Cuban Missile Crisis: Blockade vs Air Strike (1962)
by Anonymous
Kennedy's advisors were split. Hawks wanted air strikes on Cuban missile sites. Kennedy chose a naval blockade (quarantine), giving Khrushchev time to back down without losing face.
Naval Blockade (Quarantine)
1962
year
Moderate — proportional response
escalation risk
Bought time for diplomacy
time pressure
Chosen — Soviets withdrew missiles
outcome
Air Strikes on Missile Sites
1962
year
Very high — could kill Soviet personnel
escalation risk
Immediate action
time pressure
Not chosen — too likely to start WWIII
outcome
Full Invasion of Cuba
1962
year
Extreme
escalation risk
Would take weeks to prepare
time pressure
Not chosen
outcome
Do Nothing / Diplomatic Protest
1962
year
Low
escalation risk
None
time pressure
Not chosen — missiles would become operational
outcome
Like this comparison? Make it your own.
Sign up to use as templateMore in History
Caesar: Cross the Rubicon or Obey the Senate (49 BCE)
Cross the Rubicon vs Obey the Senate
World Wide Web: Free and Open vs Proprietary (1993)
Free and Open (No Royalties) vs Licensed/Proprietary
Manhattan Project: Bomb Design (1943)
Gun-Type (Little Boy) vs Implosion (Fat Man)
Wright Amendment: Protect DFW or Free Southwest Airlines (1979-2014)
Restrict Love Field (Wright Amendment) vs Open Competition
South Africa: Negotiation vs Armed Struggle (1990)
Negotiated Transition vs Continued Armed Struggle vs Maintain Apartheid
American Expansion: Seward's Purchase of Alaska (1867)
Buy Alaska vs Decline the Offer