Fifty years ago today, the United States was faced with a decision that had the power to change history. With the Cuban Missile Crisis underway, the U.S. government had to decide how to protect the American people, and the rest of the world from nuclear war.  

Luckily, the U.S. was able to avoid nuclear attack after a period of intense discussion leading to President John F. Kennedy’s proposal that the Soviets withdraw their missiles from Cuba if the U.S. pledged to never invade Cuba and withdraw its own nuclear weapons from Turkey. 

 The anniversary, the conflict, and our lucky success, was commemorated by many news organizations such as National Public Radio, and New York Times, who released articles and reports about the Cuban Missile Crisis. 

The John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum is remembering these historic 13 days through their program of online activities they have launched for this week. The library launched an interactive website Cloudsovercuba.com which features a documentary as well as a short film that offers an alternative ending to the crisis if the U.S. had decided to invade Cuba.  

The JFK Library also hosted the Conference of Nation’s Leading Cuban Missile Crisis Historians on Sunday, which drew over 300 visitors to listen to historians, scholars, journalists, and descendants of world leaders speak about the Cuban Missile Crisis

Although 50 years have passed since the conflict, the event is still extremely relevant today. There are still thousands of nuclear weapons around the world, much more than there were in 1962.  

“We can’t get complacent in the west just because we haven’t had a real threat in a while. Even though it’s been quiet, there are weapons waiting to be used,” said Robert English, a professor of International Relations at the University of Southern California.

Even though there is no real nuclear threat against the United States right now, there are issues around the world that could escalate to nuclear conflict. English predicted that situations similar to the Cuban Missile Crisis could occur between Israel and Iran, or India and Pakistan. 

“If a situation like the Cuban Missile Crisis were to occur again it wouldn’t be between the U.S. and Russia but, it could very well happen with these other countries and I’m not sure if they could resolve it as luckily and carefully as we did in 1962,” English said. 

In the next five to 10 years North Korea will most likely see some major reform, English said, which could also lead to progress in technology. 

Yet even if North Korea does eventually have nuclear capabilities that could threaten the U.S., the situation will mostly likely not rival that of the Cuban Missile Crisis. 

“North Korea will always be around the world from us,” English said. “Cuba was different because we had to act so quickly due to their location.”

It is hoped that a situation like the Cuban Missile Crisis will never occur again in the U.S. or anywhere around the world, however in the mean time we must be aware of the possibility, and learn from the conflict. 

 

Reach Staff Reporter Emily Goldberg here.