open seasdon
... Kennedy, who was able to force Nikita Khrushchev to return these nuclear weapons back to Russia. We will be talking to these Nikita Khrushchev, John F Kennedy and Fidel Castro very soon, to see what their views are on how well this crisis was handled. Thank you, Nikita Khrushchev, John Kennedy and Fidel Castro for coming onto the show and sharing your views on the Cuban Missile Crisis and related incidents. We have appreciated your comments, and hopefully our listeners now have a clearer understanding about what exactly happened in October, 1961. Fidel, what was your ambition for Cuba when you took power from Batista? I wanted Cuba to be free from the grip of America. I wanted Cuba’s sugar plantations to be held by Cubans themselves rather than the Americans, and I wanted Cuba to be a country in which its citizens could be proud. I did not feel like Cuba was going anywhere in the hands of Batista, and so I felt it was my job to take the situation into my own hands. Why did you turn away from America, and towards Russia? America did not like me at all. The same I year I became ruler of Cuba, I visited America, but everyone was very cold and unfriendly towards me. It was the opposite when I visited Russia. Khrushchev and very friendly towards me, and even offered weapons for my country, which I accepted. Why did you encourage Khrushchev to set up missile bases in Cuba? The Bay of Pigs incident, even though we defeated the USA, proved that Kennedy did not want me as Cuba’s leader, and so I felt that he was going to attempt to remove me as president. Khrushchev was more than happy to assist me in warding off another attack by the USA, and so between us we decided that it would be a good idea to put nuclear weapon bases on Cuba. Why were you disappointed that you were not involved in the negotiations that followed...