence of Cuba. Politically and ideologically, Cuba stood as the only showcase in the Western hemisphere of Soviet power and credibility.

Evi: The Soviets had begun providing covert assistance to the Castro government as early as 1959, and the first arms sales was secretly arranged in 1959

Eval: The USSR was keen to earn business as they could use this revenue to sustain their economy as well as their arms race. Economically, as mentioned earlier, Soviet-Cuban relations were deep with intra bloc trading. The bloc was isolated from the US led economic order. This further fuelled the suspicions that were wrought within the Cold War complexities that led to the CMC to develop. If deterrence of an American attack on Cuba was the USSR’s primary objective then it was unnecessary to install ballistic missiles. The supply of Soviet arms and the sizeable presence of Soviet troops (40,000; which was obvious to the Americans) would have been sufficient to deter the Americans save via a major attack. Furthermore, less expensive and shorter range weapons would be sufficient. The additional IBRMs (Intermediate Range Ballistic Missiles: range up to 3400 miles) instead amplified Cuba as a threat to the US which led to the CMC.

CA: Ultimately, the final decision to approach the Soviets and allow them to install the missiles lies with Castro which makes his provocative action again the cause of the CMC.

GA4: US actions that were done under Cold War circumstances intensified the deterioration in the relations between the USSR – Cuba partnership and the US and contributed to the outbreak of the CMC.

El/Ex: With the failed Bay of Pigs invasion and the implicit acceptance of the building of the Berlin Wall in 1962, the US suffered in prestige. The US despite championing freedom interfered in Cuban internal affairs and did nothing substantial to prevent the freedom of movement for the East Berliners.

Evi: As such, to manifest American power and also avoid accusations of being soft on communism, the Kennedy administration and the US government used the mass media to denounce Soviet actions and to announce the naval quarantine.

Eval: In evaluation, the announcement was a public challenge to the USSR. This amplified the animosity from Cuba and the Soviet Union, with Castro urging usage of nuclear weapons before an American pre-emptive strike. The Russians would continue to push the US quarantine with nuclear armed submarines and continued shipping of weapons to Cuba. This led to the Crisis.

CA: The quarantine was the least aggressive move to take as it gave more time for a diplomatic solution. In fact, Kennedy reduced the extent of the quarantine by 300 miles. However, Castro was urging the USSR to launch a pre-emptive attack thereby antagonizing the US further setting up the CMC.

Conclusion:

· Reiterate main arguments:

Russian actions while antagonizing played merely supporting roles as it was Castro who allowed the installation of offensive nuclear arms. American actions were rather reactionary and always seeking a resolution.

· Stand: Castro’s actions were the most responsible in causing the Crisis.

Question: Who was the victor in the Cuban Missile Crisis?

Intro:

· Interpretation of Question:

Side 1:

§ The Cuban Missile Crisis (CMC) was one of only a few incidents during the Cold War when both superpowers came very close to a direct war between the two of them

§ However, it was the first time and probably the only time, when both superpowers actually considered the actual use of nuclear weapons on the other side.

§ Traditional accounts of the Crisis assume that the Americans won the conflict of brinksmanship, because the concessions given up by the Soviets humiliated the Soviets and led to the downfall of Khrushchev in the process.

Side 2:

§ However, the alternative view could be that the Soviets were the ones who won.

§ Khrushchev may have fallen from glory and received criticism at home and abroad for his management of the crisis

§ It nonetheless still holds true that he had had some leverages over US in this matter—the withdrawal of missiles from turkey as an example

Side 3:

§ In addition, the Cubans may have been the real winners in this crisis.

§ Though it had been widely thought that what happened during the Crisis were often imposed on Cuba by the superpowers for their interests, and not by Cubans – whose power to act in this instances were circumscribed by the interests and power of the superpowers, but the Cubans also benefited from the superpower rivalry as he manipulated them for his own agendas.

· Thesis:

§ To measure who won therefore would be the alignment between the objectives and what had been fulfilled and met.

§ Whether it was the Americans, the Soviets or the Cubans who could be regarded as having won the conflict—it will also be judged with these criterions

(a) Military Power

(b) Economic prosperity

(b) Prestige

n Americans still won the CMC, their goals were met and they won comprehensively and convincingly in both power and prestige.

§ Soviet might have won in some aspects but their losses were also glaring and significant; the long term repercussions such as the Sino-Soviet split and the fall of Khrushchev

§ Cubans may have lost the most but at least their security and autonomy had been preserved

Body:

I US was the Victor

GA: The US appears to have won CMC because they managed to portray themselves as having successfully repelled Communist aggression by the USSR.

ELA: This is important because in doing so, they managed to portray the USSR as the aggressor and managed to establish themselves as worthy of respect. Furthermore, their success deflected attention away from their own unsavory behavior against the Cubans, and their failures in doing so, such as during the Bay of Pigs incident which was a major objective of US. Having suffered the shame for Bay of Pigs incident, US was even more determined to ensure that the prestige of US would be regained at the price of communist defeat.

EVI: The USSR was forced to step back and turn their ships away from Cuba under the threat of American air and naval cover – and looked like they were retreating from a situation they were responsible for starting. Moreover, USSR appeared to give more concessions than the USA, especially since they had to remove their missiles under the international glare of the UN, while American concessions – such as the removal of the Jupiter Missiles in Turkey were done secretly.

