JFK Files: Did the Sovereign Nation of Cuba Have a Right to Install Missiles?

[Benjamin Cole]

Here is a question I have never seen asked in JFK circles;

Did the sovereign nation of Cuba, c. 1962,  have the right to install missiles on its own land? 

Many in the JFKA research community admire JFK's foreign policies, in which JFK tended to lean in favor of the colonized, as opposed to the colonizers. I agree with this aspect of JFK's legacy. 

Cuba was, of course, a Spanish colony from 1492 to 1898, when the US bested Spain, and Cuba operated for four years under the "occupational authority" of the US.  

The US in 1902 somewhat withdrew:

"Following the defeat of Spain in 1898, the United States remained in Cuba as an occupying power until the Republic of Cuba was formally installed on May 19, 1902. On May 20, 1902, the United States relinquished its occupation authority over Cuba, but claimed a continuing right to intervene in Cuba."

https://history.state.gov/countries/cuba#:~:text=Following the defeat of Spain,right to intervene in Cuba.

Of course, Cuba could be said (and the US left-wing has said) to have operated as colony for US capital interests form 1902 to 1961. Then came along the Castro-led revolution, which became a communist government-dictatorship.

But still, in brief, for whatever flaws he had, Castro could be said to have decolonized Cuba (and has remained a hero in some left-wing circles ever since, along with Che Guevara, for doing exactly that). 

OK. So the US helped mount the BoP invasion in 1961 (a regime change op, to put it mildly) and through to October 1962, the Kennedy Administration was developing plans for a large-scale invasion of Cuba. No way of knowing if Cuba was aware of these plans. See:

 

 

U.S. planned a 261,000-troop invasion force of Cuba, newly released documents show

Ray Locker

USA TODAY

 

 

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2017/10/30/u-s-planned-261-000-troop-invasion-force-cuba-newly-released-documents-show/813376001/

 

Through this time, US backed forces were mounting various raids and other attacks on Cuba. 

 

In brief: Cuba and Castro were certainly justified in feeling besieged. 

 

OK, in October 1962, we have a decolonized Cuba, with a small military, facing prospects of an invasion from the capitalist-backed US military. That is an invasion from a former occupying power, the former colonial power, Washington.  In the form of the Kennedy Administration. 

 

Given that Cuba would be squashed quickly by the US military, and likely Castro assassinated...was not Cuba within its rights to secure weaponry that would allow it to at least harness a deterrent? The missiles, in other words. 

 

You know, the former oppressed colonized, standing up against a would-be colonizing power? 

 

Is it valid to ask if JFK was succumbing to hubris, in demanding the removal of the missiles in Cuba, in sovereign Cuba? 

 

We all know the usual story on JFK, that he displayed extraordinary diplomatic skills in cooling down the CMC. 

 

But it seems to me, there is the rest of the story too. 

 

Troublesome question: Did JFK essentially envision the re-colonization of Cuba, until the CMC intervened? 

 

In Dec. 1962, JFK then went on to again vow regime-change in Havana. 

 

https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/remarks-miami-the-presentation-the-flag-the-cuban-invasion-brigade

 

Interesting topic. 

 

 

 

 

[Kevin Balch]

Yes, although I believe the idea was proposed by the Soviets.

This would be a violation of the Monroe Doctrine, but then the Monroe Doctrine was not international law.

The CMC was a response to US Jupiter missiles placed in Turkey to reinforce US/NATO credibility in the wake of Sputnik. The US at the time (late 1957) did not have an operational ICBM and the shorter range Jupiter was deployed closer to the USSR to fill in the gap. There were a few years of tortuous negotiations with NATO members states for approval and the Jupiter had some development problems so the missiles were not actually deployed in Turkey until 1961, after the Eisenhower administration segued into the Kennedy administration. By that time, the US had an operational ICBM (Atlas) as well as the Polaris which was launched from submarines so the Jupiters were obsolete.

Consideration was given to cancelling deployment of the Jupiters but after the BoP and the less than successful Vienna Summit, it was again decided that US credibility needed to be reinforced.

