Was Kennedy to blame for the Cuban Missile Crisis? (2024)

Ultimately JFK cannot be given ultimate blame but he played a significant role. Kennedy exacerbated tensions with Cuba and created a hostile situation that encouraged Soviet action in the region. This is best displayed with the failed Bay of Pigs invasion of 1961, in which the CIA trained Cuban exiles to incite a rebellion in Cuba to overthrow Castro. Secretary of Defence Robert McNamara highlights the role of the failed invasion, as he claimed if he were in Moscow or Havana he would have expected further aggressive American policies. This shows how Kennedy made the situation dangerous as he showed not only were the US working to undermine Castro's government, but also that he would be willing to use force. This was married with several assassination attempts that Castro was aware of, which generally made Castro concerned that his neighbouring power was actively trying to remove him. This aggression from the US invited Castro to find a protector and he found that in the USSR who ultimately placed the missiles in Cuba. Overall if Kennedy had not acted aggressively then tensions would never have arisen in the region and and the crisis would never have happened. Though Kennedy is most to blame in terms of the increasing in hostility in the region, Khrushchev was the individual that created the crisis as it existed. Kennedy's actions were a direct cause of Soviet interference, yet Khrushchev's decision to place nuclear weapons on the island is the cause of the crisis. Though Soviet's can say it was a deterrent, that logic is ultimately specious for a few reasons. The Soviet desire for a deterrence in Cuba did not require placing missiles capable of destroying every major US city except from Seattle. The Crisis became so major because of how high the Soviets raised the stakes. It was also not simply a deterrence because the weapons were placed in secret, by its very nature a deterrence must be known to the second party for them to be suitably deterred. By placing them in secret in made the US believe these were offensive rather than defensive. By placing the missiles in Cuba itself and raising the stakes that high, Khrushchev is most to blame for the Cuban Missile Crisis.