DISCUSSION TOPIC: CUBAN MISSILE CRISIS -- 50 YEARS LATER

The Primary Question

• Contemporary U.S. Presidents might well learn from John F. Kennedy's reasonable and measured response during the Cuban Missile Crisis.  Agree or disagree with this statement and discuss.

Secondary Questions

• What is most important to remember and/or to understand about the Cuban Missile Crisis 50 years on?

Possible Starting Places

•   Michael Dobbs, "The Photographs That Prevented World War III," Smithsonian (October 2012).

• Cuban Missile Crisis -- Teaching American History:  An interactive exercise in which you act as President.

• "Cuban Missile Crisis," CNN:  An episode from the superb Cold War series.

The 50th Anniversary

•   Sara Lipken, "The Cuban Missile Crisis, 50 Years Later," Atlantic (October 15, 2012).

•   Jo Fidgen, "Cuba Missile Crisis: When Nuclear War Seemed Inevitable," BBC News, October 24, 2012.

• Tom Marshall and Michael Gonchar, "Flash Points: Searching For Modern Lessons In The Cuban Missile Crisis," New York Times, October 23, 2012.

•   James Barron, "Cuban Missile Crisis, 50 Years Ago, Had The City And The World Worried," New York Times, October 23, 2012.

•   Neil Genzlinger, "Same Cuba Crisis, Different Angle: 50 Years Later," New York Times, October 22, 2012.

• "50 Years Later: The Cuban Missile Crisis Remembered," New York Times, October 19, 2012.

•   "Cuban Missile Crisis Myth Constrains Today's Diplomatic Standoffs," Los Angeles Times, October 17, 2012.

• "50 Years Later: The Cuban Missile Crisis," U.S. News And World Report (October 16, 2012).

• "In Pictures: Cuban Missile Crisis 50 Years On," BBC News, October 15, 2012.

•   Sarah Rainsford, "Cubans Remember Missile Crisis 'Victory,'" BBC News, October 15, 2012.

•   Paul Koring, "Cuban Missile Crisis: 50 Years Ago, The World Held Its Breath For Two Weeks," Globe And Mail, October 15, 2012.

•   Graham Allison, "Opinion: 50 Years After Cuban Missile Crisis -- Closer Than You Thought To War War III," Christian Science Monitor, October 15, 2012.

•   Patrick Oppmann, "At Ground Zero: Of The Cuban Missile Crisis, 50 Years Later," CNN, October 15, 2012.

• Fen Osler Hampson, "Canada And The Cuban Missile Crisis: 50 Years Later," IPolitics, October 15, 2012.

• Peter Orsi, "Cuban Missile Crisis Beliefs Endure After 50 Years," US News And World Report (October 14, 2012).

•   Joseph Nye, "The Cuban Missile Crisis At 50," Moscow Times, October 9, 2012.

•   "The Cuban Missile Crisis: World On The Brink," Christian Science Monitor, October 2012.

Articles

•   Ernest R. May, "John F. Kennedy And The Cuban Missile Crisis," BBC History (November 18, 2013).

•   David G. Coleman, "The Commander-In-Chief Test: What The Cuban Missile Crisis Tells Us About JFK," Daily Beast (October 16, 2012).

• Joshua Rothman, "Waiting For World War III," New Yorker (October 16, 2012).

• John Swift, "The Cuban Missile Crisis," History Today (2007).

Cuban Missile Crisis In The News

•   Max Fisher, "The Cuban Missile Crisis Almost Ended The World -- Was It Kennedy's Fault," Washington Post, November 22, 2013.

• "Cuban Missile Crisis: 'At Arms Length From Our Reality,'" BBC News, October 19, 2012.

•   Joe Matthews, "Cuban Missile Crisis: The Other, Secret One," BBC News, October 12, 2012.

•   Carlo Wolff, "New Views Of The Cuban Missile Crisis," Christian Science Monitor, June 2, 2008.

• Melvin A. Goodman, "Lessons From The Cuban Missile Crisis," Christian Science Monitor, November 27, 1990.

• Russell J. Lang, "Misapplying Lessons From The Cuban Missile Crisis," Christian Science Monitor, October 27, 1982.

Web-Sites

• Cuban Missile Crisis -- Harvard Kennedy School's Belfer Center For Science And International Affairs:

• Cuban Missile Crisis -- History Learning Site:  A brief overview.

•   Cuban Missile Crisis -- Wikipedia:  An entry from the on-line encyclopedia.

• "50th Anniversary Of The Cuban Missile Crisis," Cold War International History Project, Wilson Center:

• Cuban Missile Crisis, 1962 -- The 40th Anniversary:

•   John Kennedy And The Cuban Missile Crisis, Heroes And Villains, National Archives:

Video Sources

• "Cuban Missile Crisis," Fog Of War:  A 15-minute clip from Errol Morris's documentary about American Secretary of State Robert McNamara.

• "Remembering Cuban Missile Crisis, 50 Years Later," CBS News, October 15, 2012.

• "Cuban Missile Crisis: On The Verge Of WW 3," RT, January 30, 2011.

• "Thirteen Days":  A Hollywood film set during October 1962.

Audio Sources

• "Childhood Memories Of The Cuban Missile Crisis," Tell Me More, NPR, October 22, 2012.

• "Cuban Missile Crisis Passes Quietly, 50 Years Later," Morning Edition, NPR, October 16, 2012.

• "How Kennedy Stepped Back From The Brink Of War," All Things Considered, NPR, October 14, 2012.

• "Lessons From The Cuban Missile Crisis," Weekend Edition Sunday, NPR, October 14, 2012.

• Cuban Missile Crisis -- 40 Years On, BBC Radio 4, October 16-28, 2002.  A commemorative seven-part retrospective on the two weeks in 1962 during which the world seemed to rest on the brink of nuclear war