1. The Cold War Truman Doctrine Containment Deterrence Theory
Massive Retaliation
New Look
Iron Curtain
Berlin Airlift

2. Traditional Points of DisagreementUS
Capitalist System
Democratic Ideals
Russian support for Communist International
Russia/USSR
Communism
Authoritarian Politics
US Intervention in Russian Civil War
US failure to help Republicans in Spanish Civil War

3. World War II Aftermath Collapse of European colonialism United Nations
Superpower conflict
United Nations
Int’l military force
Security Council
What about atomic
power?
Int’l agency?
-Collapse of European colonialism--Find a political accommodation between East and West would have been hard enough, but the collapse of colonialism made East/West relations even worse. As colonial peoples throughout Africa and Asia spoke out for independence, both the US and USSR wanted to gain influence--neither wanted the other or their political system to grow stronger!
- United Nations--before the end of WWII, already the UN was formed. Early conferences at Dumbarton Oaks in ‘44 and San Francisco in ‘45 established the UN as an entity--lessons from the League of Nations applied for improvement.
--The UN planned an int’l military force to back up the int’l position on world issues. The planned UN army was seen as a threat to national sovereignty--limitation of national power.
--Security council--veto power--5 permanent members (US, USSR, UK, France, China)
-War crimes tribunals--the UN had prepared to bring war criminals and aggressors to justice when WWII ended. After the war, trials were held in Nuremberg and Tokyo between 1945 and 1948.
--Hailed as precedent to make individuals accountable for breaches of int’l law. Suggested a shift from national sovereignty in warfare to one of int’l oversight and int’l police actions.
--What was a war crime? Breach of int’l law (Geneva Conv.) governing the conduct of military actions. Private war supposedly outlawed in the Kellogg Pact of UN leveled charges based upon these int’l laws. Aggressors were punished for 1) violating Geneva Conv, 2) violating the Kellogg Pact, and 3) genocide or crimes against humanity (retroactive justice??). Were these trials simply vengeance of the victor?
Atomic power--A-bomb considered an entirely different problem within the UN. In , the US devised a plan proposing control of atomic power to an int’l agency. The USSR rejected the proposal--thought it a US ploy to monopolize atomic power (?). The US, afraid of leaks, dissolved the int’l partnership with Brit and Canada and hoped for a long monopoly of atomic power for civil and military use.

6. Recent Problems: A Bipolar WorldUS
Russian refusal to demobilize
Russian treatment of Poland, Eastern Europe - The Iron Curtain
Chinese Civil War
1949 Russian explosion of A-Bomb
Espionage
USSR
US delay in invading France
Truman Doctrine of 1947
Containment
US nuclear supremacy
US technological advantages
NATO, Marshall Plan

7. --Soviet military policy--1) Soviets showed through use of UN veto that they would not allow an int’l organization effective at maintaining peace. 2) Communist doctrine made it difficult for them to accept an int’l organization which could limit her power or another world dominating political system, democracy from the US. 3) Soviets believed that war and peace were indistinguishable in a world containing capitalism--peace was only a continuance of war by other means.
BUFFER ZONE!!!
--Economics--European unemployment, infrastructure destroyed, huge trade imbalance with the US. In WWII, the US GNP rose 50% while Europe’s fell 25%. The West European nations were endangered by communist revolutions from within more than communist militarism from without. Marshall Plan--dollar grants to countries for the purpose of reviving industry and trade--offered to the whole world! (even USSR, who declined, along with the nations they controlled). So even the Marshall Plan linked the nations of just the free world ($12 bil!!!) . EEC/Common Market begun to help Western Europe recover trade.