EVA: Thus it showed that Soviets had lost and it was due to the strength of US. Moreover the fact that US managed to fend off communism without the use of nuclear weapons won them addition praise. Finally being able to publicly remove the missiles placed by Soviet in Cuba became a clear cut victory for US. However, it is debatable if the Americans have really won after all. This is in consideration that if USSR had placed the missiles in Cuba as a scare tactic to gain some concession, which they did gain as missiles were removed in Turkey. Then the victory of US would only be in embarrassing the Soviets but not a landslide victory in defeating the USSR and communism if they were not sincere about protecting their ally in Cuba. Nonetheless, the victory of US cannot be denied, the public recognition that US received due to CMC had greatly increase the credibility and stature of JKF and increased the credibility and prestige of US—thus even if not real military gain it had won in prestige definitely.

GA: The US victory can be seen as bloc building of communist influence within Latin America had not been achieved.

ELA: This is important because the Americans have sought means to undermine Communist influence within Latin America, and more so in Cuba when Castro came into power but had met with obstacles. But through the CMC Soviets had been demonized internationally and Cubans suffered greatly lost of prestige being seen as a puppet of USSR—it had isolated the Cubans from the outside world, and reducing their potency as a Latin American Communist power – which seemed a better deal than the Americans could have hoped for if the Crisis did not occur.

EVI: The deterioration of relations between USSR and Cuban was clear with the removal of missiles without notification to Castro. Cuba became wary of USSR and it impacted economic trade ties as well as military engagements. In fact, Latin America henceforth became very low on the priority list of USSR

EVA: As a result, the lack of active support of the Soviets meant that movements in Latin America were generally weak. Moreover Cuba would never be a flash point between the Superpowers in the Cold War again, and ceased to be an important battleground between the superpowers, unlike Europe (which was always important to the superpowers), the Middle East (Arab-Israeli Conflict), Asia (Vietnam) and Central Asia (Afghanistan). Therefore, while this might not be an intended consequence envision by US, it did happened and ran in the favor of the Americans as now their backyard remained to be safe from the Reds. Cuba might still be communist but the aim of US was not towards the fear of a Soviet expansion through ideological means and since that bridge had been broken—it would be reasonable to say that US had again met their objectives.

II USSR was the Victor

GA: The Soviets won the Crisis because they invalided the Monroe Doctrine permanently, and gained a base through which they could spread the virtues of Communism.

ELA: Monroe Doctrine had been in existence since 1823 and remained unchallenged. Thus the penetration of USSR into this backyard and not just through diplomatic ties but through economic and military associations truly threatened the position and security of US.

EVI: This is emphasized as Castro was seen as defiant and opposed to forging alliance with US from his acts of nationalization of the sugar trade as well as his open proclamation to be communist. USSR made use of Cuba to gain a foothold that will finally threaten the security of US and it did. US had reacted promptly and decisively that missiles had to be immediately removed.

EVA: The fact that Cuba drew so much attention from US was clear of the importance of Cuba and of how USSR had successfully destabilized the US and their perceived stronghold. Moreover this change would be permanent—US Cuba relations never reverted to pre-Castro days of healthy bilateral political and economic ties. Even if USSR withdrew, the communism in Cuba remained strong. This will always be seen as a thorn in US flesh—having their backyard invalidated. USSR had opportunistic desires in Cuba and it had managed to succeed—successfully turning Castro into a staunch communist.

GA: The Soviets managed to strip the US of a tactical advantage in Turkey without any immediate cost to them.

ELA: Soviet had always been bothered with the missiles facing them from Turkey and Cuba provided the opportunity to correct that military and strategy imbalance.

EVI: The success of the Soviets in winning the removal of Western missiles from Turkey in exchange for the removal of Soviet missiles in Cuba was a significant gain for the Soviets. The removal of these missiles from Turkey removed a major threat against the USSR, because the short range missiles in Turkey were extremely close to the Soviet border, and would have decreased the time the USSR had to react to their launches.

EVA: Thus having forced an agreement with US to remove those missiles in Turkey USSR managed to achieve one of their objective. Khrushchev had often been labeled a failure, weakling in the CMC for his backing down against US. But on closer examination, Khrushchev had achieved these aims through the placement of missiles in Cuba. Therefore without actually lifting a figure, he had corrected the strategy imbalance and managed to penetrate into Latin America. It seemed that the lost often remember could have been exaggerated.

III Cubans was the Victor

GA: Cuban did manipulate the Superpowers to achieve their interest of international recognition.

ELA: Castro had wanted Cuba to be recognized independently, not merely as a backyard and dependent of US for economic prosperity.

EVI: To achieve that, Castro had agreed to the placement of missiles and chosen to be on the side of the communist and acknowledging USSR as their allies, establishing economic and military treaties. USSR was also seen and used as Cuba’s protector against the engulfment of US.

EVA: Even though Cuba did become known, it was for all the wrong reasons of being manipulated by the Superpowers. However the objectives of Castro were many folds, to have failed in one did not mean a failure in all. Castro wanted to protect Cuba from the infiltration and aggression of US and through alignment with USSR did manage to achieve it. In the terms listed out by USSR, one of it was to ensure that Cuba was not attacked by US and so this was done in the favor of Cuba. Cubans might have lost in placing too much trust in USSR and in their assistance to propel them on the world stage; but they did win in winning their autonomy which also significant.

Conclusion:

· Reiterate main arguments:

n American gained in CMC through national security and military powers as missiles were removed; but more so they gained in prestige in managing to erode the Soviet threat of communism.

n The Soviets too gain immediate tactical advantage as missiles were removed from Turkey and long term advantage as Cuba broke away from the institutions of the Monroe Doctrine.

n Cubans may have lost the most but at least their security and autonomy had been preserved

· Stand.

n In all, the Americans still won the CMC, their goals were met and they won comprehensively and convincingly in both power and prestige.

n Soviet might have won in some aspects but their losses were also glaring and significant; the long term repercussions such as the Sino-Soviet split and the fall of Khrushchev