COLD War and the Arms Race

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COLD War and the Arms Race

When President Truman authorized the use of two nuclear weapons in 1945 against the Japanese in the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki to end World War II, the nature of international security was changed irreversibly. At that time, the United States had what was said to have a monopoly of atomic bombs. Soon thereafter, the Soviet Union began working on atomic weaponry. In 1949, it had already detonated it first atomic bomb and tensions began to heat up between the two countries. With the information that the Soviets had tested their first bomb, the United States began work on more powerful weapons1, and a fight for nuclear superiority had begun.

In the 1950’s, the United States "announced a policy of massive retaliation - a doctrine whereby the United States might respond with nuclear weapons to any Soviet challenge anywhere in the world," (Weapons and Arms Control) Despite America's doctrine and huge lead in the arms race, it achieved little success and did not threaten or suppress the Soviets from continuing to create nuclear weapons.

After the Korean War, it was believed that the United States’ nuclear build-up had played a key role in achieving armistice. At this time, early in President Eisenhower's term in office, he had announced his policy of nuclear superiority. During this time period of nuclear build up, the Soviet Union began to find ways to overcome deficiencies in their strategic technologies2. Not soon after Eisenhower made his policy known, Russia became the first country to successfully test ICBMs, or Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles. These tactical nuclear weapons are land based rocket propelled vehicles capable of intercontinental range in excess of 4000 nautical miles....

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Glynn, Patrick. Closing Pandora's Box "Arms Races, Arms Control, and the History of the Cold War". New York: HarperCollinsPublishers, Inc. 1992.

"Russian Officials Say They Couldn't Keep Up with SDI." Funet Russian Archive. < http://www.funet.fi/pub/culture/russian/politics/sdi.russian.officials>

"Cold War Hot Links." David Price's Home Page. <http://www.stmartin.edu/~dprice/cold.war.html> (4 May 1998).

"Salt II Treaty." ACDA Government Treaties. <http://www.acda.gov/treaties/salt2-1.htm>

McKean, Colonel Joel M. Salt Two Ratification Issues. Washington D.C.: National Security Affairs, 1978.

"Bipartisan support for START II." Council For a Livable World. <http://www.clark.net/pub/clw/clw/startqu.html>

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