How important were nuclear weapons in shaping the cold war?
How important were nuclear weapons in shaping the cold war? The 'Cold war' was a unique chapter of the 19c as for the first time in history nuclear weapons were involved. Conventional warfare no longer existed and the terrifying prospect of utter destruction was much more likely than ever before. Two superpowers the U.S and the U.S.S.R dictated the balance of power existing in a bi-polar structure. Many historians argue that this bi-polarity was the defining aspect of the Cold War. However others contend that the existence of nuclear weapons prevented the conflict from escalating and directly contributed to the nature of the conflict. This essay well attempt to ascertain what contribution the existence of nuclear weapons made to the shaping of the Cold War. In order to address this it is important first of all to determine what is meant by 'shaping'. Shaping is used to describe the nature of the conflict and the course that it took. Any conflict is inevitably affected by the environment that it exists within. External constraints and boundaries affect everything down to the decisions that are made and the way in which they are enacted on the world stage. However, any one factor can never account for the entire nature of any given conflict. Nuclear weapons although an integral part in explaining the nature of the conflict have to be considered along with the other
Cuban missile crisis.
Cuban Missile Crisis According to Nikita Khrushchev's memoirs, in May 1962 he conceived the idea of placing intermediate-range nuclear missiles in Cuba as a means of countering an emerging lead of the United States in developing and deploying strategic missiles. He also presented the scheme as a means of protecting Cuba from another United States-sponsored invasion, such as the failed attempt at the Bay of Pigs in 1961. After obtaining Fidel Castro's approval, the Soviet Union worked quickly and secretly to build missile installations in Cuba. On October 16, President John Kennedy was shown reconnaissance photographs of Soviet missile installations under construction in Cuba. After seven days of guarded and intense debate in the United States administration, during which Soviet diplomats denied that installations for offensive missiles were being built in Cuba, President Kennedy, in a televised address on October 22, announced the discovery of the installations and proclaimed that any nuclear missile attack from Cuba would be regarded as an attack by the Soviet Union and would be responded to accordingly. He also imposed a naval quarantine on Cuba to prevent further Soviet shipments of offensive military weapons from arriving there. During the crisis, the two sides exchanged many letters and other communications, both formal and "back channel." Khrushchev sent letters to
Kennedy VS Malcom X
In 1960, John F. Kennedy was elected president of the United States. This accomplishment was seen as a promising administration. During the campaign he had promised to lead the country down the right path with the civil rights movement. This campaign promise had brought hope to many African-Americans throughout the nation. Ever since Lincoln, African-Americans have tended to side with the democrats and this year was no different. The Kennedy administration had noticed that the key to the presidency was partially the civil rights issue. While many citizens were on Kennedy's side, he owned his share of opposition. Malcolm X differed on the common view of the President and observed that the civil rights movement wasn't happening in the speed Kennedy pledged. Malcolm X possessed other reasons for his dislike of John F. Kennedy and his brothers, especially Robert. The Kennedy government stood for racial liberalism and Malcolm X argued their true intentions for the civil rights movement weren't in the best interest of the black population. This tension streamed both ways. John Kennedy and the Federal Bureau of Investigation felt that Malcolm had become a threat to national security. James Baldwin has written essays that have included the repeated attacks on the white liberal and supports Malcolm in many of his theories and actions. Malcolm X had been a very influential speaker in
The 1954 CIA Coup in Guatemala and Comparisons to the Bay of Pigs
The 1954 CIA Coup in Guatemala and Comparisons to the Bay of Pigs In 1954, Guatemalan President Jacobo Arbenz resigned after being targeted by a CIA-orchestrated coup d'état. The United States believed that Arbenz was a Communist, likely with ties to the Soviet Union. The CIA used non-traditional means to displace the Arbenz government. Essentially, it was a coup relying on systematic psychological pressure placed on the Arbenz regime. The coup ultimately achieved its goal of removing Arbenz and inserting an anti-Communist leader. However, although lauded internally by the United States government at the time, it was by no means an unmitigated success. The CIA's plan failed on many fronts and was lucky to accomplish its objective. The 1961 invasion of Cuba, known as the Bay of Pigs Invasion, was not as fortunate. Plagued by an indecisive President John F. Kennedy and insufficient air support, the attempted coup of Fidel Castro's Cuba was a complete failure. In this paper, I will argue that the strategies used in Cuba were in large part based on the ones used in Guatemala, and that the Bay of Pigs was a failure because the CIA took for granted that the precarious Guatemalan methods would work, even in a drastically different situation. Even though Joseph Stalin had died in 1953, tensions between the United States and the Soviet Union were high. The United States regarded
The Evolution of Security Studies
Security Studies has had a convoluted evolution. During that evolution two significant schools of thought have emerged, traditional security Studies (TSS1) and critical security studies (CSS2), each of which have significant differences in perspective. The first divergence is their opposing views on the drivers of conflict, TSS focusing on its concept of predetermined anarchy, CSS investigating a world that has constructed qualities that are born out of the actions of actors that exist within society. The schools focus on different referent objects, the state as central actor versus the individual, community and even ideas. These perspectives there are marked by divergences in methodology and approach. These differences in perspective are not to be seen as deficits in either schools, rather they highlight the complex terrain that both TSS and CSS mark out, and through an understanding of each, students and scholars may be better equipped to study security in a broader context. These two schools will be defined by what separates them, in order to corral them into some semblance of commonality for the purposes of discussing what differences in perspective each school has to the other. If a traditional or post traditional/critical school of thought adheres to certain criteria, then despite other variances between then, they can be said to belong to one of two sets of theories,
Which was the impact of the Cuban Revolution?
