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Articles on Cuban Missile Crisis

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A military officer salutes during a parade to commemorate the anniversary of the founding of Communist China in Beijing. Mark Schiefelbein/AP

Friday essay: if growing US-China rivalry leads to ‘the worst war ever’, what should Australia do?

Hugh White warns of a potential war between the US and China, drawing lessons from the first and second world wars to explore how Australia might respond to such a conflict – and where to draw a line.
A Russian military intercontinental ballistic missile launcher rolls by during the 2019 Victory Day military parade celebrating the end of the Second World War in Red Square in Moscow in May 2019. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko)

Is Russia increasingly likely to use nuclear weapons in Ukraine?

The sort of scenarios that might lead to the use of nuclear weapons in the Ukraine war would require a significant deterioration in Russian fortunes — and greater western involvement in the conflict.
Smoke and flame rise near a military building after an apparent Russian strike in Kyiv, Ukraine, on Feb. 24, 2022. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)

Why Vladimir Putin won’t back down in Ukraine

A western ‘do as I say, not as I do’ approach has helped provoke Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.
Benedict Cumberbatch plays British businessman Greville Wynne who gets caught up in espionage during the Cuban Missile Crisis. Liam Daniel

How ordinary people are convinced to become spies

American intelligence has recognised there are four reasons why a ‘normal’ person might be convinced to spy.
With Raul Castro’s resignation as first secretary of the Communist Party, the Castro era is officially over in Cuba. Yamil Lage/AFP via Getty Images

What’s next for Cuba and the United States after Raul Castro’s retirement

Just as Fidel Castro’s 2016 death did not transform US-Cuba ties, his brother Raul’s exit from politics is unlikely to do so. But Cuba itself is changing. Eventually, Havana and Washington will, too.
White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows speaks to reporters about President Trump’s positive coronavirus test outside the White House on Oct. 2, 2020. Drew Angerer/Getty

A brief history of presidents disclosing – or trying to hide – health problems

President Trump was direct in announcing he had COVID-19. But presidents in the past have been very good at deceiving the public about the state of their health. Which direction will Trump go now?
Trump’s historic meeting with North Korea dictator Kim Jung Un on June 12, 2018, in Singapore. Trump recently told a crowd that the two leaders ‘fell in love.’ Evan Vucci/AP Photo

Personal diplomacy has long been a presidential tactic, but Trump adds a twist

Meeting with heads of state has become routine for presidents, but Trump’s way with words and gestures rattles many in the diplomatic community. The biggest concern is his sweet talk to dictators.
North Korean leader Kim Jung-un inspects an outpost and Jangjedo defending force. REUTERS/North Korea's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA)

What makes Kim Jong Un tick?

A scholar who has profiled the likes of Saddam Hussein and Vladimir Putin says there is a method to understanding the madness.
Fidel Castro during a visit to Washington in 1959. U.S. Department of State

Cuba and US: the long, twisted tale of two countries

The action by President Obama to move toward the normalization of US-Cuba relations is long overdue. The US ruptured ties with Cuba in early January 1961, under President Eisenhower, not only in the context…
Terrible beauty: Operation Castle – British test on Bikini Atoll, March 1954. Wikimedia Commons

Out of sight, out of mind: a nuclear legacy

It was a key moment in the Cold War: 50 years ago, on August 5, 1963, US and the Soviet Union signed the Limited Test Ban Treaty banning nuclear tests in the atmosphere, underwater and in outer space (but…
A United States Air Force RF-101 Voodoo aircraft pilot photographs a Russian ship loaded with missiles while the aircraft itself casts a shadow in Port Casilda, Cuba, Nov. 6, 1962. EPA/Defense Imagery

Australia’s untold reaction to the Cuban Missile Crisis

Fifty years ago, the United States and the Soviet Union stood on the brink of nuclear war over Soviet missiles in Cuba. Since then, the Cuban Missile Crisis has been recognised as one of the most definitive…

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