The Pros and Cons of Do nothing about the blockade
Answers
Answer:
The Cuban Missile Crisis was the pinnacle of the Cold War. While the Cold War continued for many years after the crisis, it was the closest the United States and Russia ever came to all-out nuclear war.[1] The crisis was started when a U-2 spy plane flying reconnaissance over Cuba, sighted various missile sites in different stages of completion. Upon further examination, it was found that the Soviets were constructing many Surface-to-Air Missile sites and a handful of Medium Range Ballistic Missile sites, giving the Soviets the power to launch nuclear missiles against any major city in the United States. Before this, there had been little worry of nuclear war, as Soviet missiles did not have the technology to be able to be launched from Russia and reach the United States, but with these new developments, the Cold War took a new horrifying turn.[2] President John F. Kennedy was faced with a dilemma as to what he should do about the missile sites in Cuba. If he were to leave them be and do nothing, he would be seen as weak and afraid to take action, however if he were to attack, he would be seen as a tyrant attacking a small poor country by surprise.[3] Eventually, he decided on a Naval blockade of Cuba and a demand that all missile sites be dismantled and sent back to Russia. Thankfully, this solution worked and nuclear war was avoided. But the question has always remained; why did Kennedy choose the blockade solution?
Many historians disagree as to whether the blockade was the correct route to take in resolving the crisis in October of 1962. Some believe that Kennedy should have gone ahead with the air strike followed up by an invasion, simply to show the world that the United States was not a country to be fooled with.[4] Others believed a more diplomatic solution was called for; one in which no aggressive action would have been taken, thus reducing the chance of retaliation.[5] Finally, many agree with Kennedy’s decision, stating that it was an appropriate compromise that opened the door to both the air strike and the diplomatic option, whichever seemed necessary as time went on.[6] For most of the duration of the crisis, most favoured the air strike as it was quick, efficient, and displayed the true power of the United States.[7] However, as time went on, the blockade became more favourable, as it still showed that the United States would act, but in a much more reasonable way then repeating what had happened at the end of World War II in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The diplomatic solution was one of the first to be considered, but it never made it much farther than the early days, as it was seen as too slow, and not affirmative enough. Today, most historians agree that the blockade was the correct choice, as it would seem to have given the most favourable results.[8] However, there are still a few historians who would have preferred the air strike, as they believe it would have ended the Cold War.[9] It is not totally clear which solution was the right one to choose, but it is hard to argue against results.
Blockade Alternative
The blockade idea was relative new and innovative, and combined the best of both worlds from the air strike, and the diplomatic alternatives.[10] In the blockade alternative, the United States Navy did set up a ring of ships around Cuba, and stop any ships that tried to go to Cuba. This would effectively halt any new weapons or personnel shipments coming in from Russia, and would open the door to new negotiations or actions.[11] It was thought that once the blockade was in place, Khrushchev would realize that he had to open the lines of communication with the US, as he would no longer have control of Cuba. Negotiations could then be pursued as to the dismantling of the offensive weapons.[12] One issue was that blockades had been usually viewed as acts of war, as it said so in the International Charter on the rules of engagement. Thus, the United States was worried that Russia might see it as such, and react appropriately, as if it were an act of war and perhaps attack the United States, thus creating global war.[13] The blockade option combined both the air strike and the diplomatic alternatives in that it displayed action, and yet still opened the doors to further negotiations because it was not an aggressive action and still had room to be modified.[14] This is the main reason it was favoured, as it was a sort of compromise that everyone could be happy with. It was believed that once the naval ring was set up around the island of Cuba, the United States would be unchallenged and therefore no shots would ever need to be fired.[15] This was because the Cuban navy was much too small to take on something as large as the United States navy, so it would not risk a battle out at sea, preferring one on it’s own turf instead.
Explanation:hope it helps u plz mark as the brainliest