Didn't the Cold War end long ago?

Though the war officially ended in 1991, it is still very much present in our modern society. The arms race in particular caused a huge increase in the production of atomic weapons. Now in 2010, President Obama met with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev over the new Strategic Arms Reduction treaty known as START. This treaty will reduce American and Russian nuclear weapons by about a third in attempt to control the insane amount of nuclear weapons created during the Cold War. Other things like the Space Race influenced today because of the rapid growth in space technology. It took us millions of years to get into space, but only a few decades once we were there to get as far as the moon. The Russians were the first to send a satellite into space, this caused a huge increase in education in America to compete with the Soviets. Today America still wants to hold its high standards of education and advancements in technology. It is because of the Cold War that today is such a technology driven era in history.

The U-2 Incident

When Nikita Krushchev denied Eisenhower's "open skies" policy, Eisenhower refused to give in. He conferred with the CIA, who started making secret high altitude flights over the Soviet Union. As the U-2 planes flew over, they took detailed photographs with their built in inferred cameras. By 1960, however, the press was well aware of these U-2 flights and the information was being leaked to the Soviet Union. Finally, Eisenhower wanted to discontinue the flights before his next conference with the Soviets. However the Secretary of State, John Dulles, persuaded him to authorize one last flight. On May 1, 1960, the last U-2 plane took off. It was being flown by pilot Francis Gary Powers. Four hours into Soviet territories, the plane was shot down by a Russian pilot named Igor Mentyukov. The United States issued a false story that the plane had crashed because of weather conditions, but the Soviets had been in on the U-2 missions since 1958. Khrushchev called America's bluff and lied saying Francis Gary Powers had confessed everything after being shot down by Soviet missiles. Most Americans believed him until 1996 when Mentykov told the real story, saying the Soviets had covered up the truth so it would seem like their defences were more powerful than they actually were. This only severely damaged America's already dwindling ties with the Soviet Union. Krushchev denounced all relations with the U.S. and left feeling more angry than ever.

The Berlin Airlift

After the end of World War II, Germany was divided into four zones to be looked after by a one of the big four ally nations; France, Great Britain, United States, and Russia. In 1948 however, all but Russians area was united into Western Germany choosing a democratic government. This angered the Soviet Union and they retaliated by holding West Berlin hostage. Berlin, even though it was in the Soviet Zone of Germany had also been divided into four zones. The Soviet Union cut off all highway, water, and railway traffic into West Berlin. No supplies were allowed in and the Soviets plan was to starve West Berlin to get the other nations to either surrender Berlin or give up a unified Germany. The United Sates and Britain refused to give in and started the Berlin Airlift to fly food and supplies into Berlin. For 327 days, planes landed every three minutes around the clock. 277,00 flights brought in 2.3 million tons of supplies to the city. The airlift saved West Berlin and by May 1949 the Soviets lifted the blockade realizing they had been beaten.

The Cuban Crisis

When Cuban declared itself a Communist nation, an fearful silence fell across the United States. Fidel Castro, the new leader of Cuba, broke relations with the United States and strengthened their ties with the Soviet Union. Many Cuban felt betrayed and ten percent of Cuba's population went to exile in Miami, Florida. In 1960, Eisenhower gave permission for the CIA to train these exiles in an attempt to invade Cuba. Though Kennedy doubted the plan would work, he approved it anyway. On April 17, 1961, the Cuban exiles started the assault, but it went horribly wrong. The U.S. failed to knock out the Cuban air force and the small force sent to distract Castro's troops never arrived. The disaster left the U.S. in an uncomfortable position having to pay Cuba a ransom for the exiles freedom. The Soviet Union took advantage of this and moved military weapon, including nuclear missiles, into Cuba. Photographs from the U-2 planes showed America what the Soviets were up to. Scientists predicted that the missiles could reach the U.S. in minutes. America announced that a fire of any of these missiles would mean nuclear war with Russia. The world stood still at the possibility of the annihilation of the two superpowers. Finally the Soviet Union offered to remove the missiles in return for America's pledge not to invade Cuba. America hastily agreed and the Crisis came to an end.

So... Which Side are You?

