The Cuban Missile Crisis Essay Example for Free

The Cuban Missile Crisis Essay Histories were once realities. Most of the stories we read in our textbooks for academic purposes were actual real life experiences of some people – people who at that time were faced with fear, anxiety and the pressure to make the right decision. Where we are as a nation today is a reflection of the right or wrong decision made by our leaders. Although we can boast of several illustrious leaders whose decision has helped mould the future of this nation, John F. Kennedy was a president whose choice at a critical period in the history of America made the whole difference (White, 1996). Through his decision, he showed the world that the best way of resolving differences is not through warfare but through negotiations and compromise (Graham, 1999). The true test of a leader is evident in his/she ability to make sound and timely decisions when called upon to do so. A good leader must have the ability to respond to issues, the guts to take risks and foresight to predict what might eventually occur as a result of the decision he/she is making. Where we are as a country today, is as a result of the decisions our leaders have made in the past. No event can be isolated in life; rather, we trace the history of every occurrence to what has happened in the past. This is because the present is a victim of the past and we must understand the past in order to make sense of what is happening in the present. Such is the case in our country. October 1962 – a year that will be marked on the calendar of America. For us who read or heard of the story, it was an historic period in America. However, for those witnessed as the events occurred, it was a period of panic, uncertainty and unrest. Nobody could predict what will happen – not the American government, not the Soviet Union and definitely not the citizens of America. As Allison puts it, the thirteen days that the crisis lasted can be described as the most dangerous moment in human history (Graham, 1999). Sometimes after the crisis, Nikita Khrushchev recalls, I found myself in the difficult position of having to decide on a course of action which would answer the American threat but which would also avoid war.   Any fool can start a war, and once hes done so, even the wisest of men are helpless to stop it especially if it’s a nuclear war. (Gribkov Smith, 1986). The expiration of the World War II brought with it the advancement of science and technology. During the war itself, the German atomic scientists were encouraged o build nuclear ballistic weapons that was capable of destroying a whole city. Scientists from Britain, France, the Soviet Union, and the United States came together in a bid to build a nuclear weapon. This was done under the code-name â€Å"Manhattan Project†. The project was sponsored by America and in July 1945, the first atomic bomb was made. Hiding under the guise of being ambushed during the World War II, America decided to continue the making of nuclear weapons and each one that was made was more dangerous than the previous. However, as it would appear, it was not only the American government that was amassing nuclear weapon, the Soviet Union was also producing nuclear bombs – although not as dangerous or powerful as the ones produced by America. In the scheme of things then, possession of nuclear power automatically makes you a threat to the world and untouchable to other nations. It was a guarantee for safety and it comes with such benefits of being regarded as a world power. America, by inference, was quickly becoming a force to reckon with and a predominant power in the world. The Cuban Missile Crisis itself was an accumulation of the friction between the American government and the revolutionary government of Fidel Castro. Before the Cuban Revolution of 1959, America enjoyed a great deal of influence on the economy and politics of Cuba (Encarta, 2008). However, this changed under the government of Fidel Castro. Castro refused to be influenced by America instead he formulated policies that gave the American government a reason to be concerned. He seized the property of wealthy Cubans and those of foreigners, who were mostly Americans, in a bid to establish a communist system in Cuba. This resulted in the placement of an economic embargo on Cuba. This cut any form of trade between America and Cuba. Instead of giving in, Castro decided to establish a better relationship with the communist nations. During this period, there was a cold war between the American government and the USSR – a war between communists and capitalist nations. In an attempt to overthrow Castro’s government, the American government decided to establish relations with Cubans that were against Castro’s government. The American government trained and supplied ammunitions to anti-Castro Cubans that sought refuge in America. In 1961, these anti-Castro agitators invaded Cuba in the Bay of Pigs. This invasion was not successful and as it turned out, it consolidated Castro’s government. Cubans were infuriated with the U.S government because of its interference with political issues in Cuba and as a result gave their full allegiance to Fidel Castro’s communist government. With Fidel Castro formal declaration that Cuba was a communist nation, the tension between the American government and Fidel Castro intensified. At the same time, Soviet prime minister, Nikita Khrushchev began a plot to secretly deliver nuclear weapons to Cuba. This plan was welcomed by Fidel Castro who wants to use the opportunity to protect his island following the threat of the Bay of Pigs. The Soviet premier devised this plan in order to avert any attack that might be launched against the Soviet Union. This plan was meant to be privy to the United States government. Khrushchev did this on the assumption that this action would go unnoticed by the American government. With both parties fighting a common enemy, an arrangement was made for the quick installation of missiles in Cuba without drawing attention of the United States government. Looking at the crisis from the perspective of the United States government, the crisis began on October 15, 1962 after a U-2 spy plane and U.S. Navy low-level reconnaissance aircraft took photographs of Soviet missiles which was under construction in Cuba. The following morning, the matter was brought to the notice of President John F. Kennedy who immediately formed the EX-COMM. This group consisted of the twelve advisory members who were considered the most competent in handling the issue. President John F. Kennedy decided that the EX-COMM meetings should be held secretly so as not to make the Soviet Union suspect that the United States was fully aware of the situation. After seven days of difficult and long secret meetings, President John F. Kennedy openly announced the discovery of the missile installation 90 miles aware from the shores of Florida. Although President John F. Kennedy was presented with evidence based information that posed a threat on major cities like New York, Chicago and Los Angeles, he knew the situation was a complex one which called for a tactical solution. He was faced with a situation with potentially severe consequences. However, he could not decide the course of action to be taken against Cuba or the Soviet Union. Although America in 1962 can be said to be the predominant world nuclear power, Kennedy and his advisors knew that launching an attack could turn into a nuclear war that could turn into another World War. On the other hand, the Soviet Union posed a threat if America folds its arms and does nothing (Encarta, 2008). The predicament, as Kennedy conceived it, was severe. After several sessions of hot deliberation, President John F. Kennedy and his advisers came to a concession that a blockade would be the right course of action to take. Although they did not all have the same reasons for supporting the blockade, they agreed to the fact that a full military invasion would be risky given the situation of things. On October 22, 1962, President John F. Kennedy openly announced that the Soviet Union should get rid of all the missile bases and their harmful contents. He also ordered a â€Å"naval quarantine (blockade) of Cuba in order to prevent Russian ships from bringing additional missiles and construction materials to the island† (hpol.org, 1990). For several days, the world watched in fear as the crisis intensified. The American government waited for the course of action to be taken by the soviet premier. This is because a blockade, in military terms, was considered an art of war. Although President John F. Kennedy claimed the action was a naval quarantine, Kennedy and his advisers were not certain of how the Soviet Union will conceive of such action (Encarta, 2008). During this period, several soviet ships turned back to from the quarantine line but the missile installation continued. However, on October 26, 1962, the crisis took a new turn with Khrushchev sending a coded cable to Kennedy, offering to withdraw the missiles from Cuba on the condition that United States would not attack the Island of Cuba. Early the next day, President John F. Kennedy agreed to the terms of Khrushchev.

