Political ramifications of Cuban Missile Crisis gone hot?

Why not? What would it be like then?
Well for one reason in the event of things 'going hot' Washington DC is going to be very near the top, if not at the top, of the list of targets to get hit with one or more nuclear weapons. Depending on how much build-up there has been will affect things such as whether the continuity of government evacuation plans have been readied, someone in the Presidential line of succession has been quietly stashed somewhere safe, whether members of the Congress are staying out of town etc. have happened or not. IIRC one of the incoming Presidents shortly after taking office decided to activate his emergency evacuation procedure as a test to see how it would cope, with the results being pretty shambolic and embarrassing for those concerned. Worst case scenario is that the missiles fly and a couple based on Cuba are able to destroy a large chunk of Washington DC and a large part of the government that gets caught. You would hope that they had things properly lined up and planned for, but this is the government we're talking about so you can never be too sure. ;) At that point the there are so many ways things could go in various directions that politic developments would be almost unforeseeable.
 
The USSR would no longer exist as anything more than a geographic expression, and Khruschev is very likely to be dead by the time SAC stops making the rubble bounce.

Politics in what remains of the USSR will be local and focused on survival.

Yes, Khrusvhev may be dead if he was unprepared and didn't get in a bunker, which I doubt, but how would he be viewed?
 
Yes, Khrushchev may be dead if he was unprepared and didn't get in a bunker, which I doubt, but how would he be viewed?
Since he would most likely be dead, or soon to be as things start breaking down, and therefore not in contact with other governments or the international media thus allowing the US to dominate with their version of events probably as a suicidal idiot who brought his own destruction on himself and his country. Kennedy is likely to be none too popular with certain people globally due to the massive number of deaths and amount of destruction that's occurred but still not as bad as Khrushchev.
 
Add up the crater volume of all the ground bursts, and when you have thirty-eight cubic miles you have a Tambora equivalent, which only cost half a degree. More importantly you also have thirty- eight cubic miles of fairly highly radioactive fallout that might make agriculture a moot point- the radiation would get you long before the cold or the hunger.

Plus smoke, soot and whatever else from firestorms of an unprecedented (in human history at least) nature and scale.
 
The USSR is not going to launch a first strike. They knew well how outnumbered they were. The scenario in question relies on some very improbable events to work.

The USSR gave an unprecedented authority to the Commander in Cuba and then with drew it but were not sure that message got through. 1 of the subs was ready to use a nuke tipped torpedo. Plus how could anyone know who used the nukes first?
 
Yes, Khrusvhev may be dead if he was unprepared and didn't get in a bunker, which I doubt, but how would he be viewed?

original SIOP had like a gigtons worth for the Moscow metro area alone, many of 15+ megaton class for groundburst to get those bunkers.

Only way he lives if he's airborne going somewhere when it goes Hot, as Moscow would be cratered down to bedrock
 
original SIOP had like a gigtons worth for the Moscow metro area alone, many of 15+ megaton class for groundburst to get those bunkers.

Only way he lives if he's airborne going somewhere when it goes Hot, as Moscow would be cratered down to bedrock

If the Soviets were going to pre-emptively strike then they would have already evacuated Moscow to secure locations well in advance of their launch.
 
. Worst case scenario is that the missiles fly and a couple based on Cuba are able to destroy a large chunk of Washington DC and a large part of the government that gets caught.

Nike-Hercules SAMs did have some limited RV interception capability, added to the terrible CEP and reliability of those SS-4 to even hit Maryland, but hitting DC would be about the best possible result.

Just real unlikely.
 
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