In 1962, the Soviet Union's covert operation to deploy missiles in Cuba was made public by US President John F. Kennedy, and the Cuban Missile Crisis broke out.
In fact, Khrushchev's decision to deploy missiles in Cuba did not come out of nowhere.
As early as Khrushchev's vacation in the Bulgarian seaside resort of Varna, he had this idea:
"The United States has set up military bases around us to put the mainland in a state where it could be hit. Let the Americans themselves taste what it's like to be in this state. ”
Although the Soviet side claimed that "Cuba has taken the lead in the revolutionary path among the Latin American countries plundered by the United States, and the loss of a revolutionary Cuba will make the morale of other peoples low", it said that it deployed missiles to protect Cuba.
However, Chairman Mao still judged Khrushchev's true purpose with his unique vision:
Khrushchev's deployment of missiles in Cuba was not intended to protect Cuba, but to treat Cuba as a pawn in his own political game.
In fact, Chairman Mao's unique vision not only exposed Khrushchev's true intentions, but also had a profound insight into Khrushchev's "capitulationism."
So, what happened to the Cuban Missile Crisis? Where is Chairman Mao's unique vision?
The beginning and end of the Cuban missile crisis
In the mid-1950s, Cuba's democratically elected legitimate government was overthrown and a new government was formed that was completely subordinate to U.S. control.
This provoked strong discontent among the lower middle class in Cuba, and the Cuban people, led by the young lawyer Fidel Castro, broke out into a revolutionary movement that eventually established a completely new government.
(Fidel Castro)
The Castro government interrogated and executed the old pro-American regime and led Cuba on a socialist path.
He even warned that "if the United States dared to invade Cuba, 200,000 American soldiers would be killed."
After Kennedy came to power, he decided to invade Cuba and launched an invasion called the Bay of Pigs Incident, but it failed.
The fiasco of the Bay of Pigs incident was criticized at home and abroad, but the United States did not give up, but strengthened the hardline position of the United States against Cuba and set up a special team to overthrow the Castro regime.
The code name of this project is "Mongoose".
The CIA spared no effort to carry out the "Mongoose Project," according to the Ecclesiastical Commission:
"From 1960 to 1965, there were eight clear evidences of the CIA's conspiracy to assassinate Castro."
The implementation of the "Mongoose" program made Cuba's relations with the United States more hostile, and also made Cuba closer and closer to the Soviet Union, deepening Cuba's ties with the Soviet Union.
Castro's statement said: "Moscow is our brain and our great leader".
Cuba stood firmly on the side of the Soviet Union and became a banner of the Soviet Union in Latin America, and the great value of Cuba made it impossible for the Soviet Union to ignore.
Khrushchev claimed that they must take measures to defend Cuba or they would easily lose Cuba and thus reduce the prestige of the Soviet Union.
(Khrushchev)
Therefore, Khrushchev decided to deploy missiles in Cuba.
The Soviet Union had just begun to transport military supplies such as tanks, artillery, and MiG-21 fighter jets. In addition to these military equipment, the Soviet Union also stationed a lot of military technicians.
To the Americans, "this is like a defensive plan, mainly to improve Cuba's air defense and coastal defense capabilities."
Despite considering the Soviet military build-up in Cuba to be of a defensive nature, the United States has always maintained a high degree of vigilance against soviet and Cuban military cooperation.
The United States dispatched U-2 aircraft to conduct aerial reconnaissance flights in all suspicious areas of the entire Island of Cuba that could be missile launch sites.
The CIA repeatedly reviewed and analyzed the images and finally determined that the Soviet Union had planted nuclear warheads in Cuba: "Two medium-range ballistic missiles are being built under Guanaha'í, and their fixed launchers are aimed at the eastern United States."
Kennedy quickly held an emergency meeting in the White House cabinet room after learning that Cuba had Soviet-set missiles, because the Bay of Pigs incident was already the Kennedy administration's biggest mistake.
And with the 1962 congressional elections looming, if the Kennedy administration does nothing in this crisis:
"It would undermine his authority among members of the government, weaken his credibility within Congress, and stoke public distrust of him."
in Kennedy
President Kennedy delivered a historic televised address to the nation, telling the American people that the soviet nuclear weapons planted in Cuba posed a threat to American peace.
At the same time, Khrushchev was informed that they were aware of the Soviet conspiracy set up in Cuba.
On October 24 of the same year, the U.S. Navy began a formal blockade of Cuba.
The U.S. Navy, which participated in the operation, came one after another to the long-set route from the Atlantic Ocean to Cuba.
On the same day, the Soviet-affiliated Garin and Comillas crossed the ocean, just a stone's throw from the blockade.
According to the deployment of the US military, once the Soviet ships approached, they had to be inspected.
War seems imminent.
However, the Soviet ships that were about to approach the interception line came to a halt, and the war that had seemed to be about to break out before disappeared, and the Soviet ships did not finally cross the American blockade line.
(Soviet ships carrying missiles)
Two days later, in the afternoon, intelligence workers at the Soviet Embassy approached the U.S. broadcaster's State Department correspondent.