Khrushchev considered the Jupiters to be a first-strike weapon because they were liquid fueled (which took hours) and would be sitting ducks unless they were launched at the outset. Plus the short flight times would give little warning. He was also likely concerned about the command and control of the weapons given that Turkey was a long time antagonist of Russia.

Resolving the CMC was achieved by secretly agreeing to remove the missiles. Concerns about disrupting the unity of the NATO alliance and upsetting the Turks delayed the decision on pursuing this approach which was considered very early on in the CMC, allowing the crisis to escalate to dangerous levels.

So not only was the NATO alliance a cause of the CMC, it also delayed its resolution. NATO is a war-promoting organization as we’ve seen in the Balkans and now in Russia-Ukraine. The American voter is too damned dumb to realize this. I wish the Europeans would tell us to Kiss Off but if sabotaging the Nord Stream pipelines didn’t do it (notice the complete lack of interest about what the investigations concluded?) it’s not likely.

[Benjamin Cole]

1 hour ago, Kevin Balch said:

Yes, although I believe the idea was proposed by the Soviets.

This would be a violation of the Monroe Doctrine, but then the Monroe Doctrine was not international law.

The CMC was a response to US Jupiter missiles placed in Turkey to reinforce US/NATO credibility in the wake of Sputnik. The US at the time (late 1957) did not have an operational ICBM and the shorter range Jupiter was deployed closer to the USSR to fill in the gap. There were a few years of tortuous negotiations with NATO members states for approval and the Jupiter had some development problems so the missiles were not actually deployed in Turkey until 1961, after the Eisenhower administration segued into the Kennedy administration. By that time, the US had an operational ICBM (Atlas) as well as the Polaris which was launched from submarines so the Jupiters were obsolete.

Consideration was given to cancelling deployment of the Jupiters but after the BoP and the less than successful Vienna Summit, it was again decided that US credibility needed to be reinforced.

Khrushchev considered the Jupiters to be a first-strike weapon because they were liquid fueled (which took hours) and would be sitting ducks unless they were launched at the outset. Plus the short flight times would give little warning. He was also likely concerned about the command and control of the weapons given that Turkey was a long time antagonist of Russia.

Resolving the CMC was achieved by secretly agreeing to remove the missiles. Concerns about disrupting the unity of the NATO alliance and upsetting the Turks delayed the decision on pursuing this approach which was considered very early on in the CMC, allowing the crisis to escalate to dangerous levels.

So not only was the NATO alliance a cause of the CMC, it also delayed its resolution. NATO is a war-promoting organization as we’ve seen in the Balkans and now in Russia-Ukraine. The American voter is too damned dumb to realize this. I wish the Europeans would tell us to Kiss Off but if sabotaging the Nord Stream pipelines didn’t do it (notice the complete lack of interest about what the investigations concluded?) it’s not likely.

KB-

Thank you for your collegial comments, even if we disagree, as we do about the present situation between NATO and Russia. 

But back to early 1960s. It is troubling to ponder, even under the Kennedy Administration, the US was persistently staging hostile actions against Cuba, including the BoP, but other actions too numerous to detail, and was devising plans (1962) for a large-scale invasion. 

Cuba, whatever we feel about the communist dictatorship, certainly had reasons to fear an invasion, and re-colonization by the US capitalist class. So they sought a deterrent, and that was the missiles. 

In this scenario, the Kennedy Administration actually caused the CMC, first by displaying open bellicosity towards Cuba and perping the actual attempt at invasion and regime-change at the BoP. No wonder Cuba wanted a deterrent.

Secondly, the Kennedy Administration then unilaterally decided Cuba, a sovereign nation, had no right to arm itself with missiles (about the only deterrent that would be effective). 

This view of the CMC is different.

JFK might have shown great judgement once the CMC unfolded. But it was the Kennedy Administration that created the crisis in the first place---first by trying to invade Cuba and other regime-change ops, and then by unilaterally declaring if Cuba did not rid itself of the missiles then a nuclear war would result. The Kennedy Administration is the uncomfortable picture of bully, chastened only when Cuba got its missiles. 

