The presence of Soviet Missiles on Cuba was a problem at the time because Cuba is only a few hundred miles from the US Coast, easily within reach.
The presence of Soviet Missiles on Cuba was a problem at the time because Cuba is only a few hundred miles from the US Coast, easily within reach. However, at the time the US had no Missiles that could reach the Soviet Union, so they could fire at us and we couldn't fire back.
It was a direct threat to the United States - and a power move to show they could place missles within 90 miles of their border.There are actually 5 possible reasons:1. To Bargain With The USA-Krushchev may have put them there so that he had something against the USA and good agree on removing them in return for some American concessions.2. To Test The USA-The missiles could have been put there to see how string the Americans really were, whether they would back off or face up. The USSR may have wanted to test out Kennedy3. To Trap The USA-The missiles could've been a trap and Krushchev may have wanted the Americans to find them and be drawn into a nuclear war. He didn't even try to hide them.4. To Defend Cuba-The missiles could have been their to genuinely defend Cuba5. To Get The Upper Hand In The Arms Race-The missiles were put there so that the Soviet Union was at least level with the USA in the Arms Race. With their missiles in Cuba and America's missiles in Turkey, it was less likely the USA would ever launch a 'first strike' against the USSR.
The Cuban Missile Crisis. In 1962, The Soviet Union, in collaboration with Fidel Castro, began building nuclear missiles on the Island of Cuba. Because the Soviets technology at the time limited their nuclear missiles range, they felt that having missiles in Cuba was the only way of defending against an attack by the United States, whose nuclear arsenal could reach the Soviet Union at any time. Castro, after the failed Bay of Pigs invasion, thought that another attack by the U.S was inevitable and agreed to the Soviet installations. President Kennedy imposed a quarantine on the island by surrounding it with naval vessels and ordered the missiles to be dismantled. Several tense days went by, and the world was on the brink of nuclear war. the worst day being October 27th when a U2 reconnaissance plane was shot down. On October 28th, The U.S and the Soviet Union came to an agreement. The missiles and bombers would be removed from Cuba, and the U.S agreed not to invade Cuba, thus ending the crisis.
At first, no one could figure out what the Soviet Union was doing, by sending ship after ship to Cuba, but suspicions were high. With photographic proof in hand, that the Soviet Union was in the midst of installing short range ballistic missiles in Cuba, President Kennedy announced his findings to the world. The worst news, was that these missiles were armed with nuclear warheads, and could reach nearly every city and town of the United States. The news led to such things as bomb shelters and storage of mass amounts of food and water.
The presence of Soviet Missiles on Cuba was a problem at the time because Cuba is only a few hundred miles from the US Coast, easily within reach.
Ballistic missiles can reach up to 5000km Ballistic missiles can reach up to 5000km
To avoid war between the Soviet Union & the United States. The Soviet Union also realized the mistake of putting its nuclear weapons in Cuba where Castro could gain control of them. Castro's communist Cuba would have had the potential to start a world-wide nuclear war, even if the Soviet Union didn't want it. Also the Soviet Union was building submarines that could launch nuclear weapons against the United States, so the weapons in Cuba would not be as important as before.
The presence of Soviet Missiles on Cuba was a problem at the time because Cuba is only a few hundred miles from the US Coast, easily within reach. However, at the time the US had no Missiles that could reach the Soviet Union, so they could fire at us and we couldn't fire back.
Press Y and fire.
Some nuclear weapons can be fitted to missiles. In the case of an ICBM (Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles) a nuclear weapon can be outfitted so that it can reach distant points on the globe.
It was a direct threat to the United States - and a power move to show they could place missles within 90 miles of their border.There are actually 5 possible reasons:1. To Bargain With The USA-Krushchev may have put them there so that he had something against the USA and good agree on removing them in return for some American concessions.2. To Test The USA-The missiles could have been put there to see how string the Americans really were, whether they would back off or face up. The USSR may have wanted to test out Kennedy3. To Trap The USA-The missiles could've been a trap and Krushchev may have wanted the Americans to find them and be drawn into a nuclear war. He didn't even try to hide them.4. To Defend Cuba-The missiles could have been their to genuinely defend Cuba5. To Get The Upper Hand In The Arms Race-The missiles were put there so that the Soviet Union was at least level with the USA in the Arms Race. With their missiles in Cuba and America's missiles in Turkey, it was less likely the USA would ever launch a 'first strike' against the USSR.
The Cuban Missile Crisis. In 1962, The Soviet Union, in collaboration with Fidel Castro, began building nuclear missiles on the Island of Cuba. Because the Soviets technology at the time limited their nuclear missiles range, they felt that having missiles in Cuba was the only way of defending against an attack by the United States, whose nuclear arsenal could reach the Soviet Union at any time. Castro, after the failed Bay of Pigs invasion, thought that another attack by the U.S was inevitable and agreed to the Soviet installations. President Kennedy imposed a quarantine on the island by surrounding it with naval vessels and ordered the missiles to be dismantled. Several tense days went by, and the world was on the brink of nuclear war. the worst day being October 27th when a U2 reconnaissance plane was shot down. On October 28th, The U.S and the Soviet Union came to an agreement. The missiles and bombers would be removed from Cuba, and the U.S agreed not to invade Cuba, thus ending the crisis.
Moving Soviet missiles to Cuba was a threat in that it placed these weapons only 90 miles from the US. Prior to that, Soviet ICBM's would need to travel thousands of miles to reach the US. Having them so close would improve their accuracy and make spotting them far too late as they were so close.
Nuclear missiles leave the earth's atmosphere for some time. Intercontinental missiles, for example require the missile to ascend to 1,000 feet to assure that it will reach it's intended target.
An Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) can reach distances greater that 5500kms and can deliver one or more nuclear warheads
Soviet Union