He conveyed Khrushchev's advice to the President of the United States: "If President Kennedy is willing to publicly declare that he will not invade Cuba, then he is ready to withdraw the missiles from Cuba under the supervision of the United Nations."
Robert F. Kennedy met privately with dobrynin, the Soviet ambassador to the United States.
"If the Soviet Union publicly promises to immediately withdraw its missiles from Cuba, the United States will publicly promise not to invade Cuba again," he said.
He added that "the United States will withdraw its missiles in Turkey, but this is a private agreement."
Khrushchev accepted Kennedy's terms, writing back:
"Orders have been given to dismantle the so-called offensive weapons and to transport them back to the USSR".
At this point, the United States and the Soviet Union did not break out a nuclear war under the compromise between the two sides, and the 13-day Cuban missile crisis ended.
Although the crisis was resolved, the aftermath of the crisis was not over.
Khrushchev brought nuclear missiles into Cuba in the name of protecting Cuba, but the Decision of the Soviet Union to compromise with the United States to remove the missiles was not discussed with Castro.
Castro lodged a strong protest against this, arguing that the Soviet Union had betrayed Cuba.
After the crisis, Chairman Mao was also very dissatisfied with the Soviet Union's compromise with the United States, believing that Khrushchev had committed "capitulationism" and that the shipment of missiles into Cuba was "adventurism."
China has issued many statements in support of Cuba and encouraged the Cuban people to safeguard their independence and sovereignty.
Sino-Soviet relations before and during the crisis
After the Cuban Missile Crisis, the Soviet Union underestimated the consequences of the missiles set in Cuba, while the United States was prepared before the missile crisis broke out.
Diplomatically, the US Government has long won the support of NATO and the American countries; militarily, US warships and nuclear submarines are ready to go; and in terms of position, the US Government has taken the "just" advantage because of the mistake of Khrushchev's active missiles aimed at the United States.
The Importance of China was underscored by the Soviet Union in the face of a joint confrontation across the Western Hemisphere, led by the United States, and as a result the Soviet Union needed strong support from its allies.
(Sino-Soviet Friendship Poster)
At that time, during the Sino-Indian border conflict, the Soviet government gave China strong support at this time.
The Soviet newspaper Pravda published an editorial saying: "I support the proposal of the Chinese government in the October 24 statement to peacefully resolve the Sino-Indian boundary issue."
The Soviet Union's move eased Sino-Soviet relations, which had been lost for many years, and the Chinese government responded forcefully to the Cuba issue.
The People's Daily published an editorial entitled "Stopping the New Adventures of US Imperialism," in which it said:
Kennedy's justification for all these serious aggressive measures by so-called Cuba's acquisition of "offensive military equipment" is entirely the most shameless pretext for US imperialist intervention in Cuba.
In addition, China has also expressed strong support for Cuba.
The editorial said that "China's 650 million people have always stood firmly on the side of the Cuban people."
In fact, for China, even if the Soviet Union does not change its attitude in the Sino-Indian border conflict at this time, in exchange for China's solidarity with China, the Chinese government will stand up to support Cuba.
However, Chairman Mao, who had farsightedness, also realized that China and the Soviet Union needed to unite with the outside world at this time and coordinate to counter the US military threat.
The Vision of a Great Man: Judging Cuba as a pawn in the Soviet Union's political goals
But after learning of Khrushchev's deployment of missiles in Cuba, Chairman Mao became suspicious of the Soviet Union's purpose of setting up nuclear weapons in Cuba.
He believed that Khrushchev was not trying to protect Cuba's security, but to use Cuba as a pawn for his political purposes.
First, Cuba's geographical location was important to the Soviet Union and even to the United States.
Cuba is located in Latin America, and for North Americans, Latin America is naturally under the control of the United States, and latin America is regarded as the "backyard" of the United States to ensure safety without any effort.
In the eyes of the Soviets, Cuba was the "strategic rear" of the United States.
However, it is in the "backyard" of the United States that the destabilizing factor of Cuba has emerged.
Cuba actually began to move closer to socialism, which the United States could not tolerate, and which the Soviet Union wanted to see.
Second, from the Soviet point of view, Cuba was largely different from other Third World countries.
Cuba has a strong anti-American color, and its growing nationalism in the political economy has contributed to a revolutionary anti-imperialist process.
(Location map of Cuba)
This anti-imperialist process has helped undermine U.S. influence in Latin America.
In short, the Soviet Union saw Cuba's Latin American region as a particularly important venue for a global anti-imperialist struggle against the United States, against the West.
Khrushchev once said, "We conclude that the Americans will never reconcile with Castro's Cuba." They fear that, as we hope, a socialist Cuba will be like a magnet sucking other Latin American countries toward socialism."
Therefore, The strategic position of Cuba for the Soviet Union is very important, and Chairman Mao judged that Khrushchev's deployment of missiles was to use Cuba as a pawn to deter the United States.
The final trend of the Cuban Missile Crisis also confirms Chairman Mao's unique vision.
The Soviet Union brought missiles into Cuba in the name of protecting Cuba, but sent them out of Cuba on the grounds of violating Cuba's sovereignty.
This is clearly a lack of respect for Cuba's rights.