SUBJECT: CUBAN REVOLUTION Professor: Billy Hughes María Voegeli 5º "B" 2000 INDEX Introduction...........................................................................page 3 Background Information............................................................page 4 The Castro Regime ..................................................................page 6 Analysis of the question .............................................................page 8 Cuban Achievements after the Revolution .......................................page 9 Conclusion ............................................................................page 10 Bibliography .........................................................................page 11 INTRODUCTION: To begin with, I must first present my topic, and leave it clear, on what am I going to focuse during the hole work. I will talk a little bit about all the history of Cuba, from it´s begginings, when it was a Spanish colony, ending in the nineteenth century with the Cuban Revolution. I will develop more this part of the Cuban history, but however, I still think that it is important to have a background information. The cuestion I will analyse more deeply is: Which was the impact of the Cuban Revolution? BACKGROUND INFORMATION In the history of Cuba, there are three main different periods: the first one when Cuba was a Spanish
Why did Britain win the French and Indian War of 1754-1760?
Word Count: 2260 Why did Britain win the French and Indian War of 1754-1760? The French and Indian war began 1754 and is part of the Seven Years War that continued until 1763. The name of the war is simply the name of Britain's opponents in North America. Its beginning was a result of a dispute over land at the Ohio River Valley. There are many different reasons that suggest Britain were successful in this war for example they had taken control of almost all of Canada and France pretty much their entire North American possessions. However it was not a war without sacrifice there are also many problems that arose during this war and also under lying issues that had not been dealt with previously. The ideology that the French and Indian War should be considered a win is described by William Pitt who states that is was a 'great war for empire'. The Seven Years War actually lasted years spanning from 1754 to 1763 and didn't just involve France and Britain. Nations such as Austria, Prussia and Sweden were also involved. Later in the war Spain took part in the war in order to defend their colonies in such places as Florida; however they were unsuccessful in their battle. There are many causes for the outbreak of war in 1754 the main one is pointed out by Daniel Marston who states 'the causes of the Seven Years War are rooted in the outcome of an earlier conflict, the War of
Vietnam: The War We Should Have Won.
Vietnam: The War We Should Have Won Essay written by Chris Styduhar The Vietnam War is one of the most disgraceful periods in American history. Not only did the greatest superpower in the world get bested by an almost third-world nation, but we lost badly. Perhaps this war could have been won, or even prevented in the first place. The United States could have and should have won this war, with a combination of better weapons usage, better tactics, and better support from their home country. Before the War Even years before the war, Vietnam was a hotly disputed territory. Many countries had taken Vietnam over, and after World War II, Vietnam was in the hands of France. Obviously, the Vietnamese wanted their own country, and their long history of being a colony prompted the oppressed people to fight for their independence in the French-Indochina war. 7 Ho Chi Min, a leader of the Communist party, organized the Vietnamese independence movement, Viet Minh. Asking for support from America first, Ho Chi Min did not want to have to turn to communist support for the freedom of his people. Since the United States viewed helping Ho gain his independence from France as a move against their own allies, they declined. It was only after Russia and China offered to help that Ho adopted communist ideals and wanted to make all of Vietnam communist. The Vietnam war started simply because Ho
United States Policy towards Cuba
Memorandum from Eric Wickersham of the National Security Council Staff Dec. 15 1960 Subject United States Policy towards Cuba U.S foreign policy regarding Cuba has become an extremely contentious issue since the decline of the Batista government. The ascendancy of Fidel Castro and the 26th of July Movement has raised a multitude of concerns and speculations. The development of a clear strategic plan and ability to take decisive action has not been demonstrated primarily because of the ambiguous nature of the Cuban threat. It is advised that this administration resolves to define its position on Cuban affairs before the inauguration of the incoming Kennedy administration Accordingly, the State Dept. must provide a clear analysis of the dangers Cuba poses to the United States. Therefore my memorandum will summarize the issues that comprise the Cuban threat through an integrative analysis of several points of view. It is obviously important to examine the historical effectiveness of our past policies regarding Cuba, thus I will provide examples of past policy as point of reference. Finally, I will outline my recommendation on which of the available options should be promoted to the incoming Administration. . Summary of Past Policy The United State's initial stance on Cuba was one of tolerance towards the Castro regime in order to provide this government a chance to
The purpose of this paper is to expose the life and presidency of John F. Kennedy and to reveal the contributions which he made to society.
Thesis: The purpose of this paper is to expose the life and presidency of John F. Kennedy and to reveal the contributions which he made to society. Obviously, John F. Kennedy was a very powerful, influential, and infamous man who indeed impacted our world in many ways. Furthermore, we will discuss how Kennedy became such a revered figure by the American public and what circumstances in his life prepared him for the role of President of the United States. There are many interesting facts which will be revealed including a timeline of major events which transpired throughout the course of Kennedy's presidency. This timeline reveals some of Kennedy's political and societal contributions which may be less known to the general public. In fact, during his time in office Kennedy actually was responsible for signing into law many diverse and important rulings which to this day continue to affect our society and our own personal lives to an enormous extent. There is no denying that Kennedy was a charismatic figure and both his personal life and his presidency reflected this charisma. While Kennedy continues to be revered and admired for his many contributions his life and death are also surrounded by a great deal of mystery and intrigue as well. Furthermore, included is an interesting photograph of Kennedy from his college days, which is very striking when one realizes that
