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Cold War Conflict
Introduction
The cold war basically pitted the United States of America against the communist leaning states of the Soviet Union. By extension the conflict that was cold war also pitted the allies of the two protagonists against one another. The post world war II period i.e. the mid-1940s through to the early 1990s was marked by an intensive contest in terms of ideology, technological advancement and even more candid was the overt show of military might. Inspite of all these the world, throughout this period, never witnessed any direct military clash between the united states and the soviet union. Joyce &Gabriel Kolko, (1972).
What was witnessed however was a series of near war situations that only culminated into political realignments in political systems of the allies of the United States and the Soviet Union. While the United States was the outspoken crusader of the anti-communist stand, Russia was perceived as a communist state which, if unchecked at least according to the United States would rapidly spread this ideology across the world. United States had throughout the period Britain as its erstwhile ally. Other allies of the United States included all Western Europe states.
On the other hand Russia enjoyed the support of the Soviet Union member states and Eastern Europe states. A profound feature of the rivalry between the United States and Russia was the apparent military build up on either side. There was tremendous growth in the military budgets of the two superpowers. Development of nuclear weapons was also undertaken by both sides. It is worth noting that a major point of departure between United States and Russia was the reconstruction of the world after the end of the world war II.
As a result there was a spillage of the cold from Europe to other region of the world. In a swift response, the US forged alliances with rest of the world in a bid to stem the spread of communism. Apart from its allies in Western Europe, the US reached out to countries in the Middle East as well as south East Asia. The tensions that characterized the cold war period at times threatened to explode into world wars. Multiple crises occurred over this period. These include the Berlin Blockade (1948-1949), the Korean War (1950-1953), the Vietnam War (1959-1975) and the soviet afghan war (1979-1989).
The world has experienced dramatic changes since the end of the World War II. The fall of the Berlin wall in the 1990's happens to be just one of the dramatic events. others might as well include the following; hundreds of thousands of American troops were poised to defend Saudi Arabia against further Iraqi aggression following its invasion of Kuwait and the soviet union had joined the united states in the united nations security council to support the collective use of force against Iraq.
But even more dramatic changes would follow as first the Soviet Union itself imploded. Thus the United States suddenly found itself victorious in its long cold war struggle with soviet communism emerging as world's sole remaining superpower. The United States also emerged victorious in the Persian gulf war, prompting President Bush to speak wistfully of a new world order in which the rule of law would reign supreme, but a surge of ethnic nationalism-often accompanied by violent conflict-quickly dissipated hopes that the post-coldwar would be a more orderly and peaceful one.Joyce &Gabriel Kolko, (1972).
The period between end of World War II and now has recorded interesting twists and turns in as far as the relations of America and Russia are concerned. Of the multiple political economic upheavals the most profound subject that has pitted America and Russia is perhaps the cold war. In the history of the two countries, the cold war and the post cold development have invariably generated immense political and diplomatic relations between the two.
The cold war could be termed as one of the many international contests for power and position of global proportions and with global consequences. Others include World War I and World War II. An aspect worth noting is that each conflict forced the United States to confront its destiny as its political, economic and military importance in the world grew. In America's perspective the cold war was about anti-communism, anti-sovietism and containment. In much finer details it was America's fear of communism, fear of the Soviet Union and a determination to contain both. (Kegley, 1996).
Origin of cold war
In 1917 the underlying differences between the proponents of various ideologies came to the fore. It is worth noting that at around the same period Russia as a country underwent tremendous transformation. This was in the form of the Russian revolution that thrust the state into an economic powerhouse. Consequently the USSR emerged as a major communist state. Russia's breakthrough sparked immense interest from the United States. America and Russia's relations became a matter of grave concern for the leaders of the two superpowers.
Brewing mistrust between the Russia and the United States was sparked by a series of events; First of all it was only until 1933 that the US softened its stance and recognized the Soviet Union.Secondly, US's intervention in Russia's support of the white army during the Russian civil war only served to heighten the tension, between the two states. Britain's tight embrace with Germany and the signing of the accord seeking to end aggression between Germany and the Soviet Union was just but one of the many events that sparked this suspicion.
For nearly half a century, the cold war contest with the Soviet Union was the keystone of American foreign policy. Inevitably, and then its end affects American foreign policy, raising profound questions about the nation's role in world affairs as it faces the new millennium. In a nutshell anti communism and containment of the Soviet Union served as guideposts of American foreign policy, ordering priorities at home as well as abroad.
With globalism, military might, and interventionism, they became the enduring themes of American foreign policy, proving resistant to fundamental change through nine consecutive presidencies from Truman to Bush. Thus persistence and continuity are the hallmarks of American foreign policy throughout the cold war, as both ends of foreign policy and the means policy makers used to pursue them became firmly entrenched. However, it can be argued that this is no longer the case-anti-communism and containment no longer serve as guideposts to American foreign policy.Inspite of this departure from the traditional, America's foreign policy is evidently still resistant to fundamental change.(Wittkopf,1990).
How did the cold war manifest itself?
