The U.S. Attempts to Contain Cuba

1. Why was Cuba so important to the United States?

Cuba was so important to the US because it had been an ally before Castro took power, and it owned most of the businesses in Cuba, and there was as huge naval base on the island.

2. Why do you think the Americans chose to equip Cuban exiles rather than invading themselves?

The Americans chose to equip exiles rather than invade themselves because they didn't want to make a direct act of violence against the Soviets, who were backing Cuba, so they used the exiles as a decoy, so that it looked like the exiles were fighting back against their exile.

3. Why did the invasion fail?

The invasion failed because the exiles were greatly outnumbered, and the US did not give enough support to allow them to win.

4. Compare Source 17 on page 345 (in the Arms Race.pdf reading) with Source 24 on page 348. Describe how the Soviet Union missiles on Cuba changed the Cold War balance of power

The Soviet Union missiles on Cuba gave the USSR their upper hand. The US had the ICBMs, which could hit the Soviet Union from the US. It also had shorter range missiles in NATO countries that could reach the Soviet Union in minutes. With missiles in Cuba, the USSR had weapons ready right off the shore from the US, and could hit almost anywhere in the US within 20 minutes. The missiles in Cuba evened things out between the US and USSR.