Cuban Missile Crisis · US History

What lesson did many policymakers draw from the Cuban Missile Crisis?

  1. Nuclear weapons had made traditional forms of diplomacy completely unnecessary
  2. Military escalation was always the safest possible first response
  3. Nuclear brinkmanship was extremely risky and required better communication
  4. Small nations could never meaningfully affect superpower politics
Show answer and explanation

Correct answer: Nuclear brinkmanship was extremely risky and required better communication

The crisis revealed how quickly a confrontation could approach nuclear war. It encouraged later efforts to improve crisis communication and pursue limited arms control.

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