To what extent was USSR involvement in Cuba motivated by defensive needs?Table of ContentsA. Investigation planB. Summary of EvidenceC. Evaluating sourcesD. AnalysisE. ConclusionF. BibliographyA. Survey PlanThe survey assesses the extent to which the USSR's involvement in Cuba during the 1962 Missile Crisis was driven by defensive needs rather than offensive motivations against the United States. It analyzes this question in relation to three main motivations for missile deployment. They defend Cuba, gain an advantage in the arms race and obtain a bargaining chip against American missiles in Europe. The sources used in this investigation are mainly from case studies, letters, reports, speeches and biographies. The two primary sources—a letter from Khrushchev to President Kennedy sent on October 26, 1962, and an excerpt from JF Kennedy's biography “Thirteen Days”—are then evaluated for their origins, purpose, values, and limitations. This investigation does not assess possible benefits regarding Berlin or any other country other than the United States, Cuba and the USSR.B. Summary of Evidence After the overthrow of Cuban dictator Fulgencio Batista in January 1959,2 revolutionary leader Fidel Castro began to nationalize Cuban industry. Much of Cuba's land and industry was owned by Americans, and in 1960 the nationalization of all American businesses in Cuba took place without compensation. On October 19, 1960, the United States imposed an embargo on almost all exports to Cuba and reduced the quota of Cuban sugar on the American market to zero. Before that, sugar sales in the United States were 3 million tons per year, half of the sales of the Cuban crop1. In January 1961, the U.S.-Cuban relationship...... middle of paper ...... fifteen days. Nortan: WW Nortan& Company, Inc. Websites http://www.iie.com/publications/papers/sanctions-cuba-60-3.pdf.http://www.historytoday.com/john-swift/cuban- missile-crisis.http://www.jfklibrary.org/JFK/JFK-in-History/The-Bay-of-Pigs.aspx. http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/nsa/cuba_mis_cri/620725%20Review%20of%20Op.%20Mongoose.pdf. http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/jfkcubanmissilecrisis.html.lhttp://www.coldwar.org/articles/50s/guatemala.asp.http://www.marxists.org/archive/khrushchev/1962/ 10/27.htm.http://www.nuclearfiles.org/menu/key-issues/nuclear-weapons/history/cold-war/cuban-missile-crisis/timeline.htm.http://www.bbc. co.uk/news/world-latin-america-12159943.http://www.jstor.org/discover/10.2307/2612437?uid=2&uid=4&sid=21103532547371.http://www.fsmitha.com/h2/ ch24t65.html.http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pid=8032