The Cold War from 1945 to 1980

AP US History· difficulty 4/5

"It shall be the policy of this nation to regard any nuclear missile launched from Cuba against any nation in the Western Hemisphere as an attack by the Soviet Union on the United States." — John F. Kennedy, October 22, 1962

Cuban Missile Range, October 1962 Cuba SS-4 ~1100 mi USA Wash. DC Naval "Quarantine" USN ships Oct 16: U-2 photos confirm missiles Oct 22: Kennedy addresses nation Oct 28: Khrushchev agrees to withdraw SS-4 MRBM SS-5 IRBM (~2200 mi) EXCOMM deliberates Outcome: Soviet missiles withdrawn; U.S. Jupiters in Turkey removed (secret)

Kennedy's "quarantine" approach as illustrated represented which kind of diplomatic strategy?

  • A

    A flexible, graduated response that combined military pressure with negotiation

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  • B

    A return to massive retaliation doctrine

  • C

    Brinkmanship without back-channel diplomacy

  • D

    Unilateral preemptive air strike followed by invasion

Explanation

Kennedy rejected both inaction and immediate strikes, choosing a naval blockade ("quarantine") to allow time for negotiation. A secret deal removing U.S. Jupiter missiles from Turkey accompanied the public Soviet withdrawal.

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