Many agree that the Cuban Missile Crisis was the closest the world ever
             came to nuclear war; but exactly how close did it come? The Crisis was
             ultimately a showdown between the United States and the Soviet Union from
             October 16 to October 28, 1962. During those thirteen stressful days, the
             world's two biggest superpowers stood on the brink of a nuclear catastrophe.
             The Crisis started as a result of both the Soviet Union's fear of losing the
             arms race, and Cuba's fear of US invasion. The Soviet Premier, Nikita
             Khrushchev, thought that both problems could easily be solved by placing
             Soviet medium range missiles in Cuba. This deployment would double the
             Soviet arsenal and protect Cuba from US invasion. Khrushchev proposed this
             idea to Cuban Premier, Fidel Castro, who, like Khrushchev, saw the strategic
             advantage. The two premiers worked together in secrecy throughout the
             late-summer and early-fall of 1962. The Soviets shipped sixty medium-range
             ballistic missiles (MRBMs) along with their warheads, launch equipment, and
             necessary operating personnel to Cuba. When United States President, John
             F. Kennedy discovered the presence of these offensive weapons, he
             immediately organized EX-COMM, a group of his twelve most important
             advisors. They spent the next couple of days discussing different possible
             plans of action and finally decided to remove the US missiles from Turkey
             and promise not to invade Cuba in exchange for the removal of all offensive
             weapons in Cuba. On October 28, Khrushchev sent Kennedy a letter stating
             that he agreed to the terms Kennedy stated, and the crisis ended.
             The Cuban Missile Crisis can be blamed on the insecurity of Cuba and
             the Soviet Union. After the United States' unsuccessful attempt to overthrow
             Castro and end communism in Cuba at the Bay of Pigs in 1961, Castro was
             fearful of another US invasion. The US Armed Forces conducted a mock
             invasion an...