In 1953 the world saw the unprecedented shift in the twists and turns of the cold war. This came in the form of major changes in the political leadership on either side. In January, Dwight D, Eisenhower ascended to the helm of the American presidency. Dwight's administration employed a change in tact. Over this period Dwight's military agenda significantly shifted from what Truman consciously pursued. In Truman's reign, the United States increased its military budget. In a complete departure from this Eisenhower cut down the defense budget and instead sought to flaunt the United States' nuclear superiority. He however continued fighting the cold war with the similar zeal his predecessor exhibited.
In March the soviet saw the demise of Joseph Stalin and similarly, there was a dramatic shift as far policy is concerned. This shift in policy was presided over by the new soviet leader; Nikita Khrushchev. US President Eisenhower had John Foster at the helm of the office of the secretary of state. During his reign Foster employed new measures to pursue the anticommunism wave. As US' secretary of state Dulle cemented the massive response that included a severe response to any sort of aggression emanating g from the dreaded Soviet Union.
The passing on of Joseph Stalin relatively quelled tensions, however in Europe the cold war revolved around equivocal calls for disarmament by both sides. West Germany and Eastern Europe became military bases for the US and Soviet forces respectively. In an ingenious move to stem the rearmament of West Germany, the Soviet moved swiftly to form an alliance with Eastern Europe states with a communist bias.
The US was not spared the political upheaval emanating from the dynamics of the cold war. Many a politician in the United States firmly held onto the hardline anti-communist stance. This led to multiple accusations to the effect that there were plans to take over the US government by communist elements. Such anti-communist sentiments led to massive political witch hunting. The 1950s marked an important turn in the cold war. The third world became a major battle ground for the cold war. The United States emerged as a victor in the battle arena in the third world.
This occurred at the expense of other capitalists states that of Western Europe who had previously wielded power in the third world by virtue of being colonial masters (Woodward, 2007). Meanwhile the third world states that were just emerging from the colonial clout expressed anti-western sentiments. This was a real challenge to the anti-communism crusade. Nationalists' movement in some third world states had apparent links with communist movement. Such states included Iran, Phillipines and Guatemala. This set stage for major battles in competing for supremacy in the third world states through proxy wars.
To attest to this the United States through the CIA embarked on a mission to destabilize third world governments that were perceived to have communist tendencies. Iran's first ever elected prime minister fell victim to this when he was overthrown with the aid of the United States through the CIA. The period between 1954-1961 saw the united states provide military and economic aid to the capitalist leaning South Vietnam State which was facing imminent collapse. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/cold war
Crises emanating from the Cold war
Russia on its side sought to marshal more support by reaching out to India alongside other neutral states. This policy was pursued during Khrushchev's reign. Post independence third world states saw the mushrooming of nationalists' movements in Asia and Latin America. This sufficiently thrust the third world into pluralism. The 1950s saw the rearmament of the US and the USSR in terms of nuclear weapons.
In pursuing the rearmament policy, the soviet developed its own hydrogen bomb and later on launched the first earth satellite. The cutting off ties with its allies dealt a great blow to the Soviet Union. In the meantime, Soviets were embroiled in bitter rivalry with China under Mao. This tussle was all about the leadership of the global communist movement. After the Cuban revolution, the soviet formed an alliance with Fidel Castro. Joyce &Gabriel Kolko, (1972).
The world witnessed the intense flare ups of cold war intrigues in the early 1980s.In 1980, Ronald Reagan trounced Jimmy Carter, with a promise to significantly increase the military budget and battle the Soviets in every other aspect. America and her erstwhile ally, Britain Rubbished the Soviet Union in verbatim that only rivaled that of the initial stages of the cold war. Over eight years Reagan's regime spent a whooping $2.2 trillion on defense.
Such spending coupled with the economic strains of the 1970s, transformed the United States into an economic powerhouse in the world. In 1980 there was reawakening of cold war tensions when the US installed missiles in Europe and launched her defense initiative dubbed star wars. In Poland, when the opposition movement was suppressed, the United States imposed economic sanction on Poland's government. Joyce &Gabriel Kolko, (1972).
The United States public harbour grave concern about any intervention in foreign conflict right from the end of the Vietnam war.Ironically, Reagan's regime never faced public opposition to his foreign policy. Reagan's regime employed quick insurgency tactics to intervene in foreign affairs. Kegley, C.W, (1996), In 1983,the US intervened in the Lebanese Civil war, invaded Grenada, bombed Libya Backed the central American militia seeking to overthrow a communist leaning Nicaragua Government. The soviet's attempt for foreign interventions handed them high costs.
In 1979, when the Soviet Union engaged Afghanistan in war, the then soviet leader, Brezhnev was convinced of a very brief engagement. This war suffered major setbacks prompting an internal strife in the Soviet Union. America and Russia have had frosty relation for the period spanning 1945-2006.However; the anti-communist stance held by the US has been overshadowed by the nuclear arms debate. Russia in its part has adopted some capitalistic tendencies, and this is perhaps linked to the change of their earlier communist ideology. Kegley, C.W, (1996)
Bibliography
Kegley, C.W, (1996) .American foreign policy: Pattern and Process.St.Martin's Press, Inc.New York.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/cold war
Joyce &Gabriel Kolko, (1972).The limits of power: The world and United States Foreign Policy 1945-1954, New York; Harper & Row.
Bob Woodward, (2007).Bush At War, New York, Eric Olean.
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