Russia is the most amazing country in the world. Not only is it the biggest, but also one of the most beautiful. How can you beat luxurious cities like Moscow where history blends in with the modern world? Not to mention our lush forests and majestic mountains. American can just be jealous of our awesome accent too! Communism is amazing, I mean why would you not want everyone to have a chance to succeed in life? And equality is such a big deal in democracy too! Well I am all for Russia winning this cold so we can go back to playing hockey instead of pointing missiles at each other. Go Russia!

Civil War breaks out in China

Civil War broke out in China after the Japanese surrendered and withdrew their troops. The Nationalist leader Chiang Kai-Sheck was corrupt and the Chinese citizens yearned to strike against him. The communist leader, Mao Zedong took advantage of this instability to come to power and gain followers. The peasants were especially angry with Kai-Sheck because he increased the grain tax in the famine of 1944 and they sided with the communists because Zedong had helped them get through rough times. America immediately sided with Kai-Sheck simply out of their fear of communism. America sent money to aid Kai-Sheck, but instead of using it for gaining advantage over Zedong, Kai-Sheck pocketed the money for himself. Zedong finally gained advantage over the country and drove the nationalist army clear to Taiwan. America was outraged, feeling as if the had failed. This only lead to fuel Americas fear of communism.

Ramblings on The Korean War

The Korean War started June 25, 1950 when North Korea invaded South Korea's border. The surprised soldiers in South Korea fled for their lives which infuriated America because of North Korea's ties with Russia. America immediately sent naval and air support to South Korea. Then Truman urged the United Nations to take action against the invasion because it was a "disturbance of the peace". The United Nations agreed to support South Korea and sent 520,000 troops to the front (90% of them were American). Ironically the Soviet Union was absent during this arrangement so they had no say in the matter. At the front, Truman sent MacArthur to lead his troops. All was looking bright for the South Koreans until the Chinese entered the War. They sent 300,000 soldiers into Korea to help North Korean causes. After two years of fighting, neither side gained an advantage. MacArthur suggested that Truman should launch the atomic bombs on China, but Truman refused believing that it could set off World War III. MacArthur couldn't take no for an answer and kept pushing towards nuclear war. Truman eventually fired MacArthur on April 11, 1951 for going behind the presidents back on multiple occasions with other government officials and the press.The Soviets surprised Truman by suggesting a cease fire. Truce talks began in July of 1951 and finished in July of 1953. Though Korea was never unified, the war was finally over.

Allies Becoming Enemies

For my first post I will give my fellow readers the background they need on the Cold War. After World War 11, the Soviet Union and America were left as the main superpowers of the world. Everything might have gone along fine if the two countries were not absolutely terrified of one another. America feared that the Soviet Union's Communism would obliterate the Democracy they had worked so hard to protect. The Soviet Union, on the other hand, feared America's great military and economic power. The greatest problems was their ways of life were almost incompatible. Communism is based on the state owning everything and distributing equally, while Democracy is based on the people having the power. Both nations also deeply resented each other. The Soviet Union was angry because America had not recognized their Communist government until 16 years after their revolution. America was angry with the Soviet Union because they had signed a nonaggression pact with Hitler. The Soviets took an aggressive foreign policy using Eastern Europe to undue the damage the war had cost them. While America took a policy of containment. They tried to block the Soviets from spreading Communism to other nations. The Cold War officially started around 1945, the U.S. had just elected a new president, Harry S. Truman, who did not see eye to eye with the Russian leader, Joseph Stalin. At the Yalta conference, Stalin refused to let Poland have an open election which convinced Truman that the U.S. and Russia would be at odds. America soon past laws like The Marshall Plan and the Truman Doctrine to help countries resist Communist takeovers. The Chinese Civil war and Korean War put these two nations over the edge. In America Communists were sot out with laws and organisations like HUAC and the McCarran Act. Russia and America also competed in having the latest military devices like the H-bomb. Russian and American spies went back and forth trying to discover secret information to give their side an upperr hand in this insane conflict. The two sides kept up the struggle even into the 60's with the Cubian Missle Crisis, but the the tension eased with the Limited Test Ban Treaty.