The Outhouse - The Greatest Comic Book Forum

[Eli Katz]

Which is exactly what it had to be to get us out of the mess he created with the Bay of Pigs.

Fair enough.

But I can see why he ordered it, and expected it to work, considering that the CIA had been successful in Guatemala and Iran a few years before.

[MoneyMelon]

It's called negotiation. They take away their nukes, publicly, from Cuba. Kennedy removes out-dated missiles from Turkey six months later. Not a bad deal, if you ask me. And it averted disaster.

I wouldn't exactly call it amazing.

We like to paint that one up as a big American victory, but really it was the Soviets pressuring us.

[Eli Katz]

I wouldn't exactly call it amazing.

We like to paint that one up as a big American victory, but really it was the Soviets pressuring us.

It was the Soviets being reckless. And because there were no other Cold War crises that reached that same level of intensity, I'd say that it was success.

Certainly, the Soviets never pressured like that again.

[Carrie]

Fair enough.

But I can see why he ordered it, and expected it to work, considering that the CIA had been successful in Guatemala and Iran a few years before.

Iran was a country in complete chaos at the point when Mossadegh was elected. They were coming off of a decade of Anglo-Soviet occupation and were facing an oil embargo from the British. We were also supporting Guatemala's military with weapons and money. Neither of those countried were very stable. That's a far cry from going after a completely hostile country that is under the wing of the world's only other super power.

[MoneyMelon]

It was the Soviets being reckless. And because there were no other Cold War crises that reached that same level of intensity, I'd say that it was success.

Certainly, the Soviets never pressured like that again.

They didn't need to. They got what they wanted

[Nightfly]

They didn't need to. They got what they wanted

Oh, Snap!

[zombiemichaeljackson]

I wouldn't exactly call it amazing.

We like to paint that one up as a big American victory, but really it was the Soviets pressuring us.

We also like to play up the end of the Cold War as a big American Victory, but it had a lot more to do with Gorbachev implementing sweeping reforms and gently dismantling the USSR from within than anything Reagan or the US govt. did. They were mainly there as figureheads for Gorbachev to use as a way of explaining things to the Russian people.

[blah]

I wish I had a yacht with highly advanced laser shields so nobody would sink it.

[jza1218]

Fair enough.

But I can see why he ordered it, and expected it to work, considering that the CIA had been successful in Guatemala and Iran a few years before.

In that regard, I can see why Bush would choose to invade Iraq then

[Nightfly]

6 out of 46 claim to be voting for McCain.

That seems about right from a sample of folks who all know how to turn on a computer.

[Eli Katz]

a far cry from going after a completely hostile country that is under the wing of the world's only other super power.

But that's exactly why Kennedy -- and his advisors -- thought an invasion was necessary: the Soviets were arming Fidel, just 90 miles away from U.S. shores.

I don't begrudge him for authorizing the invasion; I just wish it would have been done properly. But given the Cold War climate at that time, with the Soviets being so provocative in Berlin, it's also understandable that Kennedy and team would use Cuban exiles rather than just kick ass.

What was Kennedy's alternative? Not authorize the Invasion. In which case the Soviets would have continued to arm Cuba, and probably would have installed the missiles anyway. The Soviets had been total pricks for the last 14 years, starting with the Berlin Blockade in '48. Then there were the crackdowns in Poland and Hungry in '56, followed by the Berlin Crisis in '61.

A showdown between the U.S. and the Soviet Union was almost inevitable. I don't think the Bay of Pigs, in the grand scheme of things, made much difference.

But that's just my interpretation of history. You can choose to interpret it differently. My feelings won't be hurt.

[Eli Katz]

We also like to play up the end of the Cold War as a big American Victory, but it had a lot more to do with Gorbachev implementing sweeping reforms and gently dismantling the USSR from within than anything Reagan or the US govt. did. They were mainly there as figureheads for Gorbachev to use as a way of explaining things to the Russian people.

This I agree with.