The Cold War was fought over a long period of time and according to our groups research on who was to be blamed:
1. Origins:
No one was to take all the blame for it was started by misunderstandings.
2. Developement:
USSR was more to be blamed due to the pointless "catching up" they were always doing, causing tension.
3. Crisis:
USSR is more to be blamed on the Berlin Blockade and Cuban Missile Crisis, however they did recover in the Cuban Missile Crisis to reach an agreement with the USA with Krushchev giving in to USA. USA was to be blamed for the Archer 83 incident, therefore both were about equal with the blame, afterall it was a crisis.
4. End of Cold War:
The end of Cold War was brought about mainly by the change in USSR leadership. However it would have also ended with USSR breaking out from total Communism and into component countries. Therefore,since there was no country trying to aggrevate the situation,we would not blame any nation for resolving this Cold War, instead we should thank Mikhail Garbochev for seeing the light that the USSR were suffering and taking up some Capitalist's policies.
Overall:
USSR was to be blamed to a larger extent even though USA would take some blame too.
Sunday, March 28, 2010
Monday, March 22, 2010
The end of Cold War
What are the factors that lead to the end of Cold War?
The Cold War came to an end in the 1991 with the USSR being dissolved into its component republics and the iron curtain being lifted. The period that lasts 45 years in which the World has been in great tension and being polarized by the rivalry of the two great super powers, the USA and the USSR, finally came to an end. This marks a new point in the development of the World’s history. There are three main underlying reasons for the end of Cold War.
The first reason was the deterioration of the Communist system in the USSR. In the late 1980s, the USSR’s economy faces great problems. With the great drop in oil price, which was the USSR’s main export revenues, and the collectivized agriculture, which gave poor results, and the inefficient Planed economy system that did not satisfy the needs of the Market, altogether rendered the USSR economy stagnant and weakened. The people were already suffering with the shortage of food and inflations, yet they were still forced to work harder to catch up with unrealistic goals set by the government. Also, the USSR’s participation in the Afghanistan war was frustrating and facing growing disapproval from the public. This has put more strain on the USSR’s economy as the arm race’s costs were escalating. Thus the people were greatly unhappy with the USSR’s government and they wanted to have changes. This is one of the main reason for the collapse of the Communist system and the dissolution of the USSR which eventually led to the end of Cold War
The second reason was the rise of the new political leader in the USSR, Mikhail Gorbachev. He was very much different from all the other previous leaders of the USSR. Once step up to power, he immediately aimed to bring about the great changes to the USSR to improve its aggravating economy and its relations with the West. He starts the reforms with two new policies: glastnost and perestroika. These two policies practiced openness and restructuring of the USSR’s systems. They have immediately changed the way the USA viewed the USSR. The USA’s president promised to help the USSR in liberalizing and improving its trades. He proposed to “tear down” the Berlin Wall dividing the East and West Germany. While the people in Western Germany were enjoying prosperity, the people in Eastern Germany were suffering. In 1989, the Berlin Wall, the physical symbol of the Cold War, was open, and thousands of people from East Berlin poured in. Another impacts of the policies were that they have created more open oppositions in the Eastern European countries, hence challenged the controls of the Warsaw Pact countries. In late 1898 Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia and Romanian was liberalized. The effects continued as more countries were becoming liberalized. Eventually in 1991, the USSR dissolved into 17 components countries. With this the Cold War came to an end, with the leading of Mikhail Gorbachev of USSR.
The third reason was the effects of globalization. It has been said that the World has started to become globalized and its effects has led to the end of Cold War. The new economic order were set and aimed towards the Western economy, especially the USA. Also, the thaw in relations and desires to end the tensions expressed as the negotiations to stop producing nuclear weapons. Domestic reforms aiming to liberalize the country by Gorbachev and the disintegration of the USSR, breaking down of the previous old order and rendered a more opening New World. Thus Globalization has affected the Cold War to end.
