HISTORY OF U.S. FOREIGN AFFAIRS SINCE 1898

Memorandum Outline

Brief History of Cuban Missile Crisis

Recommended Course of Action

A . Naval Blockade

B . Negotiation

Other Possible Course of Action

A . Invasion

B . Airstrike

IV . References

Executive Committee of the National Security Council

Date : October 1962

To : President John Fitzgerald Kennedy

From : Executive Committee of the National Security Council (ExComm

Subject : Course of action for the resolution of the Cuban missile crisis An alarming situation that is currently faced by the duly citizens of the United States of America have reached the stage that

it needs immediate concern . Your Excellency , the Executive Committee of the National Security Council drafted this memorandum to offer a course of action that might be able to resolve the dilemma we are facing . The suggestions were based on a close deliberation on the prevailing situation and its possible effects when utilized

Let us first review the details that led us to this catastrophic events last October 16 , the U .S . government was in possession of the photographs taken by the American U-2 spy plane the day before . It showed the Soviet Union was secretly setting up ballistic missiles within the boundaries of Cuba , which is 90 miles away from Florida (Byrne , 2006

The reason or motives of such action taken by the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR ) was still unknown and unclarified to the members of the U .S . Government . But it serves as a threat to the nation 's stability and security . During the World War II , United States and Union of Soviet Socialist Republics worked together to defeat the Nazis of Germany founded by Adolf Hitler . But soon after the war , a gap has developed between the two nations . They had been contradicting each other 's policies and ideologies . They competed with each other for allies around the world . Competition existed between the two . They compete in different fields , even in space explorations (Byrne , 2006

The two nations make their military forces more powerful in addition to their tanks , ships , aircrafts , and both acquired thermonuclear weapons or hydrogen bombs . These bombs were capable of destroying an entire city and annihilating all life forms in an instant . These prevent the two nations on attacking each other (Byrne , 2006 . There is an existing Cold War between the two nations due to unspoken reasons which were not discussed that resulted in the silent war . Though the resolution of the Second World War was almost two decades ago , the differences of the two states in many aspects were not able to compromise and settle the matters between the two

In 1957 , U .S .S .R . successfully launched Sputnik , the first man-made satellite to orbit the earth . This technical breakthrough send a message that U .S .S .R . was also capable of developing intercontinental ballistic missiles that gave European nations an opportunity to doubt the US protection against Soviet possible invasion . US offered its own ballistic missiles to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO allies , and US agreed to deploy Thor missiles in England and...