In 1945, the United States and Soviet Union were allies, jointly triumphant in World War II, which ended with total victory for Soviet and American forces over Adolf Hitler 's Nazi empire in Europe. Within just a few years, however, wartime allies became mortal enemies, locked in a global struggle—military, political, economic, ideological—to prevail in a new “Cold War”. The Cold War was primarily caused by different political ambitions and the historical perspectives of the two superpowers: the United States and the Soviet Union, and to assert their ideological views on the world. By nature, the Cold War can be interpreted as intense competition between the United States and Soviet Union in both nuclear arms race and also the space race.
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The Soviet Union had growing influences in Vietnam in the midst of the Vietnam War. As the world’s largest communist powers, both the Soviet Union and the People’s Republic of China lent moral, logistic and military support to North Vietnam and both hoped to expand communism into the Asian hemisphere. Not only would Asian expansion tip the balance against the West, it would also serve Russian and Chinese national interests. The involvement of the Soviet Union and the People’s Republic of China brought the Cold War to Asia, as the army of South Vietnam fought a losing battle with little United States assistance during the 1960’s. Soviet influence in Africa was on the rise in African countries, for example: Congo under Patrice Lumumba, Somalia, Ethiopia and Angola supplied by pro-Soviet Cuba. Soviet Union influence was exceptionally strong in Cuba, where Soviet’s attempted to install missiles that would threaten the United States’ security. Furthermore in 1945, the first confrontation between the two super powers occurred in Iran, where Soviet Union attempted to seize Northern Iranian territory. But, the attempt was thwarted when the United States and the Iranian government threatened the …show more content…
In 1948, the Berlin Blockade by Soviet Union encouraged the establishment of the Containment policy in the United States foreign policy, which called for halting communism in Europe, Asia, Africa and the Americas. By adapting the Containment policy, the Truman administration instituted the Truman Doctrine in 1948 due to crisis in Greece and Turkey. Great Britain had occasionally assumed primary responsibility in the Mediterranean region, but due to economic difficulties Great Britain withdrew from its active role. The crisis in Greece was fueled by Yugoslavian communist dictator Josip Broz and in order to stop the communist forces in Greece the Truman administration gave $400 million in assistance to countries threatened by communism. Truman justified his request on two grounds. He argued that a Communist victory in the Greek Civil War would endanger the political stability of Turkey, which would undermine the political stability of the Middle East. This could not be allowed in light of the region’s immense strategic importance to the United States’ national security. Truman also argued that the United States was compelled to assist free peoples in their struggles against totalitarian regimes, because the spread of authoritarianism
The Soviet Union had growing influences in Vietnam in the midst of the Vietnam War. As the world’s largest communist powers, both the Soviet Union and the People’s Republic of China lent moral, logistic and military support to North Vietnam and both hoped to expand communism into the Asian hemisphere. Not only would Asian expansion tip the balance against the West, it would also serve Russian and Chinese national interests. The involvement of the Soviet Union and the People’s Republic of China brought the Cold War to Asia, as the army of South Vietnam fought a losing battle with little United States assistance during the 1960’s. Soviet influence in Africa was on the rise in African countries, for example: Congo under Patrice Lumumba, Somalia, Ethiopia and Angola supplied by pro-Soviet Cuba. Soviet Union influence was exceptionally strong in Cuba, where Soviet’s attempted to install missiles that would threaten the United States’ security. Furthermore in 1945, the first confrontation between the two super powers occurred in Iran, where Soviet Union attempted to seize Northern Iranian territory. But, the attempt was thwarted when the United States and the Iranian government threatened the …show more content…
In 1948, the Berlin Blockade by Soviet Union encouraged the establishment of the Containment policy in the United States foreign policy, which called for halting communism in Europe, Asia, Africa and the Americas. By adapting the Containment policy, the Truman administration instituted the Truman Doctrine in 1948 due to crisis in Greece and Turkey. Great Britain had occasionally assumed primary responsibility in the Mediterranean region, but due to economic difficulties Great Britain withdrew from its active role. The crisis in Greece was fueled by Yugoslavian communist dictator Josip Broz and in order to stop the communist forces in Greece the Truman administration gave $400 million in assistance to countries threatened by communism. Truman justified his request on two grounds. He argued that a Communist victory in the Greek Civil War would endanger the political stability of Turkey, which would undermine the political stability of the Middle East. This could not be allowed in light of the region’s immense strategic importance to the United States’ national security. Truman also argued that the United States was compelled to assist free peoples in their struggles against totalitarian regimes, because the spread of authoritarianism