Research Report:

‘Neither side emerged from the

Cuban Missile Crisis the winner.’
How far do you agree with this
statement?

Shental Rohan
11CK
Contents Page

Abstract

Introduction

Body

Conclusion

Bibliography
ABSTRACT

The purpose of this report is to investigate the Cuban Missile Crisis and analyse its
outcomes. In particular, this report will highlight the successes and failures of each
side involved in the crisis; the USA, the Soviet Union, and Cuba, to debate to what
extent this conflict, as a result of the Cold War, had no victors. To do this, I
researched this topic on various websites and using several IGCSE 20th Century
History textbooks, gathering information from a variety of sources and platforms. In
the end, I reached the conclusion that I agreed with the statement to a fairly large
extend because of considerable successes and losses of each side involved.

INTRODUCTION

The Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962 arose between the USA and the Soviet Union
during the Cold War, putting the world at the brink of a nuclear war. After the failed
Bay of Pigs invasion, authorised by Kennedy, to overthrow Communist Fidel Castro
and have him removed from power, Khruschev reached an agreement with Castro to
have Soviet missiles and 5000 Soviet technicians to maintain weapons in Cuba to
protect them from further attack. A US Spy Plane captured images of nuclear sites in
Cuba which Kennedy thought had not existed, causing him to declare a blockade,
which although serious, was not an act of war. However, Khruschev wrote a letter to
Kennedy stating that he would not observe the blockade. On 24th October 1962,
Soviet missile-carrying ships approached the 500-mile blockade zone, but at 10.32
am, the 20 Soviet ships near the zone retreated. After an American U-2 plane was
shot down over Cuba and intensive negotiation, the two world leaders reached an
agreement that Khruschev would withdraw the missiles from Turkey if the US
removed their missiles from Turkey, concluding the Cuban Missile Crisis.
BODY

I agree with the statement, “Neither side emerged from the Cuban Missile Crisis the
winner” to a fairly large extent, because all sides had considerable successes and
failures. Although Khrushchev was forced to relent to the US by removing missiles
from Cuba which caused him to lose power in the USSR, he still managed to have
good relations with Castro and keep Cuba Communist. Kennedy was successful as
he gained a better reputation, however, the crisis exposed the US on public media
for still keeping missiles in Turkey, which appeared hypocritical. For Castro and
Cuba, the crisis has a successful outcome as he was able to keep control of
American companies, however, he was not allowed to have nuclear missiles for
security. The following paragraphs will explore these ideas in more detail.

The USSR was successful in the crisis because Cuba still remained Communist,
under the leadership of Fidel Castro, and was highly armed. This was a victory for
the USSR because there was a strong Communist country only 160km away from
the nearest American city and was right in the centre of the Western sphere of
influence. This illustrated the failure of the USA’s policy of containment, that they
could not keep Communism spreading to even the West, and was positive
propaganda for the USSR to show a Communist country refusing to turn capitalist.
However, the USSR also suffered losses in the crisis as Khrushchev was forced to
back down and withdraw all nuclear weapons from Cuba. This caused Khrushchev
to lose popularity in the USSR for having given in to Kennedy’s demands, resulting in
him being ousted from power. Hence, the USSR can be seen as having lost in the
crisis because they were made to remove missiles from Cuba.

The USA succeeded because Kennedy’s reputation was much improved after he
had shown how he could stand up to enforce American policies to protect the
country, in this case, containment. This was particularly beneficial to Khrushchev as
he had lost respect from the public after the humiliating failure of the Bay of Pigs
invasion, an attempt to overthrow Castro. Therefore, the Cuban Missile Crisis was a
success for the US as Kennedy succeeded in his objective to have the missiles
removed which bettered his reputation.
However, the crisis was also a failure for the US as Kennedy had to remove
American missiles from Turkey as well. However, this was less humiliating than
Khrushchev removing missiles from Cuba as Kennedy was allowed to do it secretly
while Khrushchev has to do it publically. In addition, the crisis was a failure for the
US because it exposed their secret missiles in Turkey which attracted a lot of
negative worldwide attention through the media. Britain, in particular, felt it unfair for
Kennedy to have missiles in Turkey but for Cuba to not. Hence, the crisis was a
failure for the US because they received a lot of negative attention from the media
and had to remove their missiles.

Castro also came out with victories from the crisis as the country remained highly
armed and he was able to still maintain control over American businesses in Cuba.
However, Cuba was not allowed to have nuclear missiles which reduced the
country’s status. In fact, Castro was furious that Khrushchev had negotiated a deal
with Kemmedy without his knowledge and agreement to withdraw the missiles.
Particularly after the Bay of Pigs Invasion in April 1961, Castro wanted the nuclear
missiles as security and defense should the USA attack once more. Kennedy made
a verbal agreement that this would not happen, which Castro did not believe or trust
at that time, though the USA did keep their word in the future years. At the end of the
crisis, the most important message that Castro took home was to not be dependent
on other countries for security or safety.

CONCLUSION

In conclusion, I agree with the statement to a fairly large extent as the USSR and the
USA had equally significant failures and losses, while Cuba had smaller-scale
victories and successes as it was not involved in the Cold War. However, it is clear to
see that the USSR’s losses were less damaging than the USA’s, which is why the
crisis did favour the USSR slightly in the end.
BIBLIOGRAPHY

Cantrell, J. and Smith, N. (2013). 20th century history. Cambridge IGCSE. Oxford:
Oxford University Press.

Margolis, E.S. and commentator, C. affairs columnist/author/TV (2012).

Who Really “Won” the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis? [online] HuffPost.
Available at:
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/who-really-won-the-cuban-missile-crisis_b_
1981613 [Accessed 20 May 2020].

Public Radio International. (n.d.). How Cuba won the missile crisis. [online]
Available at:
https://www.pri.org/stories/2012-10-26/how-cuba-won-missile-crisis-photos.

State.gov. (2019). Milestones: 1961–1968 - Office of the Historian. [online] Available

at: https://history.state.gov/milestones/1961-1968/cuban-missile-crisis.

Scott-Baumann, M. and Walsh, B. (2013). Cambridge IGCSE Modern

World History. Option B : The 20th century. London Hodder Education.