CUBAN MISSILE CRISIS SIMULATION - The simulation was excellent fun with much reading into the events of the time but also having to respond to daily events. It was a great way to look at the Cuban Missile Crisis which was the single most hazardous period of the Cold War era, not simply because of the risk of conflict, but because of the potential nature of that conflict - a nuclear exchange.
The Soviet team had a collective desire to avoid war (as a ‘victory condition’) and together we worked to prevent the crisis escalating into a superpower confrontation, simultaneously trying to achieve the best possible outcome for our respective nations. Although this was a group activity, the lead roles of Kennedy and Khrushchev were crucial in both simulation and in the events of 1962. Modern communications made the mechanics of crisis management easier, allowed rapid changes to the rules of engagement for Soviet forces in Cuba and retained central control in the Kremlin. Being students who are now 44 years removed from events of the time it is difficult to get a sense of just how close to WW 3 the world came. The resolution of the crisis was assisted by the relationship between Kennedy and Khrushchev and specifically their mutually known desire for peace. There is little doubt that with hawks in both camps this was a constraint in any possible superpower confrontation and helped both sides seek a peaceful settlement. In reality it also helped Kennedy hold his nerve until the other side ‘blinked’. Had Khrushchev held his nerve (as in the simulation) there could have been a more balanced outcome for the USSR, in that the American missiles in Turkey would have been overtly removed. Cuba, in both the simulation and reality gained little, apart from a promise from the USA not to invade, however after the Bay of Pigs I do not believe that the USA could have mounted another invasion. To prevent Cuba ending up reliant on the Soviet Union for economic support, I was surprised that the Cuban players of 2006 did not seek an end to the economic embargo by the USA, which would have been a long term benefit.
This simulation showed the potential of the UN and was a successful and enjoyable format for the replaying and reviewing of the events of the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962.