The USSR Wants to Plant Missiles in Cuba

In October 1962, three men – Kennedy, Khrushchev, and Castro – hold the fate of the planet in their hands. A dispute over Soviet missiles in Cuba spirals out of control. Officials in the USA and the USSR prepare for a war that would end life on Earth as we know it. How exactly did it come to this? And just how close will the world come to nuclear Armageddon?

This is a Short History of the Cuban Missile Crisis, Part 1.

Written by Joel Duddell. With thanks to Philip Brenner, Professor Emeritus at the American University School of International Service.

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