History 301
Devine
Fall 2013
Study Questions: Mark White, Missiles in Cuba
1.
How
did Kennedy and his advisors approach foreign affairs? What were their goals?
2.
Prior
to the missile crisis, how had Kennedy decided to deal with Cuba? What options did he have and what/who
influenced his decisions?
3.
What
was the goal of Operation Mongoose? In
what additional ways did the Kennedy Administration attempt to contain
Cuba’s/Castro’s influence in Latin America?
4.
Who
was General Edward Lansdale and why was he significant with regard to Cuba?
5.
What
were the various possible motives Khrushchev had for placing Soviet missiles in
Cuba?
6.
Why
did Khrushchev believe that Cuba needed the protection of Soviet missiles? Why did Khrushchev consider Cuba important to
Soviet interests?
7.
Why
was secrecy crucial to Khrushchev’s plans for Cuba? What concerns did Khrushchev’s advisors have
regarding his plan and how did Khrushchev make the case for Operation Anadyr?
8.
What
did Castro think about the placement of Soviet nuclear missiles in Cuba?
9.
Why
did Khrushchev believe that nuclear weapons as opposed to conventional weapons
were necessary for Cuba’s defense?
10.
What
assumptions on the part of the Soviets and the Americans contributed to
heightened tensions in the weeks leading up to the crisis?
11.
What
domestic considerations caused additional concern for the Kennedy
administration? How did Kennedy respond
to domestic pressures from the Republicans and the media?
12.
What
role did America’s Jupiter missiles in Turkey play in the development of the
crisis?
13.
Prior
to the crisis, what military preparations did the United States military make –
and why?
14.
How
did Kennedy respond to the news that the Soviets had placed missiles in
Cuba? How (and why) did his response
change during the first few days of the crisis?
15.
What
factors did Kennedy take into consideration as he tried to develop an
appropriate response to the Soviets?
16.
What
were the pros and cons of a military strike on the missiles in Cuba? What were the pros and cons of a quarantine?
17.
What
role did Adlai Stevenson play in the crisis? Overall, would you say it was a
positive or negative one?
18.
What
does the author think about the make-up of ExComm? Did Kennedy have access to a wide variety of
views during the crisis?
19.
What
steps did Kennedy and Khrushchev take to reduce the risk of the crisis
spiraling out of their control?
20.
How
did Khrushchev respond to President Kennedy’s televised address regarding the
Cuban Missile Crisis?
21.
At
one point during the crisis did the “other fellow blink”?
22.
What
role did reporter John Scali and KGB officer Aleksandr Feklisov play in the
crisis?
23.
Why
does the author believe Washington’s abiding desire to remove Castro from power
interfered with crisis diplomacy?
24.
To
what extent was Fidel Castro consulted by the Soviets during the crisis?
25.
What
remaining sticking points were there in the deal that Kennedy and Khrushchev
struck to end the crisis?
26.
How
does the author evaluate Kennedy and Khrushchev’s crisis diplomacy?