쿠바 미사일 위기: 핵전쟁의 문턱에서 | The Cuban Missile Crisis: On the Brink of Nuclear War

Описание: The Cuban Missile Crisis: On the Brink of Nuclear War

What would happen if humanity stood just one step away from nuclear war? What choices would world leaders make with trembling hands hovering over the nuclear launch button?
In October 1962, the world came closer to nuclear annihilation than ever before.
The Cuban Missile Crisis was not just a diplomatic standoff—it was the most perilous moment in human history when global destruction seemed imminent. This was the event that brought the world to the edge of disaster, only to pull back at the last possible moment.
Let us now revisit those thirteen days of terror that nearly changed the course of history forever.

1. The Flames of the Cold War
The Cuban Missile Crisis did not emerge overnight. After World War II, the United States and the Soviet Union became the two dominant superpowers, locked in a fierce ideological struggle between capitalism and communism.
By the early 1960s, the U.S. had established missile bases in Europe and Turkey, effectively surrounding the Soviet Union with nuclear threats. In response, the Soviet Union devised a bold plan to counterbalance American military superiority.
(1) Fidel Castro and the Soviet Alliance
Cuba, a small island nation just 90 miles (145 km) off the coast of Florida, was of immense strategic importance in the Cold War.
In 1959, Fidel Castro overthrew the pro-American dictator Fulgencio Batista and established a communist government. This immediately soured relations with the U.S.
In 1961, the Bay of Pigs invasion, a failed U.S.-backed attempt to overthrow Castro, only pushed him closer to the Soviet Union. Fearing another American invasion, Castro agreed to host Soviet nuclear missiles on Cuban soil as a deterrent.
(2) The Soviet Gamble
Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev saw this as a golden opportunity. Deploying nuclear missiles in Cuba would achieve several strategic goals:
Counteract U.S. missile bases in Turkey and Italy.
Protect Cuba from another American invasion.
Demonstrate Soviet military strength and establish strategic balance.
Thus, in the summer of 1962, the Soviet Union secretly began transporting nuclear warheads and military personnel to Cuba.

2. The Discovery That Shook the World
On October 14, 1962, an American U-2 reconnaissance plane flying over Cuba captured photographic evidence that changed everything.
The images revealed Soviet missile bases under construction—missiles that could strike major American cities within minutes.
(1) Shock and Strategy at the White House
President John F. Kennedy and his advisors were stunned and alarmed when they saw the evidence.
The presence of nuclear weapons in Cuba directly threatened U.S. security, making Washington, New York, and other key cities vulnerable to a sudden nuclear attack.
Kennedy quickly convened a crisis team, the Executive Committee of the National Security Council (ExComm), to decide how to respond.
Two main strategies emerged:
A direct military strike to destroy the missile sites and potentially invade Cuba.
A diplomatic approach to pressure the Soviet Union into withdrawing the missiles.
(2) The Naval Blockade Strategy
After intense debate, Kennedy rejected an immediate attack, fearing it could escalate into an all-out nuclear war. Instead, he opted for a naval blockade—a "quarantine" around Cuba to prevent further Soviet shipments of missiles.
On October 22, Kennedy addressed the nation in a televised speech, making the crisis public for the first time:
"Any missile launched from Cuba against any nation in the Western Hemisphere will be regarded as an attack by the Soviet Union on the United States, requiring a full retaliatory response."
The world held its breath.