How far do you agree that the Cuban Missile Crisis was the result of aggression by the superpowers?

The Cuban Missile Crisis is a clash between the 2 superpowers the US and USSR, in 1962 October when a nuclear holocaust almost broke out. No doubt Castros actions first provoked harsh US policy which in turned called for military aid from USSR and led to the Cuban Missile Crisis, it was harsh and aggressive actions of the superpowers that led to the outbreak of the Cuban Missile Crisis. Hence, this essay seeks to argue that the Cuban Missile Crisis was largely a result of aggression by the superpowers because without sufficient reason and without rationale need, they overreacted in the way they dealt with the occurrences in Cuba and escalated the conflict to what was eventually close to grave danger.

It was Castros actions, not the superpowers, that first provoked harsh US policy which in turned called for military aid from USSR, leading to the Cuban Missile Crisis. After a series of land redistribution program which had already infringed upon vital US interest, not only did Castro not scale back on its ultra-nationalistic actions, he even became so bold as to nationalize approximately USD1billion worth of US private investment in October 1960. Cubas sugar trade agreement with the Soviets, signed in February 1960, explains why the US would even place an embargo on Cuban sugar imports in the first place. In December 1960, Cuba and USSR issued a joint agreement in which Cuba openly aligned itself with the domestic and foreign policies of USSR and indicated its solidarity with the Sino-Soviet Bloc. Therefore, it is understandable why the US would toughen its policy against Cuba and even when it did so, it did not draw in the missiles.

Even though Castros actions first provoked harsh US policy, overly harsh US policy left Cuba with no other options but to join the socialist camp where USSR would be brought into the conflict, leading to the Cuban Missile Crisis. As if imposing an embargo on Cuban sugar imports and all the secret plans to assassinate Castro were not enough, in April 1961, the US expanded its economic embargo on Cuba by threatening to terminate aids to any country that traded with Cuba, by refusing to purchase goods that had the possibility of containing any Cuban materials and by pressurizing US allies to end all commercial ties with Cuba. In addition, the US even conducted a series of saber rattling activities which engendered a mood that an invasion of Cuba was imminent. Then, the US undertook two large military exercises in the Caribbean near Cuba. The first, Lantiphibex I-62 involved a marine assault using the island Vieques off the coast of Puerto Rico and the second called the QUICK KICK, was a massive set of naval maneuvers with 79 ships and more than 40000 troops off the Southern US coast. Finally from 14-19April 1961, the US carried out the Bay of Pigs invasion, but failed. As a result, in December 1961, Castro in response declared himself a Marxist-Leninist. The short breadth of time in which the events transpired showed that the US was very much responsible for pushing Cuba into the socialist camp, where Soviet involvement in Cuba would gradually increase, leading up to the outbreak of the Cuban Missile Crisis.

Even though Castros aggressive actions provoked harsh US policies which in turn called for military assistance, it was still insufficient to justify the placement of missiles, the quintessential component that transformed the conflict into a Crisis by USSR, the superpower. While the Cubans only asked for conventional weapons for additional deterrent, USSR decided to place missiles in Cuba. Given that there were already substantial amount of military aid in Cuba, such as the IL-28 light jet bombers and the Komar petrol boats, there was no need for USSR to place missiles in Cuba as additional deterrent. Moreover, the fact that the missiles require 8hours to fuel and was armed with a nuclear warhead made it indisputable that the missiles could not have been for defensive purpose because they would have been virtually useless in response to an invasion. The offensive nature of the missiles made them likely to draw an attack instead of deterring one. Therefore, ultimately, the Soviets were still most responsible for the outbreak of the Crisis, because it was out of their own Cold War concerns that had nothing to do with the conflict in Cuba, that they manipulated the missiles in Cuba into existence, thereby giving rise to the Crisis.

Even though Castros aggressive actions provoked harsh US policies which in turn called for military assistance, it was not in the power of Castro to decline the overly incendiary aid of missile after USSR, the superpower, had conceived the idea. With or without Castro asking, Khrushchev would have placed the missiles in Cuba anyway. Castros request was merely a bonus that was in line with his intention. The idea of deploying missiles in Cuba was conceived by Khrushchev while he was holidaying at his dacha and thinking about the Jupiter missiles across the Black Sea in Turkey. Not only will the missiles compensate for and close up the missile gap which USSR was lagging behind in the arms race, it will strengthen their bargaining position in Berlin and at the same time extend communist influence in the Western Hemisphere, thereby further undermining US prestige by continuing to violate the Rio Pact and the Organisation of American States (OAS) formed in 1947 and 1948 respectively to exclude communism in the US backyard. Even if a settlement on the removal of missiles was to be made eventually, the US was be compelled to negotiate with the Soviets where they would be in a more favourable position. With the power to materialize the idea firmly in the hands of Khrushchev as the Cuban economy was heavily dependent on USSR having fell out with the US, after the conceptual phase, the fate of the missiles to be implemented in Cuba was almost sealed. In May 1962, USSR proposed the initiative to the Cubans, an offer they could not decline. As such, in the very same month, the Cuban accepted the missiles as an act of socialist solidarity and a means to reinforce socialism at an international scale. The almost immediate decision of the Cubans on an issue that is so intrinsically pertinent to the sovereignty of their country gives credence to the view that [the Cubans] were receiving an important aid which they could not slink away and the USSR had manipulated the Cubans into accepting the missiles. Hence, USSR was most responsible for the existence of missiles in Cuba, which led to the outbreak of Cuban Missile Crisis.

In conclusion, undoubtedly Castros provocative actions brought about harsh US policy which in turned called for military aid from USSR and led to the Cuban Missile Crisis. However, overly harsh policies by the US, a superpower, left Cuba with no other options but to join the socialist camp where USSR, yet another superpower, would be brought into the conflict, leading to the Cuban Missile Crisis. Even though Castros aggressive actions provoked harsh US policies which in turn called for military assistance, it was still insufficient to justify the placement of missiles, the quintessential component that transformed the conflict into a Crisis by USSR, the superpower. Furthermore, it was not in the power of Castro to decline the overly incendiary aid of missile from USSR, the superpower. Therefore, the outbreak of the Cuban Missile Crisis was largely a result of aggression by superpowers.