Choose a factor and weigh it against the others.
Which factor best explains the peaceful end of the crisis?
Kennedy's choices
- Chose a quarantine over air strikes.
- Answered the first letter and offered a secret Turkey deal.
Kennedy kept options open and gave Khrushchev a way out.
His earlier actions, such as the Bay of Pigs, helped cause the crisis.
Khrushchev's choices
- Ships turned back at the quarantine line.
- Accepted withdrawal on 28 October.
Khrushchev chose to back down when war became likely.
He created the crisis by deploying the missiles secretly.
Nuclear deterrence
- Both sides understood a nuclear war could not be won.
- Kennedy's 22 October letter stressed that no sane man would choose such a war.
Fear of mutual destruction pushed both leaders to compromise.
Deterrence nearly failed: the U-2 shootdown showed how events could escape control.
Secret diplomacy
- Robert Kennedy and Dobrynin met privately.
- The Turkey concession was kept secret.
Secret channels let both sides compromise without public humiliation.
Secrecy also hid the real terms from allies, including Castro and NATO.