Deterrence of the Cold War needs to be understood by considering military interactions not necessarily as a means of success or failure, but rather by means of communication involving capability, threat, credibility, and commitment. While it can appear that deterrence and defense merge as both strategies are instruments utilized in the mechanization of war, their differences exist predominately in their time frame. Deterrence can be thought of as a way of convincing, by raising the potential cost of action for an adversary, that a specific action that they would undertake would incite a response. The process of deterrence involves determining who shall attempt to deter whom from doing what, and by what means. Deterrence is more focused on …show more content…
The process of commitment involves a nation’s reputation. By the United States stationing troops in Berlin, this provided a trip wire. What this presence signified was that if the Soviets ever decided to attack and thereby kill U.S. soldiers, there would be no more guessing as to what their intentions were. The U.S. government does not want dead soldiers as this would not be an ideal situation to occur for domestic tranquility of one’s political party. By the U.S. positioning troops in Berlin, this act can be understood to be a costly action. An attack on U.S. troops in Berlin would be a window opened by the Soviets for war. It would have crossed the trip wire. This should, therefore, discourage the Russians from venturing over that line, which would provoke and incite U.S. resolve an use of force to punish Russia for killing the positioned soldiers. Moreover, by stationing U.S. troops in Berlin, the United States would enhance its own credibility with the Soviets if Russia did decide to attack or invade. If the Russians did invade Western Europe while the United States had positioned troops there, they would have to overcome the resistance of the America troops stationed there. The amount of troops that the U.S. had postured was an amount that could be overcome by the Russian army. So, it can be assumed that with the amount of troops of American soldiers, the
The Cold War was a period of dark and melancholic times when the entire world lived in fear that the boiling pot may spill. The protectionist measures taken by Eisenhower kept the communists in check to suspend the progression of USSR’s radical ambitions and programs. From the suspenseful delirium from the Cold War, the United States often engaged in a dangerous policy of brinksmanship through the mid-1950s. Fortunately, these actions did not lead to a global nuclear disaster as both the US and USSR fully understood what the weapons of mass destruction were capable of.
But the battle to control Berlin between, the United States and the Soviet Union, had been taking place since after the division of Germany. The German Democratic Republic wanted better control over its people to spread its communist ideas and tried taking its way around to get control of East Berlin by building the Berlin Wall. The creation of this “concentration camp” on a much larger scale, gave the GDR total control over the people. The reasoning that the German Democratic Republic provided for the creation of this gigantic wall was that many of its skilled labor were leaving to the “free land” or the West, causing an economic downfall in the East.
The foreign and domestic policies during the Cold War lead to both the separation of world powers and the fear of political and social systems throughout the world. After World War 2 had ended, tensions between the United States and the Soviet Union heighted. The agreements made at the Yalta Conference between Churchill, Stalin, and Roosevelt , were not being followed by the Soviets. The Soviet Union kept the land they reconquered in Eastern Europe and did not enforce a democratic government in those countries, as they promised. Instead, the Soviet Union decided to continue spreading communism in their reconquered lands. The United States’ feared the spread of communism and attempted to do anything in its power to stop it. Before the United
Within this controversial topic, two authors provide their sides of the story to whom is to blame and/or responsible for the “Cold War.” Authors Arnold A. Offner and John Lewis Gaddis duck it out in this controversial situation as each individual lead the readers to believe a certain aspect by divulging certain persuading information. However, although both sides have given historical data as substance for their claim, it is nothing more than a single sided personal perception of that particular piece of information; thus, leaving much room for interpretations by the reader/s. Finding the ...
Discussions of the causes of the Cold War are often divisive, creating disparate ideological camps that focus the blame in different directions depending on the academic’s political disposition. One popular argument places the blame largely on the American people, whose emphasis on “strength over compromise” and their deployment of the atomic bomb in the Second World War’s Pacific theatre apparently functioned as two key catalysts to the conflict between US and Soviet powers. This revisionist approach minimizes Stalin’s forceful approach and history of violent leadership throughout World War 2, and focuses instead on President Harry Truman’s apparent insensitivity to “reasonable Soviet security anxieties” in his quest to impose “American interests on the world.” Revisionist historians depict President Truman as a “Cold War monger,” whose unjustified political use of the atomic bomb and ornery diplomatic style forced Russia into the Cold War to oppose the spread of a looming capitalist democratic monopoly. In reality, Truman’s responsibility for the Cold War and the atomic bomb drop should be minimized.
During the late 1940's and the 1950's, the Cold War became increasingly tense. Each side accused the other of wanting to rule the world (Walker 388). Each side believed its political and economic systems were better than the other's. Each strengthened its armed forces. Both sides viewed the Cold War as a dispute between right and wron...
With this book, a major element of American history was analyzed. The Cold War is rampant with American foreign policy and influential in shaping the modern world. Strategies of Containment outlines American policy from the end of World War II until present day. Gaddis outlines the policies of presidents Truman, Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson, and Nixon, including policies influenced by others such as George Kennan, John Dulles, and Henry Kissinger. The author, John Lewis Gaddis has written many books on the Cold War and is an avid researcher in the field.
Glynn, Patrick. Closing Pandora's Box "Arms Races, Arms Control, and the History of the Cold War". New York: HarperCollinsPublishers, Inc. 1992.
