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Timeline and Public Sentiment

 A critical component of this crisis will be managing public sentiment while conducting your military/diplomatic operations. To best manage public sentiment, an understanding of the public's perception of the ongoing Cold War is crucial. Remember that the Cuban Missile Crisis is just a small section of the conflict. 

A brief timeline of the crisis:

1945: Occupation of Berlin, WWII ends, Birth of Communist governments in Vietnam and Korea.
1947-1950: USSR + Iron Curtain, Israel is formed, NATO founded, Mao creates the PROC, Red Scare.
1950: North Korea invades South Korea and the Korean War begins.
1953: Stalin Dies, Korean War armistice
1954: French Leave North Vietnam.
1956: Khrushchev denounces Stalin
1960: U2 Spy Plane shot down over USSR, dissolution of US-Cuba relations
1961: Bay of Pigs, US involvement in Vietnam War begins
1962: US-Cuba trade stops, USSR agrees to arm Cuba
Pictures of the missile sites are taken October 14th and IDed on the 15th
Our committee begins October 16th, 1962. President Kennedy is notified of the situation.
The rest of the timeline is to be determined by you and your fellow delegates.

The Cold War has been continuing for 20 years, McCarthy was successful in creating the Red Scare in 1947-57. The Korean War was a long and bloody one. It can neither be categorized as successful nor unsuccessful. And now the involvement in the Vietnam may prove to be a contentious one. Fortunately for Kennedy, American sentiment towards communism made it easy to justify such a war. 

On the USSR side of things, Khrushchev was also dealing with some discontent on the home front. However, he often met strikes and revolts much harsher than his western counter parts, forcing compliance from his citizens. 

Khrushchev also greatly limited the freedom of access to information within the USSR, limiting the use of any western propaganda campaigns. Conversely, he successfully boasted about the USSR's nuclear ICBM capabilities, creating widespread fear within the hearts of US citizens.

As you go through this crisis, keep in mind the following factors:

- Public support (you need people to do things)

- What bargaining chips do you have in terms of proxy wars?

- Public support of your opposition


Sources:

https://spartacus-educational.com/ColdWarChron.htm 

https://www.history.com/news/cuban-missile-crisis-timeline-jfk-khrushchev

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nikita_Khrushchev

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