The Crisis is also known as the 13 Days
Castro became leader of Cuba after the Bay of Pigs invasion.
Castro was initially willing to try to work with the US
The plan to overthrow Castro had been convceived by the CIA under Kennedy
Even the CIA described the Bay of Pigs as a ‘perfect failure’
The Bay of Pigs was in April 1961
Khrushchev claimed he put Missiles in Cuba to get a first strike capability.
Kennedy was informed on 14 October
Operation Meercat was a CIA plot to assassinate Castro
The US had operational Missiles in Turkey & Italy
Kennedy’s advisory body was known as ‘think tank’
Colonel Curtis Lee May was a well known ‘hawk’
The ‘hawks’ favored a diplomatic solution to the crisis
Kennedy appeared on National TV on the 22nd and informed the US the missiles only had a defensive purpose, but they had to be removed.
Kennedy opted for a quarantine of Cuba
