Cold_War

The Cold War was the almost 50 year rift between the Soviet Union and the United States of America. It started in the mid 40's after WWII had left Europe in shambles. Because of the defeat of Hitler and Germany in WWII, Russia and the USA were both in superpower positions. The US and Russia had differences in the division of Europe, post war economic aid, and the atomic bomb. (Divine, 810) The Cold War was a clash of these super giants in political, ideological, military, and economic values and ideas. Though military build up was great on both sides neither one ever directly fought each other. The fundamental disagreement was over which superpower would control post WWII Europe. The Soviets had control over Poland and the Balkans. The American and British forces liberated western European areas from Scandinavia down to Italy. Russia had goals of establishing communist governments, which were loyal to the Soviet Union. The United States held the principle of democracy and insisted that people chose their post war rulers freely. (Divine, 810) In the late 40's through early 50's the Soviet Union started to spread the Lenin ideological as it started moving in the western block in Europe. The US started funding the rebuilding of European infrastructure in a system called the Marshall Plan. Marshall appointed Dean Acheson as his undersecretary of state, and George Keenan to head the new Policy Planning Staff. These two individuals played a very important role in creating the foreign policy of the United States for the next several decades, especially when it related to Russia and the U.S.’s attempts to contain it. The Truman Doctrine comes from a speech given by President Truman to Congress on March 12, 1947, asking for 400 million in military and economic aid for Greece. The worry was that the communists in Greece were being supported by the Russians and if Greece fell to the communists in its civil war, communism would spread throughout the Mediterranean. This Doctrine puts forth the idea that by affecting a country other than Russia we are still fighting the Russians by proxy. (Divine, 813) “It must be the policy of the United States,” Truman told Congress, “to support free peoples who are resisting attempted subjugation by armed minorities or by outside pressure.” (Divine, 813) This Doctrine marked the beginning of the Cold War between the United States and Russia. The policy of containment issued by Secretary of State, General George C. Marshall, and created by Keenan and Acheson was first implemented by President Truman in aiding Greece against its communist insurrection. This policy of fighting the Russians by Proxy was the key concept of the Truman Doctrine and the result of the containment policy created by Marshall, Keenan, and Acheson. This led to several major engagements in backwaters of Asia for the United States, from Korea to Vietnam. These and many smaller engagements were a direct result of the containment policy and the adoption of the Truman Doctrine. Russia in turn brought forth its own funding called the Molotov Plan. Because of that, they were able to spread communism through many countries. Some of these nations were: Poland, Romania, Bulgaria, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Eastern Germany, and numerous countries in Southeastern Asia. But on the US side we had the support from almost the entire Western Europe. So the tension started, between Western Europe or a republic society and Eastern Europe and communism. (Divine, 817) There are many key events that happened throughout the entire duration of the Cold War. The fist main events that led up to the tension were the foreign aid policies. These policies were able to divide up Europe between the superpowers. After Europe was divided up treaty organizations and alliances stated forming up again. One of these alliances was the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). (Divine, 815) The allied the western portion of Europe wanted to ensure that the United States would protect from attack. Next came the Warsaw Pact, it was the communistic version of NATO. It was an alliance of eastern bloc of Europe. Throughout the Cold War, relations between the Soviet Union and the west alternated between times of tension and crises and periods of reduced tension and limited cooperation. The United States wanted to contain Soviet influence in Europe so when General George C. Marshall became Secretary of State in January of 1947; during this time he saw a need to address policy concerns with Russia. The term containment by George Kennan in relation to the cold war refers to a U.S. policy of halting Russian aggression, expansion and influence around the globe. The Truman Doctrine comes from a speech given by President Truman to Congress on March 12, 1947, asking for 400 million in military and economic aid for Greece. The worry was that the communists in Greece were being supported by the Russians and if Greece fell to the communists in its civil war, communism would spread throughout the Mediterranean. This Doctrine puts forth the idea that by affecting a country other than Russia we are still fighting the Russians by proxy. (Divine, 