(December 18, 2014 at 4:02 pm)DeistPaladin Wrote:(December 18, 2014 at 3:31 pm)Parkers Tan Wrote: When you consider that he did that in response to an American-sponsored invasion attempt, it seems to make sense.
I disagree. A Russian conventional military base might have been a fair move but nuclear weapons that could strike America in two minutes was reckless. The potential for a false alarm war or a temptation for a first strike would be too much a strain on the peace. We barely managed to avoid mutual annihilation with a 30 minute lead time.
From the Cuban standpoint, its existence as an independent nation was a stake. The presence of nuclear missiles belonging to the USSR would guarantee no further invasion attempts because such a big tripwire would be impossible to brush aside as irrelevant, which could well happen with conventional Soviet forces.
Those missiles continued deterring any American invasion long after they were removed. From the Cuban view, they served their purpose.