Hitler :: essays research papers fc

In the fall of 1922, the Germans asked the Allies for a moratorium on the reparations payments that they were required to pay according to the Versailles Treaty (from World War I). The French government refused the request and occupied the Ruhr, the integral industrial area of Germany, when the Germans defaulted on their payments. The French occupation united the German people to act against the occupation by staging a general strike. The German government supported the workers by giving them financial support. Inflation increased exponentially within Germany creating a growing concern over the Weimar Republic's capability to govern Germany. In August 1923, Gustav Stresemann became Chancellor of Germany. On September 26, Stresemann ordered the end of the general strike in the Ruhr and decided to pay reparations. Rightfully believing that there would be anger and revolts to his announcement, Stresemann had President Ebert declare a state of emergency. The Bavarian government was unhappy with Stresemann's capitulation and declared its own state of emergency on the same day as Stresemann's announcement. Bavaria was then ruled by a triumvirate which consisted of Generalkommissar Gustav von Kahr, General Otto von Lossow (commander of the army in Bavaria), and Colonel Hans Ritter von Seisser (commander of the state police). Though the triumvirate ignored and even defied several orders that were directly from Berlin, by the end of October 1923 it seemed that the triumvirate was losing heart. They had wanted to protest, but not if it were to destroy them. Hitler believed it was time to take action. The Plan It is still debated who actually came up with the plan to kidnap the triumvirate, some say Alfred Rosenberg, some say Max Erwin von Scheubner-Richter, while still others say Hitler himself. The original plan was to capture the triumvirate on the German Memorial Day (Totengedenktag) on November 4, 1923. Kahr, Lossow, and Seisser would be on a stand, taking the salute from the troops during a parade. The plan was to arrive on the street before the troops arrived, shut off the street by setting up machine guns, and then get the triumvirate to join Hitler in the "revolution." The plan was foiled when it was discovered (the day of the parade) that the parade street was well protected by police. They needed another plan. This time, they were going to march into Munich and seize its strategic points on November 11, 1923 (the anniversary of the armistice).