813) “It must be the policy of the United States,” Truman told Congress, “to support free peoples who are resisting attempted subjugation by armed minorities or by outside pressure.” (Divine, 813) This Doctrine marked the beginning of the Cold War between the United States and Russia. The policy of containment issued by Secretary of State, General George C. Marshall, and created by Keenan and Acheson was first implemented by President Truman in aiding Greece against its communist insurrection. This policy of fighting the Russians by Proxy was the key concept of the Truman Doctrine and the result of the containment policy created by Marshall, Keenan, and Acheson. Subsequently, the cold war was extended to Asia. The United States controlled the pacific including Japan. The Soviet Union dominated Northeast Asia. This led to several major engagements in backwaters of Asia for the United States, from Korea to Vietnam. These and many smaller engagements were a direct result of the containment policy and the adoption of the Truman Doctrine The nation Korea was in fact, divided at the thirty eighth parallel into two sections. The northern sector was controlled by the Soviet Union, which waged war against the United States, “The Russians occupied the industrial North, installing a communist government under the leadership of Kim Il-Sung” (Divine, 819). The Southern half was controlled by a conservative nationalist, American sponsored ruler named Syngman Rhee. On June 25, 1950, the North Korean army crossed the thirty eighth parallel without warning, and in huge numbers. Joseph Stalin had approved this act of advance. “In January 1950, the Soviet leader had told Mao Tse-tung that he was ready to overthrow the Yalta settlement in the Far East (‘and to hell with in,’ he exclaimed to Mao)” (Divine, 820). In April, Kim Il-Sung came to Moscow to receive permission for the assault on South Korea. Both Stalin and Mao had greatly underestimated the American response. President Truman viewed the invasion as a clear cut act of aggression. Following the advance, the president convinced the UN Security Council to formulate a resolution condemning North Korea as an aggressor and calling for fellow nations to engage in aid for collective security. Within just a few days, American forces from Japan were in combat in South Korea. In the beginning, the war did not go as planned, as North Koreans continued to pus down the peninsula. In September, General Douglas MacArthur changed the entire war around with flawlessly executed missions. The recent success for General MacArthur began to lift the spirits of President Truman, as he decided to go for a new goal. Originally, the plan was to restore the thirty eighth parallel. After the outrageous success of General MacArthur, President Truman decided to ensure the unification of Korea by military force. “The war led to the implementation of NSC-68-the army expanded to 3.5 million troops, the defense budget increased to $50 billion a year by 1952, and the United States acquired distant military bases from Saudi Arabia to Morocco” (Divine, 821). The Korean War settled into a stalemate when a talk of a truce was negotiated with the communists. The United States achieved their goals of defense of South Korea. However the United States was not successful in unifying Korea. The United States still in fact keeps troops regularly stationed overseas. After the Korean War, America turned their efforts to waging a global contest against Russia with arms along with words. (Divine, 821) The United States policy of containment continued into Vietnam. On September Vietnam declared to be independent and announced the creation of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam, commonly called North Vietnam, with Ho Chi Minh as president. (Divine, 862) France officially recognized the new state, but the subsequent inability of the North Vietnam and France to reach satisfactory political and economic agreements led to armed conflict beginning in December 1946. Northern Vietnam was determined to gain its freedom. With French backing Bao Dai set up the state of Vietnam, commonly called South Vietnam, on July 1, 1949, and established a new capital at Saigon. The following year, the U.S. officially recognized the Saigon government, and to assist it. President Harry S. Truman dispatched a military assistance advisory group to train South Vietnam in the use of U.S. weapons. (Divine, 862) In April 1961, a treaty of amity and economic relations was signed with South Vietnam, and in December, President John F. Kennedy pledged to help South Vietnam maintain its independence. Subsequently, U.S. economic and military assistance to the Diem government increased significantly. In December 1961, the first U.S. troops, consisting of 400 uniformed army personnel, arrived in Saigon. By the end of 1965 American combat strength was nearly 200,000. In February 1965, U.S. planes began regular bombing raids over North Vietnam. A halt was ordered in May in the hope of initiating peace talks, but when North Vietnam rejected all negotiations, the bombings were resumed. From February 1965 to the end of all-out U.S. involvement in 1973, South