What can we learn from near miss of Cuban Missile Crisis?
The world is facing present day nuclear dangers, what can we learn from the near miss of the Cuban Missile Crisis.
During the 13 days of the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1959, at the height of the Cold War, the United States and the Soviet Union drew closer than ever to a nuclear exchange. The Soviet Union’s decision to host ballistic missiles in Cuba, which was much too near for comfort for the United States, precipitated the crisis.
Although a lot has occurred since 1962, specialists, researchers, and politicians increasingly use the Cuban Missile Crisis as a yardstick to gauge how drastically U.S.-Russian ties have deteriorated recently, particularly following the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Because the Cuban Missile Crisis was the last time the world was on the verge of using nuclear weapons, it is important to remember it. Of course, there was a significant likelihood of an intercontinental nuclear exchange at the time because Washington and Moscow were threatening one another. Reprehensible this time, Russia is threatening to use tactical nuclear weapons on Ukrainian soil in an effort to frighten Ukraine and its allies and compel discussions on its terms.
Since the threat has changed from that of sixty years ago, we must make every effort to prevent a nuclear war attack for the first time since Hiroshima and Nagasaki. If the Russians use nuclear weapons, the global nuclear taboo that has existed for more than 70 years will be broken.
Lessons to learn from Cuban Missile Crisis
In the end, purchasing time was what made the American response to the Cuban Missile Crisis successful. In order to avoid the situation where there was no turning back, President Kennedy continued to lengthen the runway metaphorically. He set the tempo and disregarded any Russian initiatives that may have quickened it because he was aware that leaders make their biggest errors when under pressure to act. He displayed knowledge of disaster response and crisis management that is still applicable today.
As the risks we confront today grow—cyber, nuclear, terrorism, viruses, and Mother Nature—our ability to preserve lives frequently depends on our ability to prevent a complete, systemic failure by postponing the inevitable moment of catastrophe.
The fact that Kennedy and Khrushchev did not flee or even walk to the brink of nuclear war is perhaps the most important lesson to be learned from the Cuban Missile Crisis.
Instead, they faltered. The famous American U-2 being shot down over Cuba, which set off the deadliest part of the crisis, was not something Khrushchev authorized, but as he subsequently said, “There’s always something that doesn’t receive the message.”
Even while the current situation is not at all comparable to the Cuban Missile Crisis, the possibility of incorrect assumptions, misinformation, and close calls still exists. Additionally, the threat of a leader who is actively fighting a losing battle and has little options left gives many lessons to learn from Cuban Missile Crisis