Review V. F.’s corporate website Essay

1. Prepare a two-paragraph memo to the company’s CEO outlining whether V. F. should more broadly adopt Timberland’s CSR reporting, identifying which of its brands would most likely benefit the most from sustainability reporting. VF took a strategic step by buying Timberland with its CSR policies. They chose to be one of the sustainable companies whose products perfectly match their target audience. VF owns North Face, i.e. a premium outdoor brand that can perfectly complement Timberland. VF did not only buy a company but also their whole package of their sustainability, which proved to be working, as Timberland was a profit-earning company. VF knew that with the purchase of Timberland, they committed to keep the Timberland’s CSR and also to start to adopt the CSR policies to their own branches. On the VF’s website under Corporate Responsibility, they talk about their values: â€Å"To us, values such as honesty, integrity, consideration, and respect are more than words; they are embedded in everything we do and are the foundation of our social and environmental efforts.† With that said, it is quite obvious that they adopted Timberland’s CSR reporting. They also give back to the community as they have a VF 100 program for companies who have the highest number of community service hours. VF donates $1,000 for â€Å"$1,000 to each winner’s qualified charity of choice.† I believe that VF recognized the importance and future of sustainability when they purchased Timberland and adopted their CSR reporting. As they have 50% of the market share, we can state that it was worth it for them. 2.Upon reviewing former CEO Jeff Swartz’s final blog post, do you agree or disagree with his finding that the business world has shifted to sustainability? I agree that more and more companies realize how important morally and financially as well to adopt CSR reporting. When Mr. Swartz started to put his ideology into practice, he met lots of barriers and he was the one of the pioneers of establishing CSR. I am sure in the beginning he felt like that the new management didn’t understand how complex it was as they said it â€Å"the answer is simple—we believe that sustainability is good for the  business and good for the world environmentally†, but later on Mr. Swartz realized that his pioneer days were over, the world has moved on and started to understand what he was fighting for.

History of 1924 Olympic Games in Paris

As an honor to the retiring IOC founder and president Pierre de Coubertin (and at his request) the 1924 Olympic Games were held in Paris. The 1924 Olympics, also known as the VIII Olympiad, were held from May 4 to July 27, 1924. These Olympics saw the introduction of the first Olympic Village and the first Closing Ceremony. Official Who Opened the Games: President Gaston DoumerguePerson Who Lit the Olympic Flame (This was not a tradition until the  1928 Olympic Games)Number of Athletes:  3,089 (2,954 men and 135 women)Number of Countries: 44Number of Events: 126 First Closing Ceremony Seeing the three flags raised at the end of the Olympics is one of the more memorable traditions of the Olympic Games and it started in 1924. The three flags are the official flag of the Olympic Games, the flag of the hosting country, and the flag of the country chosen to host the next Games. Paavo Nurmi Paavo Nurmi, the Flying Finn, dominated nearly all the running races at the 1924 Olympics. Often, called a superman, Nurmi won five gold medals at this Olympics, including in the 1,500-meter (set an Olympic record) and the 5,000-meter (set an Olympic record), which were only about an hour apart on that very hot July 10. Nurmi also won gold in the 10,000-meter cross-country run and as a member of the winning Finnish teams on the 3,000-meter relay and the 10,000-meter relay. Nurmi, known for keeping a very even pace (which he clocked on a stopwatch) and his seriousness, went on to win nine gold medals and three silver while competing in the 1920, 1924, and 1928 Olympics. Over his lifetime, he set 25 world records.   Remaining a popular figure in Finland, Nurmi was given the honor of lighting the Olympic flame at the 1952 Olympics in Helsinki and, from 1986 to 2002, appeared on the Finnish 10 markkaa banknote. Tarzan, the Swimmer Its pretty obvious that the public liked to see American swimmer Johnny Weissmuller with his shirt off. At the 1924 Olympics, Weissmuller won three gold medals: in the 100-meter freestyle, 400-meter freestyle, and the 4 x 200-meter relay. And a bronze medal as well as part of the water polo team.   Again at the 1928 Olympics, Weissmuller won two gold medals in swimming. However, what Johnny Weissmuller is most famous for is playing Tarzan in 12 different movies, made from 1932 to 1948. Chariots of Fire In 1981, the film Chariots of Fire  was released. Having one of the most recognizable theme songs in the history of film and winning four Academy Awards,  Chariots of Fire  told the story of two runners who raced during the 1924 Olympic Games. Scottish runner Eric Liddell was a focus of the film. Liddell, a devout Christian caused a stir when he refused to compete in any events held on a Sunday, which were some of his best events. That left only two events for him -- the 200-meter and 400-meter races, which he won bronze and gold in respectively. Interestingly, after the Olympics, he went back to North China to continue his familys missionary work, which ultimately led to his death in 1945 in a Japanese internment camp. Liddells Jewish teammate, Harold Abrahams was the other runner in the  Chariots of Fire  film. Abrahams, who had focused more on the long jump in the 1920 Olympics, decided to put his energy into training for the 100-meter dash. After hiring a professional coach, Sam Mussabini, and training hard, Abrahams won gold in the 100-meter sprint. A year later, Abrahams suffered a leg injury, ending his athletic career. Tennis The 1924 Olympics were the last to see tennis as an event until it was brought back in 1988.