John F Kennedy and the Cuban Missile Crisis. For fourteen days during October 1962, the world held its breath as John F Kennedy (known as JFK) and Nikita Khrushchev tried to reach a compromise and avoid nuclear war. Ernest May investigates how Kennedy demonstrated his leadership skills during the crisis.Nov 18, 2013
The Cuban Missile Crisis (October 1962) featured a standoff between the U.S. and Russia due to the placement of nuclear weapons in Cuba. The placement of weapons had occurred in the aftermath of the unsuccessful Bay of Pigs invasion in 1961, in which Cuban dissidents invaded the island in the hope the population would revolt and overthrow the regime of Fidel Castro. John F. Kennedy addressed the crisis by obtaining clear and irrefutable intelligence showing the presence of medium range and long range ballistic missiles on the island. He instituted a naval blockade, and ordered the immediate dismantling and return of the missiles to Russia. The standoff or crisis was resolved when the Russians agreed to remove the missiles and the United States agreed not to invade Cuba.
