Rational Actor Model
Rational Actor Model is the best one to explain the Cuban missile events. This theory pertains to; government being considered as the primary or key actor and the examination of set goals by a government, evaluation of the objectives according to their utility, hence picking the one with the most payoff. In this Cuban crisis, the model applies to several events. Kennedy disclosed in 1961 that the Soviet Union had few intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBM) than people thought. As feedback to this revelation, Nikita Khrushchev commanded the installation of short-range nuclear weapons in Cuba. Soviets also closed the missile gap hence earning points in the cold war. After Kennedy showed no support on the Bay of Pigs invasion, the Soviets believed that the United States would respond in a friendly way. Another event that makes this model fit for this crisis is when Kennedy and the Executive Committee of the National Security Council (EXCOMM) assessed several strategies or options such as a complete invasion of Cuba and doing nothing. They finally picked the Cuba blockade option because it had minimum chances of escalating into a war, and also it forced the Soviets to react. Finally, this Rational Actor Model is fit for this missile because of the agreement between both opposing sides of using the military policy known as mutually assured destruction (MAD) whereby they would use a nuclear war. This decision made the Soviets give in to the United States demands, therefore, withdrawing the set weapons.
Bureaucratic can be used to explain intelligence failures in the following ways. First, the most common for these failures is an overestimation. If this reason is not corrected, the error continues for along time. For instance, during the cold war period, the U.S overestimated the missile gap between the U.S and the Soviet Union continuously. Underestimation is another bureaucratic reason that can explain intelligence failure. In this case, if the government is reluctant to warnings or misunderstand enemy intentions, a problem occurs and may cost the country a lot. The organizational process applies when an organization can create knowledge and implement it according to its environment. An organization should use the regulatory process to have a strong OI, which has a well-informed, controlled, and competent culture. Otherwise, it will have intelligence failures such as uncertain, complex, and ambiguous decision-making.