Cold War
The cold war is a post 1945 struggle between the U.S. and its allies and the group of nations led by the Soviet Union. Direct military conflict never occurred between the two superpowers, however economic and diplomatic struggles erupted instead. Different interests led to mutual suspicion and hostility in an ever-growing rivalry. The origins of the Cold War can be followed back to the end of World War II. Following the surrender of Nazi Germany, the alliances between the United States and Great Britain with the Soviet Union began to unravel. By 1948 the Soviets had installed left-wing governments in the countries of Eastern Europe, which were previously liberated by the Red Army. Followin
Few analysts accepted George Keenan's position that, "it is not Russian Military power which is threatening us, it is Russian political power". The Soviets were determined to maintain control of Eastern Europe in order to safeguard against any possible renewed threat from the west, from which they had been invaded twice in the 19th century by Napoleon and twice more in the 20th by Germany. This misperception by the Soviet Union may have been one of the many situations that sparked their eventual conflict with the US. Tensions between the two powers grew even more as both sides broke wartime agreements. National security wasn't a major concern of US planners and elected officials. g this installation of " soviet satellites", the Americans and the British feared the permanent Soviet domination of Eastern Europe and the threat of Soviet-Influenced communist parties coming to power in the democracies of western Europe. It is from these confrontations, along with their opposing philosophies that became known as The Cold War. The Soviet Union may have accepted these foreign policies as a renewed attempt by the west to isolate and encircle them. Stalin failed to honor pledges to hold free elections in Eastern Europe, while Truman refused to honor promises to send reparations from Germany to help rebuild the devastated Soviet Union. On the other end to the spectrum, the United States misunderstood the Soviet Regime. The United States in retaliation started the Truman Doctrine and the Marshal Plan from which they provided economic, military equipment and financial aid to countries whose postwar poverty fueled the growth of communist parties. If the United States had realized the Soviet Unions plan in setting up "puppet communist governments" throughout European countries, it may have been able to prevent the war before it started. Perceptions and misperceptions on both sides played and important role in the development of the war. President Harry Truman's use of the atomic bomb in Japan was accepted by the Soviet Union as an effort to keep them out of the pacific, but on the contrary, Truman greatly supported Russia's intervention at the close of the WWII.
Common topics in this essay:
Soviet Union,
Eastern Europe,
Union Direct,
Marshal Plan,
Soviet Unions,
Europe Truman,
Regime National,
COLD WAR,
Russian Military,
War Perceptions,
soviet union,
eastern europe,
cold war,
communist parties,
|
Acceptance Essays