8. - Cold War strategy
--Soviet military policy--1) Soviets showed through use of UN veto that they would not allow an int’l organization effective at maintaining peace. 2) Communist doctrine made it difficult for them to accept an int’l organization which could limit her power or another world dominating political system, democracy from the US. 3) Soviets believed that war and peace were indistinguishable in a world containing capitalism--peace was only a continuance of war by other means.
--Economics--European unemployment, infrastructure destroyed, huge trade imbalance with the US. In WWII, the US GNP rose 50% while Europe’s fell 25%. The West European nations were endangered by communist revolutions from within more than communist militarism from without. Marshall Plan--dollar grants to countries for the purpose of reviving industry and trade--offered to the whole world! (even USSR, who declined, along with the nations they controlled). So even the Marshall Plan linked the nations of just the free world ($12 bil!!!) . EEC/Common Market begun to help Western Europe recover trade.
--Containment--Either appease or contain communism without causing WWIII , Truman promised help to any nation threatened by aggression and George Kennan wrote about containment--became the hallmark of US policy. It was a fundamental step away from isolationism and toward greater world involvement.
--Regional alliances Czech coup, Berlin blockade NATO formed to give member nations mutual guarantees against aggression. The US, UK, and Canada accepted military obligations on continental Europe--big step! USSR responded with the Warsaw Pact by Europe further divided.
---SEATO--US, UK, Fr, Australia, NZ, Pak, Thailand, PI (1954)
---METO--UK, Turk, Pak, Iran, Iraq (1955)
---CENTO--METO redone in 1959 minus Iraq, but plus US
---SEATO, METO, CENTO all short-lived--NATO still survives today
The Berlin Airlift and US Ideological Change: What were we doing and why?

9. Rapid US Demobilization

10. Nuclear Strategy Technology Threat of nuclear weapons Deterrence
Arms control
The New Look
Massive retaliation
Second Strike
-Technology--moving at an ever-accelerating rate. ..microwave radar, liquid-fueled rockets, jet propulsion, improved plastics, solid-fueled rockets, microcomputers, lasers, fiber optics, supersonic aerodynamics, inertial guidance, satellites, etc, etc, etc…Only the large
-Threat of nukes--1) wipe out one city, 2) wipe out one country, 3) mutual destruction, 4) wipe out northern hemisphere, 5) wipe out all life on Earth with nuclear winter
-Deterrence--The solution for the nuclear dilemma was to prepare to fight a nuclear war--this would avoid anyone from attacking you, risking a counterattack. 1) need high level of preparedness--might lead to accidental release of nukes, 2) both parties in a nuke exchange would suffer unacceptable damage, 3) a nuke war would inevitably affect neutral nations--fallout, nuke winter.
- Do nukes equal world power?--US monopoly did NOT bring about US interests in Europe! So do nukes mean actual power? Crises take the place of military conflicts? Did nukes help in Korea?
- Arms control--1) nuclear strategists--seek a strategy for nuke deployment, and for their use if necessary. Believe the Soviets only listen to power and seek to challenge from strength. 2) Arms controllers--make the world safe by agreeing with the Soviets to contol the number and eventually eliminate nukes. They think pursuing nuke deployment too risky.
--Unilateral renunciation of nukes? What do you think?
-Bomber Gap--mid-50’s. Soviets May Day (‘55) parade showcased multiple flybys of a Soviet Bison bombers, gave the impression that the Soviets possessed many more bombers than the US thought--US intel wrong, but forces panic in US and US military especially. US still had a 2-1 advantage in bombers. US responds with forward deployment of aircraft to Europe, and builds B-52’s. US Army built tactical missiles.
- Missile Gap--1957, Sputnik kicked off the space arms race--ICBMs. US intel thought the US was beaten in production and deployment of ICBM’s--thought the USSR would would have 4-10 times the number of missiles by US built 1000 Minuteman missiles when Soviets had fewer than 100 of similar weaponry--why the Soviets backed down in Cuban Missile Crisis!!
- Massive retaliation--ensure that any strike could be returned with a counterstrike as a deterrent--MAD. Make full preparation in peacetime to fight a nuclear war.

11. The Cold War Turns Hot