C2. JFK's foreign policy

Question 1

When and why did Kennedy and Khrushchev first meet?

Answer 1

At the Vienna Summit in June 1961 to discuss Cold War foreign policy.

Question 2

What did Khrushchev think of Kennedy after the summit?

Answer 2

He found Kennedy likeable but naive.

Question 3

Why was Berlin specifically a problem for Khrushchev?

Answer 3

East Germans were fleeing to the West in large numbers.

Question 4

How many East Germans escaped to the West in one year?

Answer 4

30000

Question 5

What did the Soviets do in August 1961?

Answer 5

Erected a barbed wire barrier overnight, followed by the construction of the Berlin Wall.

Question 6

What happened to those who tried to cross the Berlin Wall secretly?

Answer 6

They were shot.

Question 7

What happened if someone tried to cross the Berlin Wall without a permit?

Answer 7

They were imprisoned.

Question 8

How did Kennedy respond to the construction of the Berlin Wall?

Answer 8

He stated that a wall was better than a war and said it showed Khrushchev didn’t want all of Berlin.

Question 9

How did the media and Republicans respond to the Berlin Wall?

Answer 9

They did not consider it a crisis.

Question 10

What did Kennedy ask Dean Rusk to do regarding the wall?

Answer 10

Exploit it for propaganda.

Question 11

How did Khrushchev interpret Kennedy’s limited response?

Answer 11

He saw it as a sign of weakness and believed Kennedy could be pushed around.

Question 12

Why did Kennedy visit West Berlin in June 1963?

Answer 12

To reaffirm U.S. commitment to the city.

Question 13

What famous quote did Kennedy deliver during his Berlin visit?

Answer 13

Ich bin ein Berliner.

Question 14

How did the division of Berlin ease Cold War tensions?

Answer 14

It created an acceptable status quo between the U.S. and USSR while tensions rose elsewhere.

Question 15

What was Khrushchev’s infamous quote about Berlin from August 1963?

Answer 15

Berlin is the testicle of the West. When I want the West to scream, I squeeze on Berlin.

Question 16

Which three political figures were photographed with Castro in 1959 at the UN?

Answer 16

Colonel Nasser, Malcolm X, and Khrushchev.

Question 17

Historically, what did the U.S. want to do with Cuba?

Answer 17

Make it a U.S. state.

Question 18

Who was the pro-West, right-wing Cuban leader in 1952?

Answer 18

Fulgencio Batista.

Question 19

When did Castro begin his guerrilla uprising?

Answer 19

1953

Question 20

Whose side did the U.S. support during the uprising?

Answer 20

Batista’s.

Question 21

Who won power in Cuba in 1959?

Answer 21

Fidel Castro.

Question 22

How did the U.S. respond to Castro’s rise to power?

Answer 22

Imposed an embargo, restricting trade with Cuba.

Question 23

What did Castro do in response to U.S. policies?

Answer 23

Threatened U.S. property and criticized economic control by the U.S.

Question 24

What military force did Eisenhower approve against Cuba?

Answer 24

A Cuban exile military force.

Question 25

Why was there concern about Castro's politics?

Answer 25

There were fears he was a communist, though at the time he was not.

Question 26

Who warned JFK against the Bay of Pigs invasion?

Answer 26

Truman's Secretary of State and the British.

Question 27

How many Cuban guerillas landed at the Bay of Pigs in April 1961?

Answer 27

1600

Question 28

What was the aim of the Bay of Pigs invasion?

Answer 28

To overthrow Castro.

Question 29

What area did Kennedy think would be the great new Cold War arena?

Answer 29

Third world countries like Cuba.

Question 30

What two powerful forces had endorsed the Bay of Pigs plan?

Answer 30

The CIA and President Eisenhower.

Question 31

What had JFK promised in 1960 about Cuba?

Answer 31

He wouldn’t let it become Soviet.

Question 32

What was the benefit of using Cuban exiles in the invasion?

Answer 32

They were cheap and easy.

Question 33

If the Bay of Pigs plan failed, who could JFK blame?

Answer 33

Eisenhower.

Question 34

What happened to the guerillas involved in the Bay of Pigs invasion?

Answer 34

They were killed or captured.

Question 35

What happened worldwide after the failure of the Bay of Pigs?

Answer 35

JFK was humiliated.

Question 36

What was the internal U.S. reaction to JFK after the Bay of Pigs?

Answer 36

82% approval.

Question 37

What had forewarned Castro of the Bay of Pigs invasion?

Answer 37

Cuban exiles in U.S. newspapers.

Question 38

Where were the invaders to flee to if the Bay of Pigs mission went wrong?

Answer 38

The mountains.

Question 39

How far away were the mountains?

Answer 39

They were mild.

Question 40

Was Castro popular in Cuba?

Answer 40

Yes, especially in the Bay of Pigs region.

Question 41

What had JFK always insisted about U.S. involvement?

Answer 41

It should be minimal.

Question 42

Which country did Castro get closer to after the Bay of Pigs?

Answer 42

The Soviets.

Question 43

What did Castro announce after the Bay of Pigs?

Answer 43

He announced that he was a communist.

Question 44

What did the Bay of Pigs prove to Khrushchev?

Answer 44

That JFK wouldn’t react or mess up when acting against Khrushchev’s behavior.

Question 45

What month did the Cuban Missile Crisis occur?

Answer 45

October 1962.

Question 46

What does MRBM stand for?

Answer 46

Medium-Range Ballistic Missile.

Question 47

What does IRBM stand for?

Answer 47

Intermediate-Range Ballistic Missile.

Question 48

What does ICBM stand for?

Answer 48

Intercontinental Ballistic Missile.

Question 49

Rank these missile types in terms of their range from least to most: MRBM, IRBM, ICBM.

Answer 49

MRBM, IRBM, ICBM.

Question 50

Which country had American nukes on them targeted at the USSR?

Answer 50

Turkey.

Question 51

How did Khrushchev think JFK would react if he put nukes on Cuba?

Answer 51

He thought JFK would be a pushover.

Question 52

Did Khrushchev want to impress his critics at home and in China?

Answer 52

Yes.

Question 53

Why was it easier to put MRBMs on Cuba?

Answer 53

IRBMs are expensive, heavy, harder to target, and require more fuel. MRBMs on Cuba didn’t require the development of ICBMs.

Question 54

What committee was founded after the U2 spy plane revealed nukes on Cuba?

Answer 54

EXCOM.

Question 55

What does EXCOM stand for?

Answer 55

Executive Committee of the National Security Council.

Question 56

Name the five potential options presented to Kennedy by EXCOM.

Answer 56

Ignore the missiles, launch a military invasion of Cuba, launch surgical airstrikes targeting missile launch sites, request that the Soviets remove the missiles, or quarantine the island while negotiating.

Question 57

Which option did Kennedy choose?

Answer 57

Quarantine the island and ensure no further missiles arrive while negotiating.

Question 58

What date did the U2 spy plane find missiles in Cuba?

Answer 58

October 15th, 1962.

Question 59

What day did Khrushchev send a letter offering to dismantle missiles if JFK promised not to invade Cuba?

Answer 59

October 26th, 1962.

Question 60

What date did Kennedy agree to not invade Cuba and dismantle U.S. missiles in Turkey and Italy?

Answer 60

October 27th, 1962.

Question 61

Which of these terms did Kennedy insist be kept secret?

Answer 61

The dismantling of U.S. missiles in Turkey.