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The strategic arms limitation talks history essay

Candidate Number: History Internal Assessment (SL)April 4th, 2013Word Count: 1933Cuban Missile Crisis and the Strategic Arms Limitation TalksHistorical InvestigationNichlas Rager2013

Section A: Plan of investigation

The topic of this investigation is to examine to what extent the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962 affected the Strategic Arms Limitation Talks (SALT, 1969), which will be explored through an examination of primary sources, such as a photograph from the U-2 spy plane taken on 15th of October 1962 over Cuba, and a transcript of a tape recording, showing the tension and communication of the Kennedy Administration during the Crisis. The political relationship of US and USSR will be examined from the exchanges between Kennedy and Khrushchev. This will lead to an analysis of how the even influenced the Strategic Arms Limitation Talks (SALT) through the combined exploration of the Cuban Missile Crisis and the Limited Test Ban Treaty (LTBT, 1963). Word count: 127

Section B: Summary of Evidence

Operation Anadyr

Secret Soviet military operation[1]July to September 1962Involved 40, 000 troopsIncluding three R-12 missile groups and one R-14 missile groupThe R-12 missiles had a range of 2000 km and the R-14 4500 km” In late September 1962, Oleg Troyanovsky spoke with Khrushchev in the Soviet Leader’s study. After reviewing reports from his military advisers on the progress of Operation Anadyr, Khrushchev soberly declared, ” Soon hell will break loose.” ” I hope the boat does not capsize,” Troyanovsky responded.”[2]” On September 8 the Ministry of Defense produced a draft for a message from Malinovsky to Pliyev, stating: Only in the event of a landing of the opponent’s forces on the island of Cuba and if there is a concentration of enemy ships with landing forces near the coast of Cuba, in its territorial waters . . . and there is no possibility to receive directives from the U. S. S. R. Ministry of Defence, you are personally allowed as an exception to take the decision to apply the tactical nuclear Luna missiles as a means of local war for the destruction of the opponent on land and on the coast with the aim of a full crushing defeat of troops on the territory of Cuba and the defencse of the Cuban Revolution.” (sic)[3]

CIA & NSA

U-2 Spy-plane taking pictures of Cuba 15th of October 1962[4]See Appendix I)Start of Cuban Missile CrisisCIA Range Illustrations of SS-4 (R-12) and SS-5 (R-14) missiles[5]” Moscow’s surreptitious dispatch of nuclear-capable SS-4 and SS-5 surface-to-surface missiles to Cuba in 1962 upset the strategic balance in an alarming way.”[6]

Relationship with Cuba and the embargo

” The relationship between the United States and Cuba is unlike the U. S. relationship with any other country in the world. In one sense, it does not exist.”[7]” In the fall of 1962, then, Khrushchev thought it likely that Kennedy would order an invasion of Cuba or perhaps a blockade, thereby jeopardizing the successful completion of Anadyr”[8]” He [Khrushchev] reiterated that the armaments in Cuba, no matter what their classification, were only for its defense, to repulse attacks by an aggressor. He added that he hoped Kennedy would act wisely and renounce the actions he had undertaken, which might have catastrophic consequences for world peace.”(sic)[9]Admiral Anderson was very aggressive, but was ordered by McNamara to only act on direct orders from him, which would come directly from the president.[10]

Letters between Kennedy and Khrushchev

” You, Mr. President, are not declaring a quarantine, but rather issuing an ultimatum, and you are threatening that if we do not obey your orders, you will then use force. Think about what you are saying!”[11]The USSR will be forced to take the necessary measures to protect their given rights.[12]

Strategic Arms Limitation Talks and the Limited Test Ban Treaty

Limited Test Ban Treaty:” The Test Ban Treaty of 1963 prohibits nuclear weapons tests ” or any other nuclear explosion” in the atmosphere, in outer space, and under water.[…]”[13]The Talks extended from November 1969 to May 1972[14]The US took the first steps toward a treaty reducing the amount of long-range bombers from both the US and USSR in 1964[15]It is believed that the fear of a nuclear holocaust forced the US and USSR together to negotiate, partly because of increased capabilities on both sides, partly because they wanted to have oversight on each other.[16]The real threat to the US is not attacks on US Military with Weapons of Mass Destruction, it is the use of those weapons in American cities that is the real threat now.[17]Word count: 711

Section C: Evaluation of Sources

Source #1: Picture #14 from U-2 15th of October 1962 (See Appendix I)[18]

This picture is a valuable primary source when discussing the origins of the Cuban Missile Crisis, as it is a de-classified picture taken from a U-2 reconnaissance plane on the 15th of October 1962. It was the first in the series of photos taken that day, that proves that 6 soviet Medium-Range Ballistic Missiles had been transported to Cuba. Even though text have been added on top of the photo, it is still a primary source, as the text merely explains the objects visible on the photo. Since this photo was such a milestone in the Cuban Missile Crisis, it can be used as a transition between the pre-crisis Operation Anadyr, the crisis itself, and the post-crisis treaties and Talks. This photo does have some limitations however, as it originates from a source, which is fairly closed, and which has a lot of rumours about falsifying evidence. Though the text added to the photo does not alter its status as a primary source, it can alter our perception of the photo. We can be lead to believe the text saying: ” 6 missile trailers” in fact is six missile trailers, while it could be something as simple as logs.

