Cold War and US Diplomacy Essay

The John F. Kennedy presidency encountered various situations in Latin America, Southeast Asia and Europe, as well as, other regions that required astute diplomatic efforts and initiatives amid increasing Cold War tensions. Kennedy had been passionate about the issues of war and peace since when he was young. In fact, Kennedy’s plan of flexible response managed by Robert McNamara was intended to minimize the occurrence of war caused by miscalculated diplomatic and military initiatives. The U. S. ’s successful handling of the Cuban Missile Crisis epitomizes the foreign policy approach that John F.  Kennedy’s administration took. The Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962 was a conflict with the Soviet Union and Cuba on one side and the U. S on the other. The Cuban Missile Crisis is regarded as the closest the Cold War came to turning into a nuclear war (Byrne, 2006, p. 7). It is also one of the documented moments of the threat of mutual assured destruction (MAD). After getting proof of Soviet missile bases building in Cuba, the U. S thought about the idea of attacking Cuba through air and sea, but later arrived at a military quarantine of Cuba. U. S troops were at their highest state of readiness ever while Soviet field commanders based in Cuba were ready to use battlefield nuclear weapons to defend Cuba if it was attacked. Fortunately, courtesy of courage of two men, President John F. Kennedy and Prime Minister Nikita Khrushchev, eminent nuclear war was averted. After capturing proof that Cuban missile bases were under construction, Kennedy secretly held a meeting with the Executive Committee of the National Security Council (EXCOMM). He put on hold the military solution of the crisis, vigorously championed by the Joint Chiefs of Staffs, and instead decided to quarantine Cuba (Viotti, 1996, p. 104). On October 22, 1962 Kennedy informed the public about the crisis, declaring the quarantine and demanding removal of the Soviet Union. Kennedy’s inclination to a peaceful settlement of international disputes was best exemplified when a Soviet missile brought down a U-2 reconnaissance plane over Cuba, murdering the pilot Rudolf Anderson. On October 27, in a letter to Nikita Khrushchev, Kennedy gave a non-invasion promise for removal of Soviet missiles from Cuba. Luckily, on October 28th, 1962 Kennedy and Khrushchev signed a deal. The Soviet Union accepted to remove their missiles from Cuba in exchange for the U. S non-invasion promise and disarmament of PGM-19 Jupiter missiles in Turkey. By the time the deal was struck, all Jupiter missiles were considered to be out of use and had actually been replaced by missile-equipped U. S Navy Polaris subs; they were however, removed in 1963. Diplomatic efforts spearheaded by President John F. Kennedy in conjunction with Premier Nikita Khrushchev during the Cold War helped the U. S to avoid going to war with the communist Soviet Union. The Cuban Missile Crisis was a dangerous global security situation equated to crisis such as the Berlin Blockade, the Yom Kippur War and the Suez Canal as one of the major conflicts of the Cold War. Avoiding the eminent nuclear war was a great feat for the U. S in her efforts to spearhead maintenance of international peace and security. Furthermore, it saved the international community from being doomed to a devastating worldwide thermonuclear war even before the deep wounds of World War I and II dried up. After the Cuban Missile Crisis, the U. S and the Soviet Union political leaders recognized a mutual interest in deliberate and strategic arms limitations in order to avoid accidental or unintentional nuclear war and to prevent the spread of the deadly nuclear weapons (Cimbala, 2002, p. 8). During the 1960s, the vital Nuclear Test Ban Treaty of 1963 and Direct Communications Link (Hot Lines) for urgent situation discussions between the U.  S and Russia heads of states were concluded. Deliberations between Washington D. C and Moscow over strategic arms limitation started during the Johnson administration continued during Nixon presidency and ended in the SALT I (Strategic Arms Limitation Talks) covenant in 1972. The Cuban Missile Crisis indirectly reaffirmed the importance of peaceful settlement of disputes not only between the U. S and their rivals like the Soviet Union, but also between other countries in other parts of the world. This trend was particularly crucial to the entire international community, which was still struggling to overcome effects of World War II. Diplomatic efforts used by Kennedy’s administration helped to save the world’s weak nations from being hurt by the likely thermonuclear war that would have erupted between the U. S and Soviet Union. In addition, it left both military and political global balance of power unaltered. In conclusion, for the U. S public, President John F. Kennedy showed commendable leadership talents, decision-making abilities, and conflict management kills. In fact, by November 1962, Kennedy’s management of the Cuban Missile Crisis was seen by most ordinary Americans as a major diplomatic victory for his administration and the nation at large (Viotti, 2005, p. 53). To a certain extent, the triumph of the diplomatic efforts adopted by Kennedy administration boosted public confidence in his regime particularly with regard to foreign relations initiatives at a time when Soviet Union communism was increasingly gaining ground and the nuclear weapons race getting out of hand.