Premier Nikita Khrushchev, to reach a compromise. In 1960 Soviet premier Nikita Krushchev launched plans to supply Cuba with ballistic missiles that would put the eastern United States within range of nuclear missile attack. In 1962 U.S. spy planes flying over Cuba spotted the first ballistic missile. United States president John F. Kennedy announced a naval blockade to prevent the arrival of more missiles. He demanded that the USSR dismantle and remove the weapons and declared a quarantine zone around Cuba. For several tense days Soviet vessels avoided the quarantine zone, and Khrushchev and Kennedy communicated through diplomatic

channels. Khrushchev finally agreed to dismantle and remove the weapons from Cuba and offered the United States on-site inspection in return for a gua

rantee not to invade Cuba. Kennedy accepted and halted the blockade. However, the question that is debated over the issue is whether or not JFK got lucky or if he was tactically smart and made the correct decision. Many historians believe that

President Kennedy played a dangerous game of brinksmanship in the Cuban Missile Crisis and we were just lucky that the Soviets shied down while others believe that the actions of the Soviets influenced and framed the President's decision. However, many others traditionally believe that JFK effectively defused the crisis by good diplomacy and executive decision making. This last opinion on the matter is, without question, the correct viewpoint, and is easily justifiable through substantial evidence. Kennedy was a great leader, and although he only served a short time as president, he was very wise when dealing with executive decision making. And in no other event is this more evident than in the Cuban Missile Crisis. JFK, made his decision along with his executive board, EXCOMM, and "from this group came the recommendations from which President Kennedy was ultimately to select his course of action." From the meetings of this secret organizations, three main view points were fabricated. The hawkish view point which would dispatch US Air Force bombers, the dovish which would pursue diplomatic actions, and the owlish view point. The last one, the owlish, would have the US Navy form a blockade surrounding Cuba. This action, which JFK chose, would prevent the arrival of Soviet ships carrying materials necessary to make the missiles operational. "A naval blockade represented a combination of diplomacy and a military response and was now presented as a separate option." The secret committee feared that if direct military confrontation occurred, it would escalate possibly into nuclear war, the end of human existence upon Earth. As you can see, unlike the majority of the members of EXCOMM, Kennedy took the well being of the planet into consideration before deciding to act. This shows Kennedy's good diplomacy and wise executive decision making. Before decidin

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Approximate Word count = 1427
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)