Assignment:
After reading "What Can Be Learned from the Past?" and "Soviet Deception in the Cuban Missile Crisis," identify any cognitive shortfalls associated with individual or group perception, memory, analysis, or biases associated with "Operation Anadyr."
Section I: Introduction.
(a) Clearly state the purpose of your paper along with the approach you'll be taking to answer the question. Briefly summarize the key events associated with the Cuban Missile Crisis. Summarize your introduction with a clear thesis statement.
Section II: Perceiving the build-up to and eventual crisis.
(a) From the course readings/presentations, identify two specific instances where US political or military personnel mistakenly perceived the build-up to the crisis, the Soviet's ability to successfully place nuclear weapons in Cuba, and the Soviet's response to the crisis. Analyze why the perception was believed to be correct and its impact on the crisis.
(b) From the course readings/presentations, identify two specific instances where US political or military personnel allowed a cognitive bias to influence their assessment/judgment in relation to the build-up to the crisis, the Soviet's ability to successfully place nuclear weapons in Cuba, and the Soviet's response to the crisis. Analyze how the bias occurred its impact on the crisis.
(c) Identify two missed indicators you think would've allowed the US to prevent the Soviets from placing weapons in Cuba. Assess why you think these indicators were missed and how they could've altered the conflict had they been collected, identified, and recognized as such.
Section III: Bibliography formatted in CMS. You must have a bibliography in addition to your citations.
Rothstein, Hy, and Whaley, Barton, eds. 2013. The Art and Science of Military Deception. Norwood: Artech House. Accessed April 17, 2021. ProQuest Ebook Central.
Readings:
Soviet Deception in the Cuban Missile Crisis- Learning from the Past
By James H. Hansen