Outline of Essay About the Origins of the Cold War OUTLINE: Introduction- 1. Definition of ‘Cold War’ and the Powers involved 2. Perceived definition of ‘start of Cold War’ 3. Iron Curtain Speech, Truman Doctrine and Berlin Blockade as significant events that caused strife between both powers, but which triggering off the start of the Cold War Body- 1. Iron Curtain Speech (1946) - A warning of Soviet influence beyond the acknowledged Eastern Europe - Churchill’s belief that the idea of a balance in power does not appeal to the Soviets - Wants Western democracies to stand together in prevention of further
The Cold War began in 1946, shortly after WWII, and ended more than four decades later in 1991. It began with the shifting struggle for power and prestige between the Western hemisphere and the Soviet Union. The U.S. and President Harry Truman fear of communist attack and the Soviet Union need for a secure western border led to America’s effort in providing economic stability and security to nations of the Western hemisphere. In addition, President Truman began his “Get Tough” policy that encouraged the development of nuclear weapons for America to be securely defensive and well armed. The document, “Secretary of Commerce Henry A. Wallace Questions the “Get Tough” Policy” written by Secretary Wallace described America’s actions, “the effort to secure air base spread over half the globe from which the other half of the globe can be bombed,” which he felt America during the Cold War went “far beyond the requirements of defense.”Although, President Truman was determined to resist aggression, moreover, stop the spread of communism and Soviet power, the document was written to make the public and particularly President Truman realize that he himself used aggressive diplomacy that failed to notice the Soviet Union purpose and policy, which if he did understood, might have made better approaches in achieving his goals.
Failure of the Détente Between the Superpowers The French word ‘détente’, which the Oxford English Dictionary describes as “the easing of strained relations, especially in a political situation” (www.oed.com), first appeared in this context when a German newspaper used it to describe the visit of a British monarch at the beginning of the 20th century (Froman, 1991). In this essay, I will attempt to explain the cold war détente between the superpowers of the USA and the USSR in the 1970’s, concentrating first on its positive developments between 1971 and 1973 and then on the events that lead to its ultimate failure, symbolised by the soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979. The first real steps of relaxation of tensions were taken with the Moscow summit and the signing of the SALT 1 (Strategic Arms Limitations Talks) agreement in May 1972. The SALT agreement was a staring point for attempts to control nuclear arms, to restrict the impact and spread of nuclear weapons and to secure a balance due to ‘Mutual Assured Destruction’ (the notion that a nuclear attack from one side would lead to a retaliation from the other and therefore both sides would be greatly damaged) between the two superpowers and were to be followed up by further arms limitations talks within the next five years (Kent and Young, 2004). Also, agreements were reached on lowering the risk of accidental confrontation and on cooperation in science, health and environmental issues.
The aim of this investigation is to assess the main factors that ultimately led to the failure of the Berlin blockade, giving the Soviets no other choice but to end it. To evaluate the actions and policies of the Superpowers during the crisis that played a role in lifting the blockade. The extent to which the fact that the Western Allies did not respond with violence but with the airlift and its success was a main factor to its end will be assessed. The significance of the agreement made between the Soviets and the US in lifting not only the Berlin Blockade but also the Western counter blockade will also be evaluated. The reasons for the implementation of the blockade, the actions of the superpowers that do not contribute to the failure of the blockade and the consequences from this crisis will not be investigated. The analysis will be done by researching different views on the blockade’s failure and the events leading up to it. This analysis will be supported by a primary source, letters between the USSR and the US at the beginning of the crisis. This gives both American and Soviet perspectives. Other sources used for this investi...
This was known as the “Berlin Blockade” during which the Soviets blocked all access into Berlin from the Western allies, otherwise known as the American capitalists. The blockade created tension because although the US was attempting to aid the civilians in Berlin, the Soviets still saw the US as a threat and did their best to insure that the US stayed out. However, the US still found a way to help the Europeans in need, which was by way of the Berlin Airlift. The blockade ended in 1949 when the Soviets discovered that they could not prevent the US from donating goods to the people of Berlin that were in need. The USSR’s overreaction to the US attempting to both help fund and donate military goods to the Soviets caused a tension between the capitalists and the communists which played a major role in triggering the Cold
Cold War: Domestic Policies Reasonable The Cold War was the international struggle between the US/NATO (West Germany, North American nations, and Yugoslavia) and the USSR (East Germany, Romania, Hungary, Poland, Bulgaria, and Czechoslovakia) found its way into the domestic policies of the US tension for years. The Cold War was a battle of control because the US didn’t want the Soviets to spread communism to the rest of the other nations (NATO), the Soviets want to be influential to the other nations and the US doesn’t want that. This was all because the two sides wanted to win the cold from (1947-1991). The domestic policies were consisted of trials for spies, a committee that hunted down suspected communists, procedure making people feel
Opalisime After World War II there was a strong anti-communist movement in America for decades prior to the 1950s. Nuclear weapons also sent a shot at distrust and fear between America and Russia. Information about nuclear weapons is very limited to the public. There are some facts, details, and reasons on why this war happened, the effects of the Cold War, and how society reacted to the War. It began in the 1945-1948 timeframe and ended in 1989, having been a dispute over the division of Europe.