Cuban Missile Crisis Research Paper

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The Cuban Missile Crisis (CMC) is an influential event that governments, policy makers, scholars and students can reflect on and learn from. The sequence of events and the process of decision-making within the thirteen-day ordeal were crucial factors that influenced the achievement of negotiation between two superpowers. These factors and consequences have also influenced foreign policy and have provided the U.S. government with vital lessons that have impacted on government strategies. The purpose of this paper is to introduce the importance of identifying lessons that can be learnt from the Cuban missile crisis as a research question for a future study and essay. The following paper will provide an outline of events that took place during …show more content…

air assets to send signals of desist to Hanoi, similar to the way President Kennedy utilised naval blockade to send a signal to Khrushchev about the U.S. government's determinations and intentions. Regrettably, the North Vietnamese communists unsuccessfully interpreted the signals and Operation Rolling Thunder failed; as a result, the North Vietnamese increased their combat force to equal to the force of the Americans (Dobbs 2008; Scott 2012). Participating in further research and identifying faults within the process of decision-making during the Cuban missile crisis can assist in avoiding potential future errors similar to those seen in the Vietnam …show more content…

The following examples are lessons from the crisis that will be discussed in the essay: always consider all available options or consider creating a new strategy; nuclear war is possible and should not be taken lightly; within a crisis, a good leader is needed; decision makers must utilise time to develop, communicate, and consider variety of options and must not be forced into premature decisions; clear communication is needed between yourself and your adversary to avoid misinterpretations; compromise is inevitable; a nuclear war cannot be won; intelligence agencies should not be exclusively relied upon; uncertainty and miscommunication can result in an unintentional escalation of war; using historical events within the decision-making process can provide insights into final settlements and although the Cuban missile crisis was resolved successfully, future crises may not always conclude in a similar way (Betts 1985; Hampson 1985; May and Zelikow 2002; Neustadt and May 1986; Posen 1982; Yesin

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