Vietnamese forces mainly fought against the Vietcong guerrillas. While U.S. and allied troops fought the North Vietnamese, it resulted in North Vietnam losing a significant number of troops. (Divine, 879) In 1969, within a few months after taking office, Johnson's successor, President Richard M. Nixon, announced that 25,000 U. S. troops would be withdrawn from Vietnam by August 1969. Another cut of 65,000 troops was ordered by the end of the year. The program, known as Vietminh (Divine, 831) of the war, came into effect, as President Nixon emphasized additional responsibilities of the South Vietnamese. Neither the U.S. troop reduction nor the death of North Vietnamese President Ho Chi Minh, on Sept. 3, served to break the stalemate in Paris; the North Vietnamese delegates insisted upon complete U.S. withdrawal as a condition for peace. In April 1970, U.S. combat troops entered Cambodia following the occurrence there of a political coup. By 1971 South Vietnamese forces were playing an increasing role in the war, fighting in both Cambodia and Laos as well as in South Vietnam. Through the later months of 1971, American withdrawal continued so rapidly that it seemed like there was a plague in Vietnam (Divine, 898.) It coincided, however, with a new military buildup in North Vietnam, thought to be in preparation for a major drive down the Ho Chi Minh Trail into Laos and Cambodia. Heavy U.S. air attacks followed throughout the Indochina war sector. On the ground, meanwhile, Vietnamese Communist forces had launched massive effective attacks against government forces in South Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos. Casualty figures in 1971 reflected the intensification of South Vietnam's own fighting efforts against the Communists. While U.S. deaths in Vietnam declined dramatically to 1380, compared to 4221 in 1970, the Saigon forces, on the other hand, suffered about 21,500 dead, some in Cambodia and Laos but the majority in South Vietnam. The South Vietnamese claimed the enemy death toll to be 97,000. The war was over and for the first time the military forces of the United States of America wasn't sure whether it had won or lost this war, it would change America forever (Divine, 900) Containment reached Cuba, as the Soviet Union engaged in massive arms race their. Their motives were to protect Cuba from an American invasion. (Divine, 864) Russia claims the purpose of the increasing arms were purely defensive, however pressure came from Russia leaders to increase arms because President Kennedy and the United States had an advantage in nuclear weapon capability. This led to the Cuban missile crisis. Russia has set up Jupiter surface to air missiles that had the potential to bring down American spy planes. The United States had similar missiles in Turkey. The United States rejected pulling the missiles out of Turkey in exchange for Russia doing the same in Cuba (Divine, 864) Kennedy than warned Russia if they did not cooperate, the missiles would be removed by force. The conflict escalated when Soviet ships continued to travel to Cuba, and the American navy deployed to intercept. The United States had a force over a quarter of million men. (Divine, 864) Russia leader Khrushchev offered a solution that if Russia removed the missiles from Cuba; America would have to promise to never invade Cuba. When Kennedy was ready to accept the compromise, Russia raised the stakes and said the United States must also pull missiles out of Turkey. Kennedy was ready to accept the offer, because he wanted to avoid a nuclear war between the United and Russia. However Kennedy never had to make the concession of removing missiles from Turkey because Khrushchev agreed to remove the missiles if Kennedy promised not to invade Cuba. (Divine, 864) The end of the communist movement was triggered when Poland held free election in June 1989. This subsequently began the end of the Soviet Union. A new regime in Hungary opened its borders to allow citizens in repressed countries to flee. The communist governments of East Germany, Czechoslovakia, Bulgaria, and Romania fell. Russian leader Mikhail Gorbachev called for the reform of Eastern Europe and allowed countries to do things their way. (Divine, 936) Turmoil erupted in Russia as the Soviet Union became the victim of the demise of communism in Eastern Europe. Right wing plotters placed Gorbachev under arrest. New Elected president Boris Yeltsin demanded Gorbachev’s release and with the help of the Red Army eventually got those demands. When Gorbachev was released he resigned his position, because the fifteen republics of the Soviet Union resolved. Russia took the lead of other European nations and established democracy and a free market system in Russia. (Divine, 937) In October of 1990 the communistic government fell in Berlin, and the divided city was re-united. This was the final symbol of the fall of communism in Europe. A little bit later the Warsaw pact was abolished and the last of the nuclear weapons were dispersed in the sea. Presidents George Bush and Mikhail Gorbachev officially ended the Cold War in 1991. (Divine, 937) The Cold War ended because the Soviet Union ceased to be a superpower.