Effective Diplomacy Vs. Ineffective Pre-emptive Action

The Cuban Missile Crisis is one of the most analyzed foreign policy decisions in American history. The Caribbean Crisis to Russians and the October Crisis to Cubans, it was the closest the world ever came to nuclear war, so naturally everyone from students to political figures to psychologists and sociologists want to understand the techniques used as well as the philosophies and personalities of all involved. Given the data and declassification of Kennedy's documents, a research paper may explore any number of avenues. Since President George W. Bush has used one of JFK's statements as a historical precedent for the Iraq invasion, this paper will discuss how theoretical and empirical analysis shows that while majority opinion was for military preemptive action, JFK's combined use of the rational actor and small group decision making models allowed for power, security and political concerns to be addressed tempered with consideration and humanitarian deliberation.