Cuba Direct Conflicts

There were two really big conflicts with Cuba during the Cold War. The Bay of Pigs Invasion and the Cuban Missile Crisis. With the Bay of Pigs Invasion, 1,500 Cuban exiles landed on the beaches. Angry Cubans were waiting for them. Within three days, almost all the exiles were dead or captured. The U.S. sponsored the Invasion, and after those horrid three days, Kennedy said the Bay of Pigs invasion was a colossal mistake. There were many warning signs too. It  was almost an open secret that the Cuban exiles were being trained and armed by the CIA in Florida and Guatemala. The New York Times almost published a story about it, but because of concerns, they were deleted. Overall, I think the Bay of Pigs invasion was a complete fail. The Cubans knew we were coming. There's no point in doing it when the secret gets out.

Cuba

The other large conflict was the Cuban Missile Crisis. The Soviet Union said that they weren't putting in nuclear weapons in Cuba, which is only 90 miles from Key West. Then some planes went over Cuba, and found out they were lying. There were pictures that there were missile bases in Cuba and there were missiles there ready to launch and would reach the U.S. in minutes. We got mad at them and we set up a blockade to prevent any more ships to get into Cuba. The Soviets had decided then to strike a deal. The Soviet Union said that if the United States promised that they wouldn't attack Cuba, then the Soviet Union would take out the missiles in Cuba. The United States also took out all the nuclear missiles in Turkey too. Then the crisis was over. The Cuban Missile Crisis was a smack to reality. Everyone realized they didn't want a nuclear war. They realized they didn't want to blow up themselves while the same time blowing up their enemy. Readers Digest Version: they didn't want to blow up the world.

I think it was a smart choice all in all.