The Cuban Missile Crisis, which unfolded in October 1962 at the height of the Cold War, brought the world to the brink of nuclear war. The United States and the Soviet Union both eyed use of their nuclear weapons — a situation posing the greatest threat to the world since World War II, with the horrifying prospect of total annihilation.
Sixty years on, Moscow is threatening the West with the suggestion of using nuclear arms against Ukraine, putting the world on edge once again. This is the greatest peril since the Cuban Missile Crisis. The question at hand is how to apply the lessons from that time.
The missile scare broke out after the Soviet Union commenced construction of a nuclear missile base in Cuba, not far away from American soil. The US responded with a naval blockade to impede the installation of any more missiles into Cuba, and threatened total retaliation should the Soviet Union wage attacks. After a good two weeks of tensions, Moscow decided dramatically on the removal of missiles from Cuba, bringing the crisis to an end.
Behind the Soviet turnaround was then Premier Nikita Khrushchev’s pragmatic conclusion that once a war broke out, his country would suffer tremendous damage as it was trailing behind the US in terms of nuclear forces. While the nuclear missiles that the Soviet Union had secretly deployed in Cuba were ready for use, Khrushchev apparently feared a major counteroffensive from the US It is also said that he sought to avoid the Soviet Union from being isolated from the international community.
Then US President John F. Kennedy restrained his military just as it was pressing for a major offensive, and proceeded with behind-the-scenes diplomacy with Moscow, contributing to breaking the deadlock. After a series of exchanges with Khrushchev, Kennedy ultimately made a secret proposal that the US remove its missiles targeting the USSR from Turkey.
Today, we are witnessing a situation quite different from the one six decades ago. While the scenario at that time envisaged an all-out nuclear war, it is now said low-yield tactical nuclear weapons would more likely be used.
Yet no matter how small nuclear arms are, their destructive force remains enormous. Those weapons can devastate vast areas, and bring serious humanitarian damage with the dispersion of radioactive materials. It is nothing less than an egotistic attitude of a nuclear state to make a threat with “usable” nuclear weapons.
If nuclear weapons were used even once, long-standing global efforts toward non-nuclear proliferation and nuclear disarmament would come to naught. Russia would face an outcry from the rest of the world and find itself even more isolated.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine clearly violates international law and has caused many civilian casualties. While Ukraine continues to resist with force, Washington could pursue a way out and spearhead cease-fire talks between Moscow and Kyiv.
World leaders are urged to exhaust diplomatic efforts, with the atrocities of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki atomic bombings in mind, for nuclear arms must never be used again.
Comments are closed.