Existing comment:
"This was an effort to materially change the balance of power, it was done in secret, steps were taken really to deceive us by every means they could, and they were planning in November to open to the world the fact that they had these missiles so close to the United States.
"The real problem is the Soviet desire to expand their power and influence.. It is this constant determination... [that] they will not settle for that kind of a peaceful world, but must settle for a Communist world. That is what makes the real danger, the combination of these two systems in conflict around the world in a nuclear age is what makes the sixties so dangerous."
-- December 17, 1962
Less than one year after the Cuban Missile Crisis, the United States and the Soviet Union reached agreement on a Limited Nuclear Test Ban Treaty.
"Actually what we were trying to achieve was to have America shake itself out of its sleep and for its leadership to get a feeling of what war actually is... It is a consolation to me now that on the whole we acted correctly and accomplished a great revolutionary deed. We didn't get frightened and we didn't allow American imperialism to intimidate us. So many years have passed now, and it's plain for all to see... that the revolutionary cause headed by Fidel Castro is still alive and flourishing. The United States made a commitment not to invade Cuba itself and not allow its allies to invade, and thus far it has fulfilled that commitment."
-- ca 1969
In October 1964 Khrushshev was removed form power. His misjudgments and mishandling of the crisis over the Cuban missile sites were cited among the causes for his ouster.
"We started from the assumption that if there was an invasion of Cuba [by the United States], nuclear war would erupt ... Everybody here was simply resigned to the fate that we would be forced to pay the price, that we would disappear.
"Not only were we left out from participating in seeking solutions to the crisis, but we were also left out of the historical research and the in-depth analysis of these events later on.
"[W]e did have one victory, which was weapons free of charge... for almost thirty years, we received our weapons and arms free from the Soviet Union. This was one of the positive aspects of the October crisis. So, we didn't want to make relations bitter. Who could profit from that? No one was going to profit from that. We simply had to control that anger."
-- 1992
Fidel Castro remained in power for 46 years after the missile crisis. He retired from official public life in 2008. |