The Lie That Screwed Up 50 Years of U.S. Foreign Policy.

FOREIGN relations of the United States; CUBAN Missile Crisis, 1962; KHRUSHCHEV, Nikita Sergeevich, 1894-1971; KENNEDY, John F. (John Fitzgerald), 1917-1963; DIPLOMATIC history; INFLUENCE

CUBAReport Available; SOVIET Union; UNITED StatesReport Available

The article considers the impact of the publicly accepted tale of the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis in which the U.S. under the administration of President John F. Kennedy overcame Soviet aggression led by Soviet leader Nikita Sergeevich Khrushchev through force of will and military superiority. The influence of such Cold War accepted histories impacted American foreign policy for the next fifty years. It argues that American diplomats did compromise with the Soviet Union and Cuban leader Fidel Castro, removing Jupiter missiles in Turkey and agreeing not to invade Cuba. Other topics include historical revisionism, collective memory, and the politics of diplomatic history. INSET: The 50-50 Club.