On October 22, 1962, at 7:00 p.m., John F. Kennedy made a radio address to the United States and the world, informing them of the deployment of Soviet nuclear missiles in Cuba, announcing the armed blockade of Cuba, and demanding that the Soviet Union remove the offensive weapons already deployed in Cuba under the supervision of the United Nations.
John F. Kennedy considered this "clandestine, rapid and extraordinary missile installation" to be "a deliberate provocation and an unjustifiable change in the status quo that is unacceptable to the United States". President John F. Kennedy went on to enumerate in emphatic terms the "initial steps" the United States would take at sea, such as quarantine. He used the word "quarantine" instead of "blockade" in his speech, arguing that the term was less flammable than "blockade" and more applicable to peaceful, self-defense actions. However, the euphemism did not diminish the fireworks of the operation. As soon as the blockade was ordered, U.S. ground, air and amphibious forces began to concentrate. In addition, military supplies needed to send troops to Cuba were mobilized, and precautions to protect the United States from a nuclear attack were initiated. U.S. military forces around the world were also placed on alert. The U.S. president ordered U.S. bombers with nuclear warheads to enter the skies around Cuba. Khrushchev was so taken aback by the U.S. assertiveness that he ordered a faster delivery of missiles and Soviet bombers to Cuba. Khrushchev had underestimated the U.S. intelligence system and the toughness of the Kennedy administration.
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Background of the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis:
The immediate cause of the outbreak was the deployment of Soviet missiles in Cuba. This event is seen as the culmination and turning point of the Cold War. Never before in world history had mankind been so close to the brink of a nuclear war.
After the Bay of Pigs, Cuban-American relations continued to deteriorate. The United States saw Cuba as a springboard and base for Soviet expansion in the Western Hemisphere, and intensified its policy of hostility toward Cuba. After the breakup of U.S.-Cuba relations, especially after Castro's declaration of Cuba's socialist path in May 1961, the Soviet Union intensified its efforts to improve relations with Cuba. The Soviet Union gave Cuba political, diplomatic and economic support.
In early July 1962, Cuban Defense Minister Raul Castro visited the Soviet Union and received a warm welcome. On August 31, the United States saw aerial photographs taken by reconnaissance aircraft of Cuba beginning to install Soviet anti-aircraft missiles and of Soviet ships carrying surface-to-surface missiles headed for Cuba.
On Sept. 4, the White House issued a statement affirming newspaper reports revealed about Soviet military assistance to Cuba, including the installation of missiles and the presence of some 3,500 Soviet personnel performing technical services on the island nation. The Soviet Union denied the U.S. comments and reports. Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev sent a letter to Kennedy pledging not to do anything to harm international relations and relations between the two countries before the U.S. midterm congressional elections.
TASS also issued a statement on Sept. 11 denying that the Soviet Union had sent offensive weapons to Cuba because "the Soviet Union has the ability to give support to any peace-loving country from its soil. At this point, Kennedy did not believe that the Soviet weapons supplied to Cuba constituted a serious threat to the United States and that there was no need for the U.S. government to take pre-emptive measures. He stressed, however, that whenever such a threat emerged or Cuba became a base for a Soviet attack on the Western Hemisphere, the United States would take decisive measures to counter it. As October progressed, there were continuing reports in the United States of Soviet medium-range missile bases in Cuba. On October 14, the Americans obtained evidence of six Soviet medium-range missile bases in Cuba through U-2 reconnaissance aircraft, and on October 16, the material was delivered to Kennedy, who convened an emergency National Security Council meeting to study countermeasures. The meeting began at 11:45 a.m. on the 16th and lasted until the afternoon of the 20th. The meeting was attended by Kennedy, Vice President Johnson, Secretary of State Waxer, Secretary of Defense McNamara, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Taylor, and CIA Director McCone. Also in attendance were Kennedy's brother Robert F. Kennedy, Secretary of the Treasury Clarence Douglas Dillon, Assistant to the President for International Affairs Bundy, the U.S. Ambassador to the Soviet Union, and senior staff from the Department of Defense, State Department, and White House. The Executive Committee of the National Security Council, headed by President Kennedy, was formed to deal with all matters relating to Cuba, the key issue being the withdrawal of Soviet intermediate-range missiles from Cuba. Kennedy made the final choice: to impose an embargo.
The technology and numbers of intercontinental missiles of that era still did not achieve substantial deterrence. It was the medium- and long-range ballistic missiles that were the fundamental deterrent to nuclear weapons. The deployment of U.S. ballistic missiles in Europe was a direct threat to the Soviet homeland. And the Soviet Union was helpless against the United States, which was far from Asia and Europe. This is where Cuba becomes the top priority in this case.