In conclusion, the Cold War has come to an end because of the three main above reasons. All of these factors revolve around the USSR, its reforms and change which has affected the Cold War. Hence it can be concluded that the USSR were the main reason for the Cold War.
Don
The Cold War came to an end in the 1991 with the USSR being dissolved into its component republics and the iron curtain being lifted. The period that lasts 45 years in which the World has been in great tension and being polarized by the rivalry of the two great super powers, the USA and the USSR, finally came to an end. This marks a new point in the development of the World’s history. There are three main underlying reasons for the end of Cold War.
The first reason was the deterioration of the Communist system in the USSR. In the late 1980s, the USSR’s economy faces great problems. With the great drop in oil price, which was the USSR’s main export revenues, and the collectivized agriculture, which gave poor results, and the inefficient Planed economy system that did not satisfy the needs of the Market, altogether rendered the USSR economy stagnant and weakened. The people were already suffering with the shortage of food and inflations, yet they were still forced to work harder to catch up with unrealistic goals set by the government. Also, the USSR’s participation in the Afghanistan war was frustrating and facing growing disapproval from the public. This has put more strain on the USSR’s economy as the arm race’s costs were escalating. Thus the people were greatly unhappy with the USSR’s government and they wanted to have changes. This is one of the main reason for the collapse of the Communist system and the dissolution of the USSR which eventually led to the end of Cold War
The second reason was the rise of the new political leader in the USSR, Mikhail Gorbachev. He was very much different from all the other previous leaders of the USSR. Once step up to power, he immediately aimed to bring about the great changes to the USSR to improve its aggravating economy and its relations with the West. He starts the reforms with two new policies: glastnost and perestroika. These two policies practiced openness and restructuring of the USSR’s systems. They have immediately changed the way the USA viewed the USSR. The USA’s president promised to help the USSR in liberalizing and improving its trades. He proposed to “tear down” the Berlin Wall dividing the East and West Germany. While the people in Western Germany were enjoying prosperity, the people in Eastern Germany were suffering. In 1989, the Berlin Wall, the physical symbol of the Cold War, was open, and thousands of people from East Berlin poured in. Another impacts of the policies were that they have created more open oppositions in the Eastern European countries, hence challenged the controls of the Warsaw Pact countries. In late 1898 Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia and Romanian was liberalized. The effects continued as more countries were becoming liberalized. Eventually in 1991, the USSR dissolved into 17 components countries. With this the Cold War came to an end, with the leading of Mikhail Gorbachev of USSR.
The third reason was the effects of globalization. It has been said that the World has started to become globalized and its effects has led to the end of Cold War. The new economic order were set and aimed towards the Western economy, especially the USA. Also, the thaw in relations and desires to end the tensions expressed as the negotiations to stop producing nuclear weapons. Domestic reforms aiming to liberalize the country by Gorbachev and the disintegration of the USSR, breaking down of the previous old order and rendered a more opening New World. Thus Globalization has affected the Cold War to end.
In conclusion, the Cold War has come to an end because of the three main above reasons. All of these factors revolve around the USSR, its reforms and change which has affected the Cold War. Hence it can be concluded that the USSR were the main reason for the Cold War.
Don
Sunday, March 21, 2010
Cuban Missile Crisis
The infamous Cuban Missile Crisis started in September 1962, when the USSR placed several nuclear missiles in Cuba following Fidel Castro's rise in power. Although the USA made various attempts to remove the missiles from Cuba, they were mostly ineffective. The USSR refused to move the missiles, causing a period of tension between the two superpowers.
The USA contemplated on taking several courses of action. They could either launch an attack on Cuba to remove the missiles, attempt to diplomatically get the USSR to remove them, do nothing, or conduct a naval blockade to prevent the USSR from delivering the nuclear warheads.
