Date of Award

Fall 12-12-2025

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelor of Arts (BA)

Department

Intelligence and National Security Studies

College

College of Humanities and Fine Arts

First Advisor

Joseph Fitsanakis

Abstract/Description

Although the Cuban Missile Crisis was a short period of time relative to our nation’s history, this research has illuminated how much information, tension, and impactful moments lie within each minute; and the fact is, intelligence collection absolutely is a main factor in the de-escalation of the nuclear threat. Without the intelligence collection and production that was completed and given to Kennedy, policy would not be able to be made nearly as easy. Throughout each moment of the crisis, generally speaking, IMINT was able to provide and support the most aid to President Kennedy and his advisers. While the degree may change based on what is going on, an overwhelming amount of credibility is given to IMINT, specifically due to aerial reconnaissance flights. While I believe that IMINT remained the most helpful, the limitations and mistakes for all intelligence collection methods are surprising to discover. All collection methods of HUMINT, SIGINT, and IMINT faced limitations and caused setbacks to the support and aid to Kennedy. While IMINT seems to be the most credited and provides the most aid, there still are imperfections such as the misuse of the U-2, giving an opportunity for the NSA and CIA to step up. There is a lot more to the Cuban Missile Crisis than is seen from the outside. I can confidently say that IMINT specifically provided the most aid to President Kennedy and his advisers, but the events and mistakes from all aspects of the crisis fluctuate and not only cause issues, but also create moments of weakness for IMINT as well.

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