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How did the Cuban Missile Crisis impact the political landscape of the United States and the Soviet Union in 1963?
The Cuban Missile Crisis was the closest the world has come to nuclear war, with the Doomsday Clock being set to 11:58 PM, just two minutes to midnight.
During the crisis, the US military readiness level was raised to DEFCON 2, the highest level ever reached, indicating that a nuclear war was imminent.
The Soviet Union had deployed 42 medium-range ballistic missiles and 24 intermediate-range ballistic missiles in Cuba, capable of reaching the US mainland.
The US had a 17-to-1 advantage in nuclear warheads over the Soviet Union at the time, making the Soviet deployment a strategic threat to US national security.
The crisis was sparked by American spy planes discovering the Soviet missile sites under construction in Cuba on October 14, 1962.
The US Navy formed a quarantine line around Cuba, blocking any further Soviet ships from reaching the island, and the Soviet Union responded by placing its own naval vessels in the area.
The crisis lasted 13 days, from October 16 to October 28, 1962, before a deal was reached to dismantle the Soviet missile sites in exchange for a US promise not to invade Cuba.
The crisis led to the signing of the Partial Nuclear Test Ban Treaty in 1963, banning nuclear testing in the atmosphere, outer space, and underwater.
The Soviet Union suffered a significant loss of face during the crisis, as its nuclear capability was revealed to be inferior to that of the US.
The crisis led to a shift in Soviet foreign policy, with a greater emphasis on diplomacy and compromise, and the eventual signing of the Strategic Arms Limitation Talks (SALT) in 1972.
The crisis also led to increased communication and cooperation between the US and the Soviet Union, including the establishment of a direct phone hotline, known as the "red phone," between the two leaders.
The US and the Soviet Union engaged in a practice called "brinkmanship" during the crisis, where both sides pushed the other to the edge of war to demonstrate their resolve and willingness to take risks.
The crisis was a major embarrassment for Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev, who was forced to back down and remove the missiles from Cuba, damaging his reputation and contributing to his eventual ousting in 1964.
The crisis led to increased scrutiny of US intelligence agencies, with an investigation into how the Soviet missile deployment went undetected, leading to reforms and improvements in US intelligence gathering.
The crisis marked a turning point in the Cold War, as both sides realized the devastating consequences of nuclear war and began to seek ways to reduce tensions and prevent future conflicts.
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