ESP – Concours – The cold war
The Cold War was an ideological, political, and economical war between the USA and their allies, and the USSR and its allies. It started in 1947 and ended in 1991, and created several serious crisis all over the world. Though, the two powers never really made war directly, there were wars, like, for instance in Korea, or Vietnam, whenever one of the two superpowers helped an allied army to fight against the other side. Also, both superpowers would use force to prevent a country of their side to turn to the other side. Obviously, because of the nuclear weapons, neither the USAnor the USSRwould start a direct war. One of the worst and most dangerous Cold War crisis was the cuban missile crisis, where the world almost met its end.
Cuba is an island in the carribean, which had a revolution that lasted from 1956 to 1959 in which the pro american leader Batista was overthrown by Fidel Castro and Che Guevara, eventualy, Che Guevara went back to fighting all over the world for socialism and Castro became the ruler of Cuba, supported by the soviets.
In 1962 the USA discovered missile launch facilities in Cuba. These facilities were the USSR response to the american balistic missiles in Italy and Turkey, which were direct threats to the USSR, but also to the threat of a possible american invasion of Cuba, after the first attempt in the Bay of Pigs. These soviet missiles would have directly threatened the US territory when functional. The american president John F. Kennedy, the russian Nikita Khrushchev and Castro engaged in a tense crisis in which the use of the nuclear weapon was on the table. The american couldn’t accept the presence of russian missiles only 90 miles from their mainland, and considered their options, including bombing and invading Cuba, and starting a war against the USSR, as JFK told his fellow citizens on TV, October 22 1962. Eventualy, the less agressive option was chosen : a blockade of Cuba and an ultimatum to remove all existing missiles. The soviet ships heading to Cuba with the missiles didn’t force the blockade and stopped. But the situation could still degenerate. Kennedy and Khrushchev never stopped communicating and reached an agreement, the soviet missiles in Cuba were removed, Cuba was not invaded ( but the blockade was maintained) and the USA secretely withdrew their missiles from Turkey. After the crisis the USA and the USSR created a direct line betwenn the White House and the Kremlin in case of a new crisis : the hot line.
QUESTIONS
ESP – Concours
1) The Cold War was a long term crisis between the USA and the USSR in which :
a) There never were any actual military conflicts.
b) Both superpowers used nuclear weapons against each other.
c) They shared the same communist ideology.
d) They never considered using the nuclear weapon.
2) During the cuban crisis :
a) The missiles launching facilities in Cuba belonged to the USSR.
b) Fidel Castro and Che Guevara ruled Cuba together during the crisis.
c) Cuba is an island 90 miles from mainland America.
d) The USA stopped the blockade after reaching an agreement with the USSR .
Correction
- The Cold War was a long term crisis between the USA and the USSR in which :
a) Wrong, there were conflicts like in Korea or Vietnam.
b) Wrong, they never did.
c) Wrong, they had different ideologies.
d) Wrong, peace was at stake.
2) During the cuban crisis :
a) Right.
b)Wrong only Castro did.
c) Right.
d) Wrong, the blockade was still on after that.
Origines et début de la Guerre froide
