“The Cuban Missile Crisis: JFK’s Challenges and Strategies to Avoid Global Catastrophe”

THIS ASSIGNMENT WILL SERVE AS THE *FINAL EXAM*. THE PAPER IS A EXPLORATION OF THE 1962 “CUBAN MISSILE CRISIS” WHICH IS CHRONICLED IN THE BOOK “ONE HELL OF A GAMBLE”. THIS IS THE EVENT WHICH BROUGHT THE WORLD TO THE EDGE OF EXTINCTION. QUESTIONS TO CONFRONT IN YOUR PAPER ARE THESE: WHAT CHALLENGES DID PRESIDENT KENNEDY FACE WHEN DEALING WITH THIS CRISIS? FOR EXAMPLE, HOW DID HE PLACATE THE DEMEANDS FROM HIS MILITARY ADVISORS WHO DEMANDED AN IMMEDIATE ATTACK ON CUBA? HOW DID JFK HOLD THE LINE WITH THOSE IN HIS ADMINISTRATION THAT WANTED A FULL OUT CONFRONTATION WITH THE SOVIET UNION? WHAT STRATEGIES DID KENNEDY EMPLOY TO SATISFY THE NATION’S COMMITMENT TO ITS ALLIES WHILE ALSO AVOIDING WORLD WAR III AND A GLOBAL CONFLAGRATION? IN YOUR OPINION, HOW SUCCESSFUL WAS KENNEDY IN HIS STRATEGY TO STAND TALL IN THE FACE OF A PROVOCATION FROM OUR ENEMY AND AT THE SAME TIME KEEP THE WORLD from a global catastrophe?