Humanity has been on the brink of a nuclear war, and unfortunately, we’re not talking about the plot of a video game or sci-fi movie. If you haven’t heard about the Cuban Missile Crisis from more than half a century ago (1962, to be more precise), it’s time for a little rewinding of an important historical event.
As we said in a previous article, there are more than 13,000 nuclear warheads out there in the world today, and there are 9 countries that officially admitted to having nuclear weapons. Those countries are the USA, Russia, China, India, France, the UK, Pakistan, North Korea, and Israel.
Here’s another grim fact that we need to keep in mind: the nuclear weapons of today are thousands of times more powerful than the ones detonated by the US back in WWII on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The Japanese army didn’t have nuclear weapons in order to provide a similar military response, but you can easily guess what could have happened if it did.
But long after those horrifying events, meaning in 1962, the world was once again on the brink of a nuclear war when two nuclear superpowers had some score to settle: the USA and the Soviet Union. Let’s get a bit into detail, shall we?
A boiling point of the Cold War:
The Cuban Missile Crisis from October 1962 was a 13-day standoff that brought the world to the precipice of Armageddon, as it was necessary for world leaders to navigate the waters of diplomacy and crisis management.
American Jupiter missiles were placed in Turkey, and the Bay of Pugs invasion in Cuba failed. These events made the Soviets fear an encirclement from the US, and thus, the Russians decided to deploy Soviet nuclear missiles in Cuba. Those missiles were capable of striking major American cities.
The Kennedy administration was shocked, while the US had to confront the Soviet Union diplomatically regarding the ominous discovery.
Tense negotiations:
The ensuing days saw tense negotiations between US President John F. Kennedy and Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev, which were held both publicly and privately. On October 22, 1962, President Kennedy revealed the existence of the missiles on Cuban soil while also announcing a naval blockade of Cuba. He also demanded the removal of the offensive weapons.
The crisis even escalated as Soviet ships approached the blockade, and both superpowers stood poised for military actions. The threat of a nuclear war became more and more clearer, but thankfully, there was still room for rational ideas.
The resolution:
There was plenty of diplomacy and backchannel communications behind the scenes, however, that played important roles. Kennedy and Khrushchev explored the possibilities for a peaceful resolution through letter exchange.
The Soviet Premier Khrushchev offered to remove the missiles if the US pledged not to invade Cuba. Kennedy, on the other hand and in a secret deal, also agreed to dismantle US missiles in Turkey. As a result, the crisis ended, and the world once again felt safe.
What did the world learn from the Cuban Missile Crisis?
The Cuban Missile Crisis left an undeniable mark on global geopolitics. The event put the dangerous consequences of nuclear brinkmanship under the spotlight while also emphasizing the necessity of diplomatic solutions. After the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962, the US and Soviet Union aimed to facilitate direct communication, and the Limited Test Ban Treaty aimed at curbing nuclear weapons testing occurred in 1963.
In other words, nuclear power is definitely not something that should be messed with, as it can lead to a total disaster (and not metaphorically speaking, not one bit!). Instead, humanity should prioritize the use of nuclear power in much more productive ways than trying to destroy nations, as it’s actually possible to build much faster space rockets using nuclear power as propellant.
