Sunday, October 6, 2024
Hawai'i Free Press

Current Articles | Archives

Monday, October 15, 2012
Nuclear War Averted, 50 Years Ago This Week
By Heritage Foundation @ 2:43 PM :: 6934 Views :: National News, Ethics, World News, Family

Nuclear War Averted, 50 Years Ago This Week

www.Heritage.org

Fifty years ago, the world came to the brink of nuclear war.

On October 14, 1962, U.S. policymakers learned that the Soviet Union was building missile bases in Cuba, which would have allowed Moscow to attack anywhere in the continental United States within minutes. An international crisis followed, and while the crisis did not end in a nuclear exchange, it is important that U.S. policymakers never forget lessons the crisis taught us.

The most important one is that it is very difficult to manage allies once they are nuclear-armed.

Nuclear-armed allies are one thing; nuclear-armed enemies are another. As Iran builds its nuclear capability, the lessons of the Cuban Missile Crisis resonate in a fresh way.

Today, The Heritage Foundation looks back at that crisis of 50 years ago with a blog series on its lessons for missile defense, presidential leadership, crisis management, and avoiding escalation.

In this morning’s first installment, Heritage experts Michaela Bendikova and Baker Spring remind us that “Fidel Castro and Che Guevara encouraged the Soviets to use ballistic missiles stationed in Cuba to attack the U.S.”

Peter Brookes and Audrey Beck will examine President John F. Kennedy’s leadership during the crisis, “a prime example of strong leadership—under intense pressure—that may have avoided an apocalyptic nuclear war.” This serves as a sober reminder that such crises fall on the shoulders of Presidents.

While schoolchildren were being taught to “duck and cover” in the case of an attack, the Cuban Missile Crisis “inculcated among two generations of American policymakers a concern about the potential for inadvertent escalation and accidental war,” as Dean Cheng will explain.

The U.S. faces a number of crises around the world right now. From Syria and Turkey to Libya, Afghanistan, and Iran, “the Obama Administration’s policies for nuclear arms control, disarmament, and limited defensive capabilities are inadvertently serving to undermine the NATO security umbrella and increase the appetite for nuclear weapons in allied countries,” Bendikova and Spring note.

Though 50 years may have passed, there are many dangerous similarities between then and now. As Ray Walser warns:

The toxic mix of nuclear weapons, rage against the U.S., and a readiness to embrace martyrdom for a cause—either sacred or secular—represents a danger in the world of October 2012 just as it did in October 1962.

Reflecting on the crises we have weathered provides key lessons for handling today’s crises and evaluating our country’s leadership. As JFK observed, “Domestic policy can only defeat us; foreign policy can kill us.”

---30---

FEATURED POSTS

QUICK HITS

  • Felix Baumgartner skydived from 128,100 feet to become the first person to break the sound barrier—without traveling in any type of vehicle.
  • Protestors of the idea of funding cuts to PBS are planning a “Million Muppet March” for November 3 in Washington, D.C.
  • “The 14-year-old Pakistani girl who was targeted and nearly killed by the Taliban for supporting education for girls has been flown to the United Kingdom for medical treatment,” reports ABC News.
  • The Rolling Stones aren’t done yet—the group will play four 50th anniversary gigs.
  • Heritage’s Emily Goff explains why Big Bird’s taxpayer subsidies need to go.
Links

TEXT "follow HawaiiFreePress" to 40404

Register to Vote

2aHawaii

Aloha Pregnancy Care Center

AntiPlanner

Antonio Gramsci Reading List

A Place for Women in Waipio

Ballotpedia Hawaii

Broken Trust

Build More Hawaiian Homes Working Group

Christian Homeschoolers of Hawaii

Cliff Slater's Second Opinion

DVids Hawaii

FIRE

Fix Oahu!

Frontline: The Fixers

Genetic Literacy Project

Grassroot Institute

Habele.org

Hawaii Aquarium Fish Report

Hawaii Aviation Preservation Society

Hawaii Catholic TV

Hawaii Christian Coalition

Hawaii Cigar Association

Hawaii ConCon Info

Hawaii Debt Clock

Hawaii Defense Foundation

Hawaii Family Forum

Hawaii Farmers and Ranchers United

Hawaii Farmer's Daughter

Hawaii Federation of Republican Women

Hawaii History Blog

Hawaii Jihadi Trial

Hawaii Legal News

Hawaii Legal Short-Term Rental Alliance

Hawaii Matters

Hawaii Military History

Hawaii's Partnership for Appropriate & Compassionate Care

Hawaii Public Charter School Network

Hawaii Rifle Association

Hawaii Shippers Council

Hawaii Together

HiFiCo

Hiram Fong Papers

Homeschool Legal Defense Hawaii

Honolulu Navy League

Honolulu Traffic

House Minority Blog

Imua TMT

Inouye-Kwock, NYT 1992

Inside the Nature Conservancy

Inverse Condemnation

July 4 in Hawaii

Land and Power in Hawaii

Lessons in Firearm Education

Lingle Years

Managed Care Matters -- Hawaii

MentalIllnessPolicy.org

Missile Defense Advocacy

MIS Veterans Hawaii

NAMI Hawaii

Natatorium.org

National Parents Org Hawaii

NFIB Hawaii News

NRA-ILA Hawaii

Obookiah

OHA Lies

Opt Out Today

Patients Rights Council Hawaii

Practical Policy Institute of Hawaii

Pritchett Cartoons

Pro-GMO Hawaii

RailRipoff.com

Rental by Owner Awareness Assn

Research Institute for Hawaii USA

Rick Hamada Show

RJ Rummel

School Choice in Hawaii

SenatorFong.com

Talking Tax

Tax Foundation of Hawaii

The Real Hanabusa

Time Out Honolulu

Trustee Akina KWO Columns

Waagey.org

West Maui Taxpayers Association

What Natalie Thinks

Whole Life Hawaii