Well, interesting what one comes across when reading primary materials. 

 

 

 

[Kevin Balch]

Can’t disagree with anything you have said.

[James DiEugenio]

I can.

Kennedy did not create the CMC Ben and Kevin.

And the installation was not about Cuba.  At least that is not what JFK thought.

The installation in Cuba consisted of about 60 medium and long range ICBM's in 5 missile regiments. The long range ones could fly about 2400 miles.

There were 28 nuclear  bombers.

There were 7 nuclear bearing submarines.

Just the  submarines carried 1 megaton warheads.  Which was 5 times the power of the Nagasaki bomb.

So in other words, the Russians could now hit about 100 cities in the continental US.  This was a very potent first strike.  One that would have killed tens of millions.

In addition, there was a wing of the the current MIG, plus  a 45,000 motorized infantry, many missile defense systems, and the coup de grace, tactical nukes.

These were of 2 varieties, a short range one of about 25 miles, and a long range one of about 80 miles.  These would have incinerated any invasion force crossing over from Florida.

These were not for defensive purposes.  This was a first strike that was being protected by layers of supplementary missiles, aircraft, and thousands of Soviet advisors. But beyond that it had all been done in secret.  Without the U2, they might never have been discovered. And then the Russian foreign minister lied to Kennedy about it right in the Oval Office.  That one shocked him.  If one listens to the tapes, and reads the introduction to the book, since Nikita K was always trying to stampede JFK about Berlin, Kennedy clearly thought that this was what it was about.  It was not about an invasion, because the size and scope of this force would be like killing a fly with a howitzer.

No, Kennedy thought this was going to be used to blackmail him over Berlin. And he says it more than once.  And JFK was not going to allow that because to him that would roll up the Atlantic Alliance.

For the record, Kennedy had two perfect opportunities to invade Cuba and he did not.  If Nixon had been president during the Bay of Pigs, Cuba would be a colony of the USA today.  And Johnson thought Kennedy's reaction to the CMC was way too mild. He can barely hide his disdain.

Sorry to break up your paddle ball game.

Edited August 16 by James DiEugenio

[Kevin Balch]

39 minutes ago, James DiEugenio said:

I can.

Kennedy did not create the CMC Ben and Kevin.

And the installation was not about Cuba.  At least that is not what JFK thought.

The installation in Cuba consisted of about 60 medium and long range ICBM's in 5 missile regiments. The long range ones could fly about 2400 miles.

There were 28 nuclear  bombers.

There were 7 nuclear bearing submarines.

Just the  submarines carried 1 megaton warheads.  Which was 5 times the power of the Nagasaki bomb.

So in other words, the Russians could now hit about 100 cities in the continental US.  This was a very potent first strike.  One that would have killed tens of millions.

In addition, there was a wing of the the current MIG, plus  a 45,000 motorized infantry, many missile defense systems, and the coup de grace, tactical nukes.

These were of 2 varieties, a short range one of about 25 miles, and a long range one of about 80 miles.  These would have incinerated any invasion force crossing over from Florida.

These were not for defensive purposes.  This was a first strike that was being protected by layers of supplementary missiles, aircraft, and thousands of Soviet advisors. But beyond that it had all been done in secret.  Without the U2, they might never have been discovered. And then the Russian foreign minister lied to Kennedy about it right in the Oval Office.  That one shocked him.  If one listens to the tapes, and reads the introduction to the book, since Nikita K was always trying to stampede JFK about Berlin, Kennedy clearly thought that this was what it was about.  It was not about an invasion, because the size and scope of this force would be like killing a fly with a howitzer.

No, Kennedy thought this was going to be used to blackmail him over Berlin. And he says it more than once.  And JFK was not going to allow that because to him that would roll up the Atlantic Alliance.

For the record, Kennedy had two perfect opportunities to invade Cuba and he did not.  If Nixon had been president during the Bay of Pigs, Cuba would be a colony of the USA today.  And Johnson thought Kennedy's reaction to the CMC was way too mild. He can barely hide his disdain.

Sorry to break up your paddle ball game.

