Issue Bulletin - FAIP 2016 Crisis B.pages

Academia Interamericana de
Panamá
FAIP 2016
Crisis Committee B
Issue Bulletin
Cuban Missile Crisis, 1962
Chairs:
Miguel Heras
Jonathan Tawachi Queridos Delegados:
Con mucho entusiasmo y emoción tengo el placer de bienvenirlos
a FAIP 2016. Mi nombre es Miguel Heras y estudio en la A.I.P. en el
undécimo grado. Pertenezco al equipo de debate desde el año pasado y
he tenido la oportunidad de participar en múltiples debates. Sin
embargo esta es mi primera vez moderando y no podría estar más feliz
de hacerlo en FAIP junto a Jonathan Tawachi.
Inscribirme en el equipo de debate fue una de las mejores
decisiones que he tomado en el último año. He aprendido muchísimas
cosas y habilidades que estoy seguro me ayudaran en el futuro. Lo que
más me gusta del debate es poder aprender sobre temas que hace dos
años ni sabían que existían y poder utilizar el diálogo para poder
discutir esos temas e ideas.
Mi primera experiencia debatiendo fue en el Crisis Committee de
FAIP 2015 y desde entonces he encontrado una pasión con el debate y
los comités de crisis. Estos comités son extremadamente rápidos y
divertidos. Pero para que este comité de crisis sea tan emocionante
como se que puede ser se necesita mucho empeño y dedicación de los
moderadores y delegados. Por esta razón los exalto a investigar y venir
a FAIP con una mente abierta. Les prometo que no se querrán perder
esta experiencia.
[email protected]
Queridos delegados:
Mi nombre es Jonathan Tawachi y seré uno de sus comoderadores junto a Miguel. Actualmente, curso el undécimo año y soy
el Secretario General del club de debate de The Oxford School. Este es
mi cuarto año en debate y mi cuarta vez moderando. He tenido la
oportunidad de debatir en distintos foros como NCE, FLF, CEP MOAS,
Young Democracy, DSC, PIF, YLC, DPT y HACIA Democracy. El
debate es una de las actividades que me apasiona y me encanta tener la
oportunidad de moderar comités a estas alturas de mi tiempo como
estudiante, ya que tengo planeado estudiar en el extranjero y no tendré
la oportunidad de moderar más adelante. Estoy muy emocionado por
moderar este gabinete de crisis, ya que es uno de los acontecimientos
históricos mas relevantes en los últimos 60 años.
[email protected]
Crisis Committee B: Cuban Missile Crisis, 1962
Meeting of NSC ExComm (Executive Committee of the National
Security Council), 1962
Cold War
The US (United States of America) and USSR (Soviet Union)
were allies in WWII and fought alongside each other. During the war,
however, their relationship was tense and it continued to be so after the
war. The US was very concerned about the USSR’s communism, of
Joseph Stalin’s (USSR’s leader) increasing power, and his ruthless rule
of his country and the USSR. The US refused to treat the USSR as a
part of the international community for decades. Aside from that,
during WWII the US entered the war late, indirectly causing millions
of Russians to die. Because of this distrust began to grow between the
two superpowers and thus the Cold War started.
The Cold War was the cause of many historical events, such as
the Warsaw pact, and of the creation of organisations, such as NATO
(North Atlantic Treaty Organisation), and of new war technology, such
as the creation of the U-2 spy plane. All of these elements helped to
shape the world at that time, but the highest point of the Cold war, and
the closest the world has ever been to a nuclear war, was the Cuban
Missile Crisis.
Cuban Revolution and deployment of nuclear Weapons to Turkey
In 1952 Fulgencio Batista took control over Cuba in a US-backed
coup d’etat. Batista was an ally of the US and was known to be a proAmerican who supported the US. He was a former soldier and dictator
(1933-1944) and was very corrupt and repressive during this time. This
forced him to flee Cuba for the Dominican Republic on the first of
January, 1959 because of a pressing revolution lead by Fidel Castro’s
26th of July movement. Judge Manuel Urrutia was named provisional
president, this didn’t last long as Castro eventually took over the reigns
at Cuba and established a communist regime. Castro proceeded to
eradicate all relations with the US and instead established strong ones
with the Soviet Union, growing closer to them each hour, something
that was not in the US’s interests.
The US knew they had to take action fast against the Soviet
Union, otherwise the USSR might attack anytime soon. The very same
year Castro took control over the island of Cuba, the US sent nuclear
weapons to Turkey, which is located at the border of the Soviet Union.
The purpose of the deployment of these bombs was to warn the Soviets
and to fire them if it was needed.
Bay of Pigs Invasion
When Fulgencio Batista was in office as a dictator, much of the
sugar plantations, mines, cattle ranches and utilities were owned by
American companies. This meant that the US was a big contributor to
the Cuban economy. After Fidel gained control over the island he cut
all relations with the US and established new ones with the Soviets.
