Final answer:
The Cuban Missile Crisis was precipitated by the placement of Soviet nuclear missiles in Cuba, which was partly a reaction to the failed Bay of Pigs Invasion. The crisis was resolved when the U.S. and the Soviet Union reached an agreement to remove missiles from Cuba and Turkey, respectively. The Nixon administration's détente and Vietnam and Korean conflicts were related to Cold War tensions but not direct causes of the Cuban Missile Crisis.
Step-by-step explanation:
The events that led to the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962 were complex and rooted in the tensions of the Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union. One of the main catalysts was the failure of the Bay of Pigs Invasion, after which Cuban President Fidel Castro sought Soviet support, leading to an agreement to place nuclear missiles in Cuba. This deployment was intended to deter another U.S. invasion. The discovery of these missiles by U.S. intelligence sparked a confrontation that brought the world to the brink of nuclear war. President John F. Kennedy and Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev were ultimately able to de-escalate the situation, agreeing to remove missiles from both Cuba and Turkey, which bordered the Soviet Union.
It is important to note that the Nixon administration policy of détente, the U.S. failure to defeat communists in Vietnam, and the stalemate in the Korean War were also significant Cold War events but occurred either after (détente) or were not direct causes of the Cuban Missile Crisis. The Cuban Missile Crisis was a result of the broader Cold War dynamics, including fears of communist expansion and the strategic calculations of both superpowers.