Source #2: Tape Recording from ” The Week the World Stood Still: Inside the Secret Cuban Missile Crisis” (See Appendix III)

A primary source this tape recording informs us about the tension in the Kennedy Administration, and how the military leaders wanted to react if the Soviets came too close. When McNamara asks Admiral Anderson how he would react if the Soviet ships wouldn’t respect the blockade, he responded angrily that he would fire one warning shot, and then fire at them. It gives a unique view on the internal communication and status quo inside the Kennedy Administration, and how Kennedy and Khrushchev communicated. This source is valuable because, it combines some of the letters that Kennedy and Khrushchev exchanged while giving a personal tour of the structure of the Kennedy Administration. According to Stern, this transcript is from a tape recording, but he credited no source other than himself to it. This could decrease the value of the source, however it has been published by Stanford University Press, thus giving it credibility. Word count: 395

Section D: Analysis

The famous photo from the 15th of October 1962, taken by the American U-2 spy plane[19]marked the beginning of the Cuban Missile Crisis, but it was not the beginning of it. It started with the Soviet Operation Anadyr, which was a secret operation, intended to secure Cuba as a sovereign nation, by giving them access to leverage by threatening with Soviet R-12 (SS-4) and R-14 (SS-5) missiles.[20]21However, as the crisis started, and the CIA produced range maps, showing how far the Soviet missiles would reach[22], Kennedy was in contact with Khrushchev, and they exchanged several letters. When Kennedy declared the quarantine, or embargo, of Soviet ships en route to Cuba, Khrushchev responded ” You, Mr. President, are not declaring a quarantine, but rather issuing an ultimatum, and you are threatening that if we do not obey your orders, you will then use force. Think about what you are saying!”[23]Meanwhile, the Soviets were standing their ground claiming the missiles and military materiel transported to Cuba, was merely a means to defend their rights, however, Khrushchev told Kennedy that he hoped that Kennedy would realize it would be stupid to invade Cuba, as it could have disastrous consequences.[24]Kennedy went through with the blockade, and problems started arising in his own Administration. McNamara had to correct Admiral Anderson in the way he would have treated the Soviets, had they broken the embargo, and commanded him to do nothing on his own.[25]There is clearly a lot of tensions at this point of time, both on the US side, but also on the USSR, as they already at this point start to prepare to remove the nuclear weapons from Cuba, leaving it by itself.[26]In a secret deal, the US and USSR agreed on a solution to the crisis. The speculating US promised to remove some outdated missiles close to the border of the Soviet Union, that were already due to be removed, and the USSR promised to move the missiles off Cuba, in exchange of Cuban sovereignty[27]This proved to be a smart move for the US, and they soon stepped up the game, and the two powers signed the Limited Test Ban Treaty, that prohibits nuclear weapons tests and nuclear explosions of any kind in the atmosphere, outer space, water or other place where it wouldn’t be contained.[28]When the US in 1964 took the first steps towards removing some of the long-range bombers, that both sides utilized, laid the foundation for negotiations for the Strategic Arms Limitation Talks, as it directly targeted weapons, or weapons carriers. In 1967, the USSR announced they were: ” ready to reach an agreement on practical steps for the limitation and subsequent reduction of the strategic means for delivering nuclear weapons.” This could mean a few things, where the most important would be, that three years after the US announced they were ready to discuss the options of limiting nuclear weapons delivery and nuclear weapons, the USSR follows up. Word count: 546

Section E: Conclusion

From the beginning of the Crisis, with Operation Anadyr; through the spotting of the R-12 and R-14 missile sites, to the embargo keeping the Soviets away from Cuba; through the tension in both Administrations, and through the following Talks about limiting the strategic weaponry, the following conclusion becomes absolutely clear. The spotting of the missiles on Cuba and the subsequent crisis that occurred show a very direct and coherent timeline in which the US and USSR both agreed to remove nuclear weaponry. This marked a change in the perception of the disastrous outcomes of nuclear warfare and even just detonation.[29]This crisis, when viewed in relation to the Limited Test Ban Treaty impacted the Strategic Arms Limitation Talks in several ways, where the most notable is how soon after the Crisis the Talks were initiated. Had the Crisis not occurred, we would not have seen the Talks so soon.

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