As part of the resolution, Kennedy also secretly promised to remove US intermediate-range Jupiter nuclear missiles from Turkey, which had been a Soviet demand.
Although the crisis had been defused, the US military remained on heightened alert for three more weeks as it monitored the removal of Khrushchev agreed to dismantle and remove the Soviet missiles, in return for Kennedy’s promise not to invade Cuba. As Kennedy acknowledged later, “U Thant has put the world deeply in his debt.” Soviet Premier Nikita
Thant offered suggestions to resolve the crisis and continuously relayed messages between the two superpowers. The stand-off ended on 28 October with the help of United Nations diplomats, The world’s two atomic superpowers came closer than ever to nuclear war. The Cuban Missile Crisis lasted for 13 tense days. This had first surfaced in the 1960 debate on Bomarc missiles. It also fuelled controversy and confusion in Canada over the country’s policy on nuclear weapons. Perception that the Diefenbaker government was indecisive.Ĭanada’s hesitancy worsened already tense relations with the Kennedy administration. The delay, however, was widely criticized in Canada. It also wanted to maintain a balanced posture in crisis conditions. After Kennedy’s public address on 22 October, additionalĬanadian ships were fuelled and provisioned they sailed on 25 October, once formal authority was received from the Canadian government for the Ready State.Ĭanada’s hesitant response reflected the government’s desire to preserve the independence of its foreign policy. Naval and air force commanders carried out these ASW actions under the authority of long-standing Canada-US bilateral defence agreements. This was due toĪ noted increase in Soviet submarine activity in the area. In fact, ships and aircraft of the Royal Canadian Navy and aircraft of the Royal Canadian Air Force had been active in antisubmarine operations in the North Atlantic in cooperation with US forces since early October. Canada also had a five-stage national alert system: Discrete Phase, Ready State, Simple Alert, Reinforced Alert DEFCON 3 means an increase in readiness above normal levels, specifically that air forces are ready to deploy in 15 minutes. DEFCON 5 is normal, while DEFCON 1 indicates nuclear war They were also concerned that placing Canada’s military on alert might provoke the Soviet Union.ĭefence Readiness Condition, or DEFCON, refers to any one of five levels of American defence readiness and is based on the apparent threat to national security. He and Canada’s Foreign Minister, Secretary of State for External Affairs Howard Green, were also wary of falling too quickly He was angry that the US hadn’tĬonsulted Canada earlier in the crisis. Diefenbaker, who disliked Kennedy, was reluctant. The main issue for the Canadian government was whether to comply with an American request to move Canadian forces to a higher alert status equivalent to their DEFCON 3. Diefenbaker urged Kennedy to send a team of United Nations inspectors to Cuba to verify what the Soviets were Proof of what was taking place on the ground in Cuba. On the phone with Kennedy, Diefenbaker was skeptical about the Soviet Union’s intentions. The two leaders did not get along well at the best of times. Informed by Kennedy of the US plan shortly before the televised broadcast. Like other NATO leaders, Prime Minister John Diefenbaker was He threatened the Soviet Union with further action if the missile sites were not dismantled. He announced the crisis, and the blockade, in a televised address to Kennedy called it a “quarantine,” since in international legal terms a naval blockade was an act of war that required a formal declaration of war. Kennedy rejected calls from his military to launch air strikes against the missile sites. He and his advisors spent a week secretly discussing what to do. Kennedy was informed of the situation on 16 October. Equipped with nuclear warheads, the missiles could hit targets in the United States and Canada. On 14 October 1962, an American spy plane took photographs of Soviet medium- and intermediate-range ballistic The Cuban Missile Crisis took place at the height of the Cold War.
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