FINAL ONE PAGE PER QUESTION

Final One Page Per Question

Final One Page Per Question

Question 1: Explain the origins of the containment policy after World War II? Also, explain the reasons for the conflict between the United States and the Soviet Union?

Answer:

The term containment, introduced by the Truman Administration, describes the foreign policy pursued by the United States after the Second World War. The actual origins of the containment policy are to be found towards the end of the Second World War. Despite a wartime alliance between the two nations, inevitable disagreements arose due to the competing strategies put forward over the post - war future of Europe. The most significant of these was during meetings between the allied leaders at Yalta in February 1945 and Potsdam in July 1945.

The United States adopted the policy of containment due to escalating fears over the expansionist foreign policy of the Soviet Union. The U.S. believed that Stalin was attempting to create a worldwide communist regime with Moscow as its capital. The soviet intension over the future of Poland and Germany led the US to introduce the containment policy, firstly through the Truman Doctrine. This was the first example of containment as US foreign Policy and also stated the intensions of the United States towards Soviet Union. Although containment was never carried out exactly how George Kennan devised the policy, it was effective when first introduced through the Truman Doctrine and Marshall Plan. It halted the expansion of communism within European states such as Greece and Turkey and also gave the U.S. strategic advantages over the Soviet Union(Kolko, 1998).

Question 2: What happened during the Cuban Missile Crisis, and why it is an important case of Cold War confrontation?

Answer:

The Cuban Missile crisis brought the world to the brink of nuclear war. The two Superpowers almost obliterated the world. But the question remains whose fault was it that such a situation ever existed? The USA blamed the USSR and the USSR blamed the USA. I feel Soviets are to blame. In 1954 Russia detonated its first nuclear bomb and now could rival the USA's bargaining tool. The world now had two Super powers that had conflicting aims with weapons that could decimate the world. The Cold War had started and the two Super powers tried to out do each other in every aspect to prove that its ideology was better.

By 1960 both sides had missiles with nuclear tipped warheads. The US had missiles installed in Turkey 150 miles from Soviet territory. This meant that the USA could strike the USSR anywhere in the globe. The Soviet Union, however did not have longer ranged missile that could hit US mainland, only Europe. Therefore under pressure to match the US it turned to its new found ally to let it install medium ranged Missiles, Cuba(Kolko, Kolko, 1992).

The blame for the Crisis Definitely lies with the Soviets. They should of seen that after the Bay of Pigs failure, the US were looking for a credibility boost and Soviet insecurity in no ...