Good evening, my fellow citizens. This Government,

as promised, has maintained the closest surveillance

of the Soviet military build-up on the island of

Cuba. Within the past week unmistakable

evidence has established the fact that a series

of offensive missile sites is now in preparation

on that imprisoned island. The purposes of

these bases can be none other than to provide a

nuclear strike capability against the Western

Hemisphere….

— President John F. Kennedy, Report to

the American People, October 22, 1962


President John F. Kennedy reacted strongly to

the situation described in this speech primarily

because

(1) the United States feared an influx of Cuban

refugees

(2) these missiles could threaten United States

oil supplies in South America

(3) the location of Cuba would allow the United

States little time to respond to an attack

(4) the United States and the Warsaw Pact

nations had formed a military alliance