A. Investigation PlanThis historical investigation aims to answer the question: How significant was Fidel Castro's role in the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962? The purpose of this investigation is to uncover Fidel Castro's involvement in the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962. The analysis focuses on Castro's relationship with the Soviet Union and the United States in order to identify the significance of Castro's role in the stages of the crisis. Castro's role will then be inferred by referring to the early days of the crisis, the period when an American U-2 reconnaissance plane was shot down over Cuba, and the resolution of the crisis. “The Cuban Missile Crisis, 1962: A National Security Documents Reader Archive” edited by Laurence Chang and Peter Kornbluh and “Cuba on the Brink: Castro, the Missile Crisis, and the Soviet Collapse” by James G. Blight will be evaluated with reference to their origin, objective, value and limitations.B. Summary of Evidence The tropical island of Cuba was an object of empire for the United States. Before the Missile Crisis, relations between Castro and the United States were strained by the events at the Bay of Pigs in 1961. It was there that counter-revolutionary Cubans, financed by the United States, attempted to invade Cuba and overthrow Castro. But the counter-revolutionaries failed. Castro then found an alliance with the Soviet Union and Castro's increased distrust of the United States. On January 18, 1962, the United States learned of Operation Mongoose. The goal would be to “help the Cubans overthrow the communist regime” so that the United States could live in peace. Therefore, Castro informed the Soviet Union that it was worried about a direct invasion of Cuba and therefore craved protection against middle of paper... Soviet collapse. New York: Pantheon, 1993. Bonsal, Philip W. Cuba, Castro and the United States. London: Pittsburgh University, 1971.Burns, Bradford E. Latin America: A Concise Interpretive History. Upper Saddle River: Pearson Education, 2002. Chang, Laurence and Peter Kornbluh. The Cuban Missile Crisis, 1962. New York: The New Press, 1992. Khrushchev, Nikita S. Khrushchev Remembers. Boston: Petit Sourcil, 1970.—. Khrushchev remembers: Glasnost recordings. Boton: Little Brow, 1990. Leonard, Thomas M. Castro and the Cuban Revolution. Westport: Greenwood Press, 1999. Ramonet, Ignacio. My life: Fidel Castro. London: Penguin Books, 2007. Smith, William Y and Anatoli I. Gribkov. Operation ANADYR: American and Soviet generals recount the Cuban missile crisis. Chicago: Q Publishing, 1994. Williamson, Edwin. The history of Latin American penguins. London: Penguin Books, 1992.