Prior to the revolution in Cuba, during Batista's brutal regime, there was what is described as "an easing of tensions" (Lundestad 100) in relations between the East and the West. These tensions were eased because many of the potential conflicts between East and West had been resolved, such as the 1956 uprising in Hungary and the Suez conflict of 1956, which led to war between Egypt and the alliance of Britain, France a

For someone who had so critical a role in bringing about the Cuban Missile Crisis, Fidel Castro played only the smallest role once it began. When an American U-2 first spotted evidence of the construction of a missile site in Cuba on 14 October 1962, the crisis began. While negotiations to end the crisis were underway between Kennedy and Khrushchev, Castro was left out and "did not take the exclusion lightly" (Robbins 111) Castro even went so far as to make a speech, on 23 October 1962, denying that "either the Cubans or the Soviets would ever consider withdrawing their missiles" (Robbins 111) While the Soviets and the Americans were negotiating a peace, while still on the brink of launching an all-out nuclear attack, Castro was still trying to extract some political gain from the conflict. He imposed a set of conditions on the removal of missiles from his island which called for the end of the U.S. blockade of the island which had resulted when the crisis began, and for the end of subversive acts on the part of the U.S. against Cuba. All of these were ignored when a final agreement was hammered out between the U.S. and the USSR. Castro's stubborn refusal to admit that he had been the real loser in the entire crisis was brought into focus when he refused entrance into Cuba to UN observers who were to assure that the missiles were dismantled, as had been agreed upon by Kennedy and Khrushchev. Castro's reaction to his personal failure in the affair would signal the lesson he learned, as he made it known that "never again in the chess game of power" would his country play "the docile pawn" (Halperin 72).

Prior to the events of 1962 which made up the Cuban Missile Crisis came the infamous Bay of Pigs invasion. This great American failure showed to which lengths the Americans were prepared to go to remove the influence of Fidel Castro from the island of Cuba. On 16 April 1961, 1,300 "CIA-trained Cuban exiles in American-surplus planes and boats left Nicaragua to invade Cuba and liberate their countrymen" (Robbins 101). This so-called liberation was unsuccessful as the Cuban people had been prepared for such an invasion and in fact the Cuban militia and Castro himself knew of the plans for invasion. One hundred and fifty invaders were killed, the rest taken prisoner and the American attempt to overthrow Castro and his regime had failed. There were several crucial outcomes to this invasion, all affecting the relationship between the Eastern (communist) and Western powers. The Soviets, due to the ability of the island nation to withstand the invasion, became convinced of the value of Cuba in gaining the upper hand over the U.S., enough so that Castro's regime would now be "worthy of a major military and diplomatic investment" (Robbins 105). But while the Soviet Union now considered Cuba a worthy ally, it became evident to Castro that he also needed to pursue a relationship with the Soviet Union for protection because his island was very much within the U.S. sphere of influence. The invasion, while unsuccessful, showed that the Americans were willing to go to great lengths to remove him from office, and at this point, the best solution for Castro appeared to be the pursuit of an alliance with Moscow, directed against his American neighbours. The strengthening of ties between Cuba and the Soviet Union, as a result of this Bay of Pigs invasion, led directly to the Cuban Missile Crisis. As much as that conflict resulted from Khrushchev's design to take advantage of Cuba's proximity to the U.S. to install missile sites, it was the American policy towards Cuba, that which sought, by any means necessary, to remove Fidel Castro's influence over Cuba, which pushed the new Communist allies into each other's arms. The mere presence of Fidel Castro was responsible for the heightening of tensions between the Soviet Union and John F. Kennedy's United States leading up to the crisis.

Some topics in this essay:
Cold War, CIA-trained Cuban, Bay Pigs, Soviet Union, Fidel Castro, Missile Crisis, Soviets Americans, East West, USSR Blasier, Cuba USSR, fidel castro, cold war, soviet union, missile crisis, cuban missile crisis, cuban missile, missile sites, bay pigs, western powers, east west, pigs invasion, bay pigs invasion, cold war politics, fidel castro cuba, cold war powers,