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Why is J.F.K. such a famous and controversial character today
and high-living were not the only aspect of John F. Kennedy that showed his less appealing side. His foreign policy also, some might say, left a lot to be desired. The political climate of the time was a cold war one. JFK utterly embraced this climate and was happy to take on the role of cold warrior president. He made sure to be clear that he was utterly opposed to the spectre of communism. Perhaps it was growing up with a tycoon father, perhaps it was his devout Catholicism, he simply could not stand these "godless communists". He took the common US view of socialism as some kind of evil disease that could spread and needed to be contained. Unfortunately this lead to a number of foolish mistakes made on the part of Kennedy and his administration.
As soon as John F Kennedy was in the whitehouse he set about trying to hire a hitman in Cuba to get rid of the leader of Cuba, Fidel Castro. He also sponsored other asassination attempts including sending him exploding cigars. This of course was nothing short of state sponsored terrorism. In fact, Cuba was a rather problematic area for the Kennedy administration.
In 1960, President Eisenhower had approved a ludicrous attempt to train guerrillas for a paramilitary style campaign to overthrow Castro. When Kennedy came into office in 1961 he was told about the plan. At first he was skeptical but his advisors told him Castro was an unpopular leader, and once the invasion had began, the people of Cuba would quickly support him. The attack was however a farce. Within 72 of the boats reaching the Bay of Pigs, all the invading troops had been killed, wounded or had surrendered. The political price for this blunder was very high. For a start, it was a huge embarrassment to Kennedy's Administration, but it also ensured Castro's Cuba enjoyed the long life that it has had as Castro came under the special care of Kruschev.
In September 1962, U2 spy planes discovered the USSR building ICBM launch sites in Cuba. They also saw an increase in the number of ships heading for Cuba from the USSR. An emergency meeting was called where the CIA and the military recommended they invade Cuba. Remembering the CIA's earlier advice and it's consequences JFK decided to put a naval blockade of Cuba. Kruschev sent two letters to Kennedy saying the USSR would dismantle the launch sites if the US removed theirs in Turkey. For a short period, the world was on the brink of nuclear war - 3 out of 5 Americans believed this would result in head-on confrontation. At the last minute Kennedy replied to Kruschev telling him he would remove his bases in Turkey and Kruschev ordered his ships to turn around. Subsequently, Kennedy enjoyed increased popularity in the polls and in Congress, however his actions [next page]