Though both sides tried to reduce arms budget, there was still an increasing amount of arms, as well as tension. As confrontations grew, West Germany, Korea and Yugoslavia each side rearmed worrying that the other would start war. Yet with the change of leaders, policies changed and greater measures were taken to limit spending and the dependence on nuclear weapons, as both worried about the strain on their economies.
Having made such weapons a constant question was just what good it actually was. They were limited in confrontation, as any war would eventually led to nuclear weapons which would lead to complete annihilation therefore, could only be used psychologically against one another. Another problem was that as the number of weapons, and power increased the usability decreased therefore physically there was no point to having the weapons. However, also part of the equation is that as each side increases to match the other, more numbers are needed just to remain at the same level, hence the red queen hypothesis. In which the prey gets bigger in order to avoid being eaten by the predator, so the predator gets bigger. This is continued yet neither are really getting anything for it as it is an ongoing increase till both are so large they are at a disadvantage, such as the nuclear weapons for the usability has dropped.
Each side was constantly put to the test on whether they would take actions. Even in the Korean War, when there was desperation to end things, they understood the dangers that would arise from using atomic bombs. The US could have easily used their nuclear weapons as they had an atomic monopoly, and they had motive as they had been humiliated by their lose with North Korea. However, not only were they afraid of devastation, but also were afraid the bomb’s ineffectiveness “could impair its credibility elsewhere.”
More dramatic examples, one such example is 1956 Hungary. Hungarians had come to the belief that the US would help them gain their freedom, encouraged through US propaganda. However, the US had to make a choice between helping the Hungarians, and war. With much dismay for the Hungarians, the US would not go back on it’s new policy change, Dulles responded the problem as such “...the use of force to help the cause of freedom was not an option for his government as it carried too great a risk of global war.” A government which had previously adapted a policy of interference in order to free other countries, was now too worried to do so, and had stepped back leaving Hungary to the Soviets. Later that year the US look at acceptable alternatives to war, be it aid to exile groups, diplomatic and economic pressure, nationalism, even communist nationalism. An example where the Soviets backed down is in relations to Mao. Mao had tried to convince the Soviets to use their bombs, yet failed as the Russians said, “that they would not risk war with the Americans to help Chinese regain Taiwan. No longer under the soviet nuclear umbrella.
Though trying to form a co-existence in 1959-61 through negotiations, disagreements carried on. The largest conflict being the US U-2 being shot down over the USSR, and while Khrushchev had made the incident public, Eisenhower was still denying it. This was the turning point for after this US schoolchildren began practicing for a nuclear attack, and it became easier and easier to think about the use of nuclear weapons. This began the lead up to biggest confrontation yet, the Cuban Missile Crisis in which both countries would be pushed to brinkmanship.
US evaluation of eastern Europe