Who was the victor in the Cuban Missile Crises?
It is true that the status of President Kennedy was greatly enhanced after this crisis. It was because of his unwavering stance and brinkmanship that Russia backed down and a catastrophe was averted. But to Kennedy, this was not about victory of any kind. He realised that Castro himself was a time bomb and thus washed his hands off Cuba. He placed his brother Robert Kennedy in charge of covert operations to eliminate Castro.However, it was Kennedy himself who got assassinated in 1963 and Castro survived many generations of U.S. leaders. As Kennedy’s status was enhanced after the crisis, it was the reverse for Khrushchev. He came under fire for cowardice and backing down to capitalism. Khrushchev’s decision to withdraw Russian missiles from Cuba was seen as a disgrace not only to Russia but the entire communist world. This led to his fall in 1964.Despite his fall, many observers have seen Khrushchev as a rare type in his days. His ability to see ahead and understand the full implication
