Verified Document

Kennedy's Legacy What John F. Term Paper

In this Kennedy appeared to be following up on his anti-Communist speech with anti-Communist actions. but, the level of actual commitment was clearly not there. Kennedy had the entire United States military at his disposal. All he had to do was use them. but, clearly, he did not have the stomach to follow it all the way through. Kennedy wanted to appear strong but did not want to have to be strong - image meant everything. Operation Mongoose continued the entire Cuban situation. It relied upon covert use of the CIA to make any and all attempts necessary to overthrow the Cuban government. On the heels of the Bay of Pigs failure, Kennedy attempted another poorly conceived attempt to rid himself of Castro. The operation essentially failed before it could possibly begin. Time after time, plans were brought out to be replaced by others. And those plans were impossibly strange at times; such as the idea to put a powder into Castro's sweaters that would make his beard fall out.

Not surprisingly, none of these plans were actually carried out due to the culmination of the conflict in the Cuban Missile Crisis.

Kennedy's response to the Soviet missile buildup in Cuba can only be seen as an appropriate reaction to an immediate threat to the United States. but, this would prove to be his only success in the entire campaign. Had it not been for his inept handling of Cuba from the very beginning, Khrushchev...

Kennedy was forced to act because he had failed to be decisive before. The irony is incredible - he could have used the strength of the U.S. military to quell the Cuban revolution in its infancy - instead he emboldened Castro who has only now fallen from power due to old age.
In Vietnam, as well, Kennedy's failures to be truly committed, to try small remedies first to test the waters, led the United States into a war that would not end until 1975 - with an absolute abject failure.

In 1963, Kennedy's campaign in Vietnam began with covert operatives seeking to destabilize the region. The CIA went into North Vietnam and launched the largest terrorism and sabotage campaign taken up since World War II.

Again, this campaign, like the Bay of Pigs and Operation Mongoose was an absolute failure.

Kennedy's popularity in hindsight seems to be based more upon the perpetuation of an idealized image. He represented the power of youth, of potential. Unfortunately, his mistakes seemed to be born of youth and a lack of true conviction that what he was doing was right.

References

LeFeber, Walter. America, Russia and the Cold War: 1945-2002. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2002.

Merrill, Dennis & Paterson, Thomas G Major Problems in American Foreign Relations: Since 1914. New York: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2005.

Sources used in this document:
References

LeFeber, Walter. America, Russia and the Cold War: 1945-2002. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2002.

Merrill, Dennis & Paterson, Thomas G Major Problems in American Foreign Relations: Since 1914. New York: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2005.
Cite this Document:
Copy Bibliography Citation

Related Documents

John F. Kennedy
Words: 2637 Length: 8 Document Type: Research Paper

John F. Kennedy In contemporary times, John F. Kennedy is known for many things; winning a Pulitzer Prize, however, is not one of them (Coleman). Kennedy's awarding of the Pulitzer in 1957 -- a full four years before he was elected president of the United States -- for the biographical Profiles in Courage was one of his few achievements that he made prior to his election that did not directly involve

Death of President John F.
Words: 620 Length: 2 Document Type: Essay

The Cold War defined the Kennedy administration, but did not sully the President's reputation as a solid leader. In fact, the way Kennedy handled the Bay of Pigs was criticized unduly. The President only reacted to common concerns that Communism was an immanent threat to the ideals of freedom, liberty and democracy. The involvement in the Vietnam War would become a continuation of an interventionist foreign policy that Kennedy

Assassination of John F. Kennedy
Words: 1406 Length: 5 Document Type: Thesis

Various versions of the conspiracy theories link the purported involvement of Giancana with Castro, Giancana with the CIA, and Oswald to one or the other, or to both. Finally, other conspiracy theories even linked then Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson to the assassination plot, at least in terms of having been made aware of the operation in advance if not necessarily as a co-conspirator (Galanor, 1998). Several specific individuals later emerged, providing

Kennedy Doctrine and the Cold War in
Words: 870 Length: 3 Document Type: Research Paper

Kennedy Doctrine and the Cold War In his inaugural address as the President of the United States on January 1961, John F. Kennedy (popularly called "JFK") delivered a message that directly discussed the United States' official stance regarding its move to implement a foreign policy waging a "cold war" against Communist forces that have been gaining popularity in Asia, South America, and parts of the Middle East during this period. This

Kennedy's Presidency
Words: 1424 Length: 5 Document Type: Research Paper

JFK's Leadership As that of any successful leader, Kennedy's leadership style is a complex combination of different qualities and characteristics. This paper will analyze several of them, as well as the leadership profile overall, with the purpose of understanding what made Kennedy an effective leader and whether this was indeed the case. Hald-Mortensen (2007) looks at three different areas where Kennedy excelled and that contributed to making Kennedy an effective leader: vision,

How Did Kennedy and His Administration Effect the Civil Rights Movement...
Words: 3889 Length: 12 Document Type: Term Paper

Kennedy and the Civil Rights Movement John Fitzgerald Kennedy, or JFK, served the President of the United States for less than a single full term in the early 1960s after serving in Congress for several terms before this. He was elected in 1960 and took office the following January, promising to explore new frontiers and bring the country to new heights. In late November of 1963, he was assassinated in Dallas,

Sign Up for Unlimited Study Help

Our semester plans gives you unlimited, unrestricted access to our entire library of resources —writing tools, guides, example essays, tutorials, class notes, and more.

Get Started Now