came to nuclear war; but exactly how close did it come? The Crisis was

ultimately a showdown between the United States and the Soviet Union from

October 16 to October 28, 1962. During those thirteen stressful days, the

world's two biggest superpowers stood on the brink of a nuclear catastrophe.

The Crisis started as a result of both the Soviet Union's fear of losing the

arms race, and Cuba's fear of US invasion. The Soviet Premier, Nikita

Khrushchev, thought that both problems could easily be solved by placing

Soviet medium range missiles in Cuba. This deployment would double the

Soviet arsenal and protect Cuba from US invasion. Khrushchev proposed this

idea to Cuban Premier, Fidel Castro, who, like Khrushchev, saw the strategic

advantage. The two premiers worked together in secrecy throughout the

late-summer and early-fall of 1962. The Soviets shipped sixty medium-range

ballistic missiles (MRBMs) along with their warheads, launch equipment, and

necessary operating personnel to Cuba. When United States President, John

F. Kennedy discovered the presence of these offensive weapons, he

immediately organized EX-COMM, a group of his twelv

missiles and the American "quarantine" which, no matter what they called it,

rushed to the broadcasting station. Khrushchev hoped the message would

his car and called a meeting with EX-COMM. Throughout EX-COMM's

they had a big problem. President Kennedy was informed of the missiles

that since they were defensive and not offensive, the US had nothing to worry

Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 3075
Approximate Pages = 12 (250 words per page double spaced)