Finally, an agreement was made when Kennedy agreed to remove the nuclear weapons from Turkey and southern Italy in exchange for Khrushchev removing the missiles in Cuba. However, at that point of time, Kennedy's removal of the missiles from Turkey and southern Italy was not publicized, causing the general public to have the opinion that Kennedy had triumphed and Khrushchev had been humiliated. This could have been one of the reasons why Khrushchev eventually lost power in the Soviet government.
jona.lwz
The USA contemplated on taking several courses of action. They could either launch an attack on Cuba to remove the missiles, attempt to diplomatically get the USSR to remove them, do nothing, or conduct a naval blockade to prevent the USSR from delivering the nuclear warheads.
Finally, an agreement was made when Kennedy agreed to remove the nuclear weapons from Turkey and southern Italy in exchange for Khrushchev removing the missiles in Cuba. However, at that point of time, Kennedy's removal of the missiles from Turkey and southern Italy was not publicized, causing the general public to have the opinion that Kennedy had triumphed and Khrushchev had been humiliated. This could have been one of the reasons why Khrushchev eventually lost power in the Soviet government.
jona.lwz
Able Archer 83 Incident
In 1983, the Western powers decided to conduct a secret ten-day long NATO exercise, training soldiers for a potential nuclear war. A new form of communication was used during the exercise known as radio silences.
Because of the bad relationship between the USA and USSR during that period of time, some members of the Soviet government viewed it as an act of preparation for war. This led the USSR to place their forces on alert and readied their nuclear weapons. They believed that the USA wanted to attack them using nuclear weapons first.
Hostilities ended when the Able Archer 83 exercise ended on the 11th November. Fortunately, neither side had started a nuclear war.
jona.lwz
Because of the bad relationship between the USA and USSR during that period of time, some members of the Soviet government viewed it as an act of preparation for war. This led the USSR to place their forces on alert and readied their nuclear weapons. They believed that the USA wanted to attack them using nuclear weapons first.
Hostilities ended when the Able Archer 83 exercise ended on the 11th November. Fortunately, neither side had started a nuclear war.
jona.lwz
Video on Berlin Blockade
Here's an informative video about the Berlin Blockade:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jqHqsYiUEwY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jqHqsYiUEwY
The Berlin Blockade
In late June 1948, USSR decided to block off Eastern Berlin from Western Berlin in an attempt to force the Western powers out of Berlin and allow the USSR to gain control over the whole city. By preventing them from carrying supplies to West Berlin, it would have no choice but to turn to the USSR, causing them to become dependent on USSR.
The USA, faced with this scenario, had 3 choices.
1. It could choose to ignore the blockade, and drive right through it using their tanks. However, this would probably be the reason USSR was looking for to engage the USA in a full-scale war. Thus, this choice was a highly risky one.
2. It could let the USSR have its way and pull out of Western Berlin. Although this would prevent any possible war from occurring, it would hint that the USA was giving in to the USSR. This would be disadvantageous for the USA. Furthermore, most of the Western Berliners would starve to death if supplies did not arrive quickly.
3. It could choose to lift supplies to Western Berlin by air. Although this was a solution to the problem, it was dangerous because it could also be potentially viewed by the USSR as a reason to engage the USA in war. Their planes could also be shot down, causing a potential loss of supplies.
Out of the three choices, the third choice was the best choice to the USA. It did not pose as much of a threat as the first choice, for it was far less likely to be deemed as a possible reason for war. It could effectively send supplies into Western Berlin as well. And thus, the USA chose to act upon the third choice.
After almost a year of delivering supplies via airlift, the USSR had no choice but to lift the blockade, for they could see that the airlift was clearly working. A potential war had been avoided.
jona.lwz
This cartoon/comic shows the amount of people trying to escape east germany to west germany via berlin.
Photo URL: http://scottthong.files.wordpress.com/2008/08/redprimer13.jpg
The USA, faced with this scenario, had 3 choices.
1. It could choose to ignore the blockade, and drive right through it using their tanks. However, this would probably be the reason USSR was looking for to engage the USA in a full-scale war. Thus, this choice was a highly risky one.
2. It could let the USSR have its way and pull out of Western Berlin. Although this would prevent any possible war from occurring, it would hint that the USA was giving in to the USSR. This would be disadvantageous for the