Khrushchev's private agreement with Kennedy without Cuba's consent meant betrayal for Castro.
Relations between the Soviet Union and the United States began to return to normal, but relations with Cuba suddenly deteriorated.
In Castro's view, the withdrawal of soviet missiles was a moral failure of the Soviet Union.
Khrushchev's son also said, "The prestige of the Soviet Union in Cuba has not only not increased, but has decreased considerably."
Although Cuba also believed that the Soviet Union had betrayed Cuban interests in disregard of Cuba's sovereignty during the crisis, it finally compromised under the pacification of the Soviet Union.
(13 days of the Cuban Missile Crisis)
To this end, the People's Daily published an editorial entitled "Defending the Cuban Revolution", stating:
Chinese people are revolutionary comrades-in-arms who can withstand any serious test, and no matter what the stormy seas, our 650 million Chinese people will always stand with the Cuban people and fight to the end to defend the Cuban revolution.
In addition to solidarity with Cuba, the Chinese government has also conducted private exchanges with Cuba to support Cuba in defending its sovereignty.
To strengthen Cuba's sense of identity with China:
"The Chinese government compares the losses caused by the withdrawal of soviet experts from aiding China in 1960 with the damage caused to Cuba by soviet missiles deployed in Cuba."
(The flag of Cuba and the flag of China)
At this time, China only expressed its support for Cuba in defending its independence and sovereignty, which was enough for Khrushchev to become angry.
Khrushchev in the missile crisis confrontation.
Having already lost face in front of the world, China's resolute support for Cuba's position at this time is no longer in line with his wishes.
At the beginning of the crisis, China strongly supported Cuba, and for Khrushchev, it was with him.
Fourth, the vision of great men: the Soviet Union surrendered to US imperialism in a crisis, which accelerated the collapse of the socialist camp
Another disagreement between China and the Soviet Union regarding the crisis is about the Soviet Union's assessment of the Cuban Missile Crisis:
Was the Soviet Union victorious in the crisis or surrendered to U.S. imperialism?
Naturally, Khrushchev thought that he had won the crisis.
For the Soviet Union, the Soviet Union received a pledge from the United States not to invade Cuba, and the United States did keep its promise, and did not interfere with Cuba after the crisis, allowing Cuba, a small socialist country, to survive in the backyard of capitalism.
In addition, the Soviet Union also pulled the nail of the US missile base in Turkey, breaking the military encirclement formed by the United States on the Soviet Union.
Khrushchev himself said that "the resolution of the Crisis in the Caribbean Sea is a historic milestone".
From this point of view, Khrushchev is proud. Before the crisis, the military power between the United States and the Soviet Union was not balanced, and the Soviet Union was still slightly inferior to the United States.
Therefore, Khrushchev hopes to achieve a balance with the military power of the United States by deploying missiles in Cuba.
Although the Soviet Union did not catch up with the United States in terms of nuclear weapons, Cuba's nuclear missiles made the United States feel threatened by the Soviet Union.
In terms of the outcome of the crisis, the Soviet Union did benefit from the crisis.
However, in Chairman Mao's view, Khrushchev's concession to the United States was "surrender" and by no means a victory.
Castro has only one explanation for the withdrawal of missiles: "retreat, cowardice, surrender."
Apparently, Castro believed that Khrushchev had surrendered to the United States.
in Castro
The peaceful coexistence advocated by China is peace between socialist countries and nation-states, and peace in the Soviet Union is peace between socialist countries and capitalist countries.
China remains confrontational in its treatment of capitalist countries.
At that time, the attitude of the United States toward China was still unfriendly, and the Western boss, the United States, did not want to recognize China at all.
The Korean War had worsened relations between China and the West, and there was a gulf between China and the United States over Taiwan.
Therefore, the PEACEFUL coexistence of the CCP cannot be peaceful coexistence with the Western capitalist countries headed by the United States at all.
The Cuban Missile Crisis also put the CCP's revisionist struggle against Khrushchev on the agenda.
(Sino-Soviet Chen Bing Border)
epilogue:
The Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union had a huge impact on the world and made relations between countries more delicate.
The Cuban Missile Crisis in the Caribbean brought the world to the brink of nuclear war, but it also led U.S.-Soviet relations to détente on the precipice of war.
The crisis was also a catalyst for the polarization of international forces. The crisis also had an important impact on the relationship between China and the Soviet Union.
The Cuban Missile Crisis was culminated in the discovery by the United States of Soviet missiles in Cuba and subsequently the declaration of a naval blockade against Cuba.
Fortunately, nuclear war did not break out in the end.
During this period, Chairman Mao judged with his unique vision the true intention of Khrushchev to deploy missiles in Cuba, showing great man's style.
Resources:
Research on the Cuban Missile Crisis: Archives and Historical Restoration, Jin Feng, Department of American Studies, Graduate School of chinese Academy of Social Sciences
Contradictions and Conflicts between China and the Soviet Union in the Khrushchev Period, Wang Ying, Heilongjiang University
"Mao Zedong and Khrushchev" Li Jingxian Party History Expo
"Mao Zedong and the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962" Xia Xingxing Chinese Communist Party News