OVERVIEW The Historical Review Papers will look at several historical events important in American and world history vital for national security. For national security professionals, understanding and analyzing history correctly is an imperative. From that historical analysis important lessons can be acquired. Not surprisingly, worldviews are an important aspect of historical analysis – even definitions of words to include the definition and belief in facts. Each worldview looks at history differently. Some of the more common worldviews are: Secularism, Postmodernism, Marxism, and the biblical/Judeo-Christian worldview.
For example, some worldviews may practice historical revisionism which is deleterious to accurate historical analysis. The Cuban Missile Crisis (CMC) is a scenario that is used by numerous universities around the world. A primary reason for its use in this course is that almost all the classified documents (including Top Secret) from the CMC have been declassified which allows a more complete picture of what happened. This allows the course and the students to avoid fewer speculative areas. In addition, this was the scenario where the U.S. came the closest to being in a nuclear war since the dawn of the atomic age. The focus of the CMC for this course is primarily on grand strategy, intelligence, and the importance of accurate history. INSTRUCTIONS Requirements for this paper are outlined as follows: • Length of assignment is 6–8 full body pages. • Format of assignment is latest version of APA. • Title page, abstract, and reference page(s) are required. • An introduction and conclusion are required in the body of the paper. • Citations should be liberally used when dealing with important facts that are not common knowledge and where there are conflicts, or the true facts are not known. • You should have a total of 6–8 references/sources with two being outside scholarly references plus the Bible or worldview reference (as required). o Barrett & Holland (2012) is a mandatory/required reference. o The Bible must be one of you rsources. • Acceptable references/sources:
o Sources, presentations, and other materials from the modules o Scholarly articles, books, and legitimate websites (not Wikipedia, etc.) Content requirements for this paper are outlined as follows: 1. The student will describe key aspects of the Cuban Missile Crisis (CMC) to include: • Background and description of the CMC. • One example of groupthink and how it was mitigated. • Key successes and failures in the CMC. • Reasons for successes and failures (listed above) in the CMC. • One other area in the CMC that you deem important (optional). 2. Describe two plausible explanations with rationale on why the Soviets deployed missiles in Cuba that lead to the Cuban Missile Crisis (CMC). 3. Describe why or why not (with rationale) the quarantine (blockade) was the best option (initially) in response to the Cuban Missile Crisis (CMC). 4. Describe the role of friction(s) between the Congress and executive branch that both helped and hindered learning the true history of the CMC afterwards. Describe the concept of “narrative versus the truth” from an ethical and worldview perspective. 5. A conclusion that gives rationale to what you believe are the most important lessons learned from the CMC. Note: Your assignment will be checked for originality via the Turnitin plagiarism tool. Direct quotes must include page number or paragraph number. Book for the course: Barrett, D. M., & Holland, M. (2012). Blind over Cuba: The photo gap and the missile crisis. Texas A&M University Press.
The Cuban Missile Crisis https://avalon.law.yale.edu/subject_menus/msc_cubamenu.asp https://warontherocks.com/2017/10/discovering-soviet-missiles-in-cuba-intelligence-collection-and-its-relationship-with-analysis-and-policy/
