Cuban Missile Crisis
The Cuban Missile crisis is the closest the world ever came to nuclear war. It was a very tense time as both sides worried about the possibility of a nuclear war. In 1962, The Soviet Union was behind in the arms race as their missiles were unreliable and couldn't reach the United States. On the other hand the United States missiles were capable and accurate of reaching the Soviet Union. To even these odds, Nikita Khrushchev, leader of the Soviet Union, meet with Fidel Castro , the leader of Cuba. An agreement was made to have Soviet missiles be built on the island. This was advantageous to both of them because Castro could now defend his island and prevent another possible invasion, like the Bay of Pigs, and Khrushchev could have missiles in range of the US, putting him on a even playing field again. In the summer of 1962 the Soviet Union worked quickly and secretly to build the missiles. The US grew suspicious of even through the Soviet Union's assurances that nothing was happening. Yet on October 15, 1962 reconnaissance photographs reveal Soviet missiles in Cuba. When US President John Kennedy is informed of it he decides to have a naval blockade formed around Cuba. He demands that the Missiles be removed from Cuba. For the next 13 days the world waited as debates between the US and Khrushchev go on as both sides debate what is to be done. In the end it was agreed that the missiles will be removed from Cuba if the US removed its missile from Turkey and promised to never attack Cuba again.