What was the 3rd Hot Spot in the Cold War!

Cuban Missile Crisis!

Who was the American leader at the time of the Cuban Missile Crisis?

John F Kennedy

Who was the Cuban leader at the time of the Cuban Missile Crisis?

Fidel Castro

Who was the Russian leader at the time of the Cuban Missile Crisis?

Khrushchev

What was the Bay of Pigs?

• 1961, CIA convinced JFK that Castro should be overthrown

• USA helped Cuban exiles to invade at the Bay of Pigs

• Disaster!• JFK seriously embarrassed

Why did Cuban Missile Crisis happen? ASK

After Bay of Pigs invasion Castro made trade agreements with Russians

Spy planes from USA (U2s) photographed Soviet missiles in place on Cuba

Khrushchev wanted to put pressure on JFK to remove US missiles from Turkey

Communists on the Doorstep!!!

Cuba

The USA – just

90 miles away!

• Kennedy was a young President, who was thought by many to be ‘soft on Communism’

• Kennedy had already lost public support over ‘The Bay of Pigs’ incident in 1961

• It was widely believed that Khrushchev, was looking for a ‘test’ for Kennedy.

What did JFK do?

• Big test for Kennedy!• Closest the world had ever been to nuclear

war!• JFK accused Russians of ‘provocation’• Russians said they were just defending

Russia• US ships launched a naval blockade

The Outcome

• Khrushchev agreed to remove the missiles if the USA agreed to lift the blockade and promise not to invade Cuba

• JFK agreed to this in public

• In private, USA agreed to remove missiles from Turkey

Why was it a turning point?

• JFK came out looking like a hero

• Closest the world had come to nuclear war

• Relationships between superpowers improved

• A telephone ‘hot line’ set up between Russia and the White House

• Nuclear Test Ban Treaty signed (banned testing nuclear weapons in the atmosphere, the sea or in space)

• Kruschev was praised for knowing when to back down (but was criticised by the Chinese)