# Cuban Missile Crisis: what was Cuba's motivation? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 26, 2012, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cuban-missile-crisis-what-was-cubas-motivation/638904 "2012-10-26T03:47:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![handsomeharry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e9c0ed/32.png) [@handsomeharry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handsomeharry)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2012, 6:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cuban-missile-crisis-what-was-cubas-motivation/638904/21 "2012-10-28T06:21:33Z")
> [@Dr.Colossus](#): > > [http://video.pbs.org/video/2289498535](http://video.pbs.org/video/2289498535) > > jump to 45:45 > > eta: looking for the section where castro trends towards influencing russian troops. i’m starting to think it might have been from the second doc i watched… Thanks for posting it. ---
**Author:** ![Lochdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/edb3f5/32.png) [@Lochdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lochdale)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2012, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cuban-missile-crisis-what-was-cubas-motivation/638904/22 "2012-10-28T15:48:56Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > Final proof that all the anti-communist propaganda of the 1950s actually worked. That and the millions upon millions killed due to Communism. A minor detail I know. ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2012, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cuban-missile-crisis-what-was-cubas-motivation/638904/23 "2012-10-28T16:11:39Z")
There was a lot of propaganda, but the casual indifference to human life that Communists had was no propaganda. When you start thinking of people primarily in terms of groups, the individuals don’t matter, only the group. ---
**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2012, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cuban-missile-crisis-what-was-cubas-motivation/638904/24 "2012-10-28T16:35:35Z")
there were people in the USA, including the military, that thought if the USA would have enough survivors to regrow from the ashes then we should have a nuclear war and destroy them. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2012, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cuban-missile-crisis-what-was-cubas-motivation/638904/25 "2012-10-28T16:54:23Z")
What puddleglum said was the 1950s propaganda version of communism. It has about as much connection to reality as 1950s communist propaganda about capitalism had to reality. That doesn’t imply that communism was good. (Doesn’t imply that capitalism was good either, although I vastly prefer it to communism.) What they were and are remain independent of the propaganda about them. If you don’t recognize the propaganda, though, I guarantee you will get your history wrong. And adaher, if you believe that the U.S. powers that be haven’t primarily thought of people in terms of groups for their entire history, then you have swallowed too much of our propaganda, as johnpost properly points out in this example. ---
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2012, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cuban-missile-crisis-what-was-cubas-motivation/638904/26 "2012-10-28T20:00:26Z")
Castro was banking on being supported (financially) by Russia. With the loss of trading with the USA (at one time, all the winter vegetables consumed in the USA-East Coast -came from Cuba). The loss of the Mafia-owned hotels and casinos was another blow…but the big thing was oil-Castro needed oil, and only Russia could supply it. So Castro wanted the missiles-it was shield against his regime being overthrown, and an IOU for Russian oil. ---
**Author:** ![Cillasi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/71e660/32.png) [@Cillasi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cillasi)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2012, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cuban-missile-crisis-what-was-cubas-motivation/638904/27 "2012-10-28T20:13:57Z")
Russia was also testing the Monroe Doctrine. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2012, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cuban-missile-crisis-what-was-cubas-motivation/638904/28 "2012-10-28T20:28:21Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > There was a lot of propaganda, but the casual indifference to human life that Communists had was no propaganda. When you start thinking of people primarily in terms of groups, the individuals don’t matter, only the group. But it was generally an indifference to other people’s lives. Khrushchev might have been willing to sacrifice Castro and the rest of Cuba for the cause of world communism but the question was why was Castro apparently willing to do so. ---
**Author:** ![the\_diego](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7bcc69/32.png) [@the\_diego](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/the_diego)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2012, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cuban-missile-crisis-what-was-cubas-motivation/638904/29 "2012-10-29T00:02:40Z")
Both Castro and the Soviet Union wanted to export Marxism to the new world. A permanent strategic weapons presence there would have given them good leverage. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cuban-missile-crisis-what-was-cubas-motivation/638904.md?page=1)