The US had been seeking for ways to take the communist Castro out of
office, and an economic crisis seemed the perfect opportunity. The US
responded to Castro’s actions (cutting all relations) by prohibiting the
importation of Cuban sugar into the US. These imports were 80% of
the country’s total sugar production. To prevent the economy from
collapsing the USSR bought all of these imports. This is one of the
ways Cuba received financial aid from the Soviets.
The US then turned to a new plan: The Bay of Pigs Invasion.
Former US president Dwight Eisenhower had allowed for the training
of 1,400 Cubans who had fled their country because of Fidel Castro’s
rise to power. JFK (John F. Kennedy) retook this initiative and with it
developed a plan of an invasion into Cuban soil. The idea consisted on
a “covert” invasion of Cuba. The plan was that on April 15 1961
American B-26 bombers would destroy the weak Cuban air force
while, on April 17 1961, the 1,400 Cubans would invade Cuba via the
Bay of Pigs.
The plan didn’t go as expected, the Cubans knew about the attack
and hid all their planes. JKF grew frustrated and, to his surprise, the
military force he had sent was overwhelmingly overmatched by the
Cuban military. They surrendered in less than 24 hours. This decisive
win by the Cubans diminished the American-Cuban-Soviet relations,
but it strengthened the relations between both communist parties.
Cuban Missile Crisis
It is important to note that the sudden rise in tension and the
quick escalation of events was due to the recent events that have been
cited before. A good way to visualize this is as if these events made the
tension rise and the missile crisis was the cusp, the climax.
The conflict started on October 14, 1962 when an American U-2
Spy Plane was flying over Cuba when is spotted and photographed a
Soviet SS-4 medium-range ballistic missiles being assembled for
installation. President John F. Kennedy was briefed about the situation
on October 16, 1962 and immediately put together a group of advisors
and officials know as the executive committee, or the ExComm.
A new threat to the US
The presence of these missiles in Cuba is a situation, and a crisis,
that cannot be left ignored or unattended. Cuba is only 90 miles away
from Florida, an attack from Cuba can reach anywhere in the US. On
top of that, the short distance the missile would have to travel would
leave the US with almost no time to react or identify the missile.
After much investigation, it is known that the reason the Soviet
deployed these missiles to Cuba is because of the presence of US
nuclear missiles in Turkey, an imminent threat to the Soviets.
Removing these missiles is no choice, as it would leave the Soviets
with missiles 90 miles away from the coast of Florida and the US with
no way to attack the USSR quickly. This would mean a green light for
the USSR to attack.
Weighing the options
The ExComm must very carefully and meticulously consider
their options. The worst case scenario, and the event that President
Kennedy wants to avoid, is that of a nuclear war. However, it seems as
if the USSR is not leaning towards a diplomatic solution, as they see
the Bay of Pigs Invasion as an attack and are keen on starting a war.
The ExComm must be ready to act quickly and intelligently, and should
not be afraid of taking any actions necessary to prevent and attack and
protect the US. It is currently October 17, 1962 and the first ExComm
meeting will take place on this very day.
We, the chairs, strongly encourage this cabinet to find creative and
original solutions to the crisis presented. The investigation of the topics
stated above is of utmost importance and is vital for the development of
the committee.
Crisis Committee Procedure
Crisis Committees tend to be more informal than other types of
committees, that is, they require a limited use of parliamentary
procedure. They are often more unstructured, and the flow of the
committee is heavily dependent on the discretion of the chairs.
There is no speaker’s list. There is often no official setting of the
agenda, as debate tends to flow between topics and is determined by the
pertinent crisis at hand. In general, discussion occurs through
moderated caucuses in which the chair calls upon delegates to speak.
Occasionally, un-moderated caucuses are held. In voting, a motion for
an un-moderated caucus takes procedure over a motion for a moderated
caucus. Formal decisions are taken through action orders and there are
no working papers or resolutions.
Types of Action Orders
There are three types of action orders – Directives, Communiqués, and
Press Releases. Directives are used to direct troops, agencies,
individuals, etc. to take an action. A Communiqué is used to
communicate with foreign governments, or individuals outside the
committee, they can be either public or private. A Press Release is used
to reveal information to the public.
Position Paper Guidelines
A position paper is the product of how well prepared you are. For this
Cabinet we will be requesting a single-paged position paper (specified
below) and we encourage all of you to briefly and clearly establish your
character’s position on the issues at hand. Position papers must be
submitted via email to both chairs; email addresses are listed in the
chairs’ bios located amongst the first pages and at the end of this Issue
Bulletin:
Font: Times New Roman, sized 12.
Double-spaced. Justified.
Length: One and a half pages long.
The headline format should be compiled as shown below:
FAIP 2016
Crisis Committee B
Position
Name
E-mail Address
If there are any questions regarding any topic mentioned in the Issue
Bulletin, please contact either of us.
Miguel Heras: [email protected]
Jonathan Tawachi: [email protected]
Sources:
http://www.history.com/topics/cold-war/cuban-missile-crisis
http://www.history.com/topics/cold-war/bay-of-pigs-invasion
http://www.history.com/topics/cold-war
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/batista-forced-out-bycastro-led-revolution
http://historyinpieces.com/research/meetings-excomm-executivecommittee-national-security-council