None of the Soviet missiles deployed in Cuba were ICBMs. They were a mix of IRBMs and MRBMs. Plus the tactical nukes. At the time, the Soviets only had about 20 ICBMs all based in Soviet territory. That’s why the shorter range missiles were were placed in Cuba so they could reach the US.

The Soviets did have a nascent ballistic missile submarine fleet (the first one was K-19 which had a bad reactor accident so I don’t know how reliable they were) but I don’t recall it playing a direct role in the CMC. The submarine borne nuclear warheads were actually nuclear nuclear tipped torpedoes for anti-ship or anti-submarine action. A bit of overkill to be sure! It was one of these that came close to being used against American ships enforcing the blockade with depth charges.

Kennedy did think it was a Soviet gambit over Berlin but Khrushchev was thinking of nuclear parity and supporting Cuba.

I don’t recall LBJ saying much at all on the EXCOMM tapes.

The US deployment of Jupiters in Turkey was a deliberate decision with JFK’s full awareness and should have been recognized as a provocative act. The reconsideration during JFK’s early months should have factored in the possibility that Cuba could now serve the same purpose  for the Soviets as Turkey for the US/NATO, but that’s the fault of his national security advisors.

JFK also painted himself into a corner during the 1960 campaign with his charges of a “missile gap”. He was briefed by the CIA in August 1960 that the missile gap did not really exist. I’m going to have to watch the debates with Nixon to see if he mentions a missile gap. The administration later quietly admitted that the missile gap did not exist.

[James DiEugenio]

If a missile can fly 2400 miles in the Western Hemisphere from north to south that makes it intercontinental.

Which is why they were moved there.

We will never know why Nikita did what he did.  In fact, even the Russians never understood why he did it.

Towards the end Kennedy asked Johnson what he thought. I noted this in my review of the CNN special on LBJ.  He made it clear that he thought we were giving up too much for too little.

As I said, Kennedy thought the Jupiters were being replaced by Polaris.  And in fact they were being so as I proved in Black and white.

I don't know what you mean by painting himself into a corner with a missile gap.  JFK knew in 1961 because McNamara briefed him that there was no missile gap which Symington had mislead him about.  

There was simply no excuse for what Nikita decided to do.  It was foolhardy and very dangerous to move a first strike 90 miles away into Cuba.   It would have been a different thing if Moscow would have signed a formal treaty with Havana. That was something that could have been talked about and negotiated with probably the same results.  But to do this all in secret? 

[James DiEugenio]

Excuse me, it was from my review of Updegrove's book on JFK.  Here is LBJ during the CMC:

 

But what is important here in regard to Updegrove is that in reading the transcripts, Johnson was siding with the hawks. At a meeting on October 27, 1962—towards the end of the crisis when Kennedy was trying to corral the confidence of his advisors for an agreement—Johnson was not on board. He said, “My impression is that we’re having to retreat. We’re backing down.” He then said we made Turkey insecure, and also Berlin:

People feel it. They don’t know why they feel it and how. But they feel it. We got a blockade and we’re doing this and that and the Soviet ships are coming through. (May and Zelikow p. 587)

He then said something even more provocative in referring to a U2 plane shot down by Cuba, “The Soviets shot down one plane and the Americans gave up Turkey. Then they shoot down another and the Americans give up Berlin.” (Ibid, p. 592) He then got more belligerent. He said that, in light of this, what Khrushchev was doing was dismantling the foreign policy of the United States for the last 15 years, in order to get the missiles out of Cuba. He topped off that comment by characterizing Kennedy’s attitude toward that dismantlement like this: “We’re glad and we appreciate it and we want to discuss it with you.” (ibid, p. 597) It’s reading things like that which makes us all grateful Kennedy was president at that time.

[Pat Speer]

The answer is who gives a crud. The sovereignty of this state or that state hasn't meant much since WWII, if in fact it ever did.

The reality is that Kennedy was tasked with keeping the U.S. safe, and the U.S. would have been less safe with nukes in Cuba. Castro, if I recall, said he had every intent of using them. 

A rough equivalent today would be Iran putting nukes up in Haiti. Would that be a good thing for anyone? Would an American president stand for that? I don't see how.

Now, I know some would like to conflate JFK's attack on poor Cuba's sovereignty by denying them nukes with Putin's invasion of Ukraine. But it's apples and oranges. Ukraine used to have nukes. But dismantled them. And there was no plan to replace them. 

 

[Benjamin Cole]

5 hours ago, James DiEugenio said:

I can.

Kennedy did not create the CMC Ben and Kevin.

And the installation was not about Cuba.  At least that is not what JFK thought.

The installation in Cuba consisted of about 60 medium and long range ICBM's in 5 missile regiments. The long range ones could fly about 2400 miles.

There were 28 nuclear  bombers.

There were 7 nuclear bearing submarines.

Just the  submarines carried 1 megaton warheads.  Which was 5 times the power of the Nagasaki bomb.

So in other words, the Russians could now hit about 100 cities in the continental US.  This was a very potent first strike.  One that would have killed tens of millions.

In addition, there was a wing of the the current MIG, plus  a 45,000 motorized infantry, many missile defense systems, and the coup de grace, tactical nukes.

These were of 2 varieties, a short range one of about 25 miles, and a long range one of about 80 miles.  These would have incinerated any invasion force crossing over from Florida.

These were not for defensive purposes.  This was a first strike that was being protected by layers of supplementary missiles, aircraft, and thousands of Soviet advisors. But beyond that it had all been done in secret.  Without the U2, they might never have been discovered. And then the Russian foreign minister lied to Kennedy about it right in the Oval Office.  That one shocked him.  If one listens to the tapes, and reads the introduction to the book, since Nikita K was always trying to stampede JFK about Berlin, Kennedy clearly thought that this was what it was about.  It was not about an invasion, because the size and scope of this force would be like killing a fly with a howitzer.

No, Kennedy thought this was going to be used to blackmail him over Berlin. And he says it more than once.  And JFK was not going to allow that because to him that would roll up the Atlantic Alliance.

For the record, Kennedy had two perfect opportunities to invade Cuba and he did not.  If Nixon had been president during the Bay of Pigs, Cuba would be a colony of the USA today.  And Johnson thought Kennedy's reaction to the CMC was way too mild. He can barely hide his disdain.

Sorry to break up your paddle ball game.

JD--

Thanks for your comments. 

I am still troubled that, even under the Kennedy Administration, the US conducted the unsuccessful regime-change BoP op, many other hostile and belligerent ops against Cuba, and also planned a large-scale, 261,000-troop invasion of the Cuba (I am trying to find out if Castro was aware of these large-scale invasion plans). 

Cuba, having decolonized itself from Americans capitalists under Castro (an autocratic communist who I dislike) then faced reasonable fears of re-colonization, under the Kennedy Administration. 

Cuba, relatively small, could not defend itself with conventional forces. 

Read the JFK Orange Bowl speech below if you have doubts about where JFK stood on Cuba. JFK vowed to install to the BoP brigade in Havana, and supplant Castro. JFK vowed another regime-change op in Cuba, even after the CMC!

Maybe Castro took these vows to heart.  

https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/remarks-miami-the-presentation-the-flag-the-cuban-invasion-brigade

How can we have doubts about what JFK wanted to do in Havana? 

My take: JFK could have avoided the whole CMC if early on his presidency he made plain and clear to all there would no hostile actions towards Cuba, a sovereign nation. JFK should have never approved the BoP op, and he should have suffocated Cuba invasion plans in the crib. 

Castro, for his part, should not have agreed to more than a small number of nuclear weapons in Cuba, enough for a deterrence. 

Neither JFK, Castro, or Khruschev played this very well, IMHO. 

Yes, Nixon, Curtis E. LeMay, any number of other public figures were worse than JFK on what they proposed during the CMC. There were hawks laced through the Kennedy Administration. 

LBJ, not JFK, got us into Vietnam big-time (although JFK put 15,000 troops there). 

But egads, JFK effected and promised and vowed regime-change ops for Havana repeatedly. How was Castro supposed to respond?