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55 Years Later, What Is Still Misunderstood About The Cuban Missile Crisis?

President John F. Kennedy announces on television the strategic blockade of Cuba, and his warning to the Soviet Union about missile sanctions during the Cuban missile crisis, on Oct. 22, 1962. (Keystone/Getty Images)
President John F. Kennedy announces on television the strategic blockade of Cuba, and his warning to the Soviet Union about missile sanctions during the Cuban missile crisis, on Oct. 22, 1962. (Keystone/Getty Images)

Fifty-five years ago this week, the world came to the brink of nuclear war in what became known as the Cuban missile crisis. In October 1962, President Kennedy responded to reports of the Soviets setting up nuclear ballistic missiles in Cuba with an order to blockade the island. The standoff lasted nearly two weeks.

Here & Now‘s Jeremy Hobson talks about what we can learn about today’s international conflicts from the Cuban missile crisis with Timothy McKeown, a professor of political science at the University of North Carolina.

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