Cuban Missile Crisis JCC
American Cabinet
American Cabinet
Director
My name is Vedha Panchal, and I have the honour of serving as Under-Secretary-General of Crisis for TFSSMUN. The Cuban Missile Crisis first captured my attention through my studies in IB History, where I found myself less interested in the broad strokes of Cold War politics and more drawn to the thirteen days in October 1962 where the world sat at the brink of nuclear war. The decisions made in those rooms felt less like history and more like a masterclass in crisis leadership. That is what brought this committee to life.
Outside of academics and MUN, I founded BlueKnot, an organization supporting neurodivergent individuals. I enjoy playing flag football, volleyball and tennis and have a passion for sketching, writing poetry, and dancing. I believe the best crisis committees do what good literature does: they put people in impossible situations and reveal something true about how we make decisions under pressure. Welcome to the room where it happened!
The world stands on the brink of nuclear war, and the fate of the world rests in the hands of the United States’ Executive Committee of the National Security Council.
In October 1962, the Cold War reached its most dangerous moment. When U.S. reconnaissance revealed Soviet nuclear missile sites being built in Cuba, the balance of the Cold War shifted overnight. Nuclear weapons were now just 90 miles from American shores. The discovery came after U.S. reconnaissance flights captured photographic evidence of Soviet missile installations being constructed on the island. The Soviet Union could soon possess the ability to strike much of the United States from just 90 miles away.
With the information still highly classified and the American public unaware of the threat, Kennedy assembled his most trusted military, diplomatic, and intelligence advisors—the Executive Committee of the National Security Council (ExComm). The United States has yet to make its first move.
Thirteen days. Two superpowers. One world on the brink.
As members of the Executive Committee, you are no longer observers of history—you are inside the room where history is being made. Every decision carries consequences: negotiate with the Soviets, impose further pressure, launch military action, pursue covert operations, or risk nuclear escalation.
There is no script, no guaranteed outcome, and no second chance. The missiles are real. The clock is ticking. And the next move is yours.