Georgetown University Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University

Case Studies

334
The Cuban Missile Crisis: U.S. Deliberations and Negotiations at the Edge of the Precipice
Brussel, Gabrielle S.

ISBN: 1-56927-334-0 | Published: 1988 | No. Pages: 32

This case analyzes U.S.-Soviet negotiations during the Cuban missile crisis, focusing on the processes involved and the bureaucratic reactions of the two governments. This study concentrates on U.S. decisionmaking during the closed deliberations of the advisory group to President Kennedy--the Executive Committee of the National Security Council (ExCom). It also deals with the political, military, and legal ramifications of policy issues as they were addressed and debated by the members of ExCom. This case discusses: (1) when, if ever, the executive branch of the U.S. government should make a policy decision without consulting the other branches of government; (2) what constitutes forewarning between governments; (3) what emphasis the U.S. government placed on moral or legal justifications for its actions and what importance was given to national security issues; and (4) what the influence of U.S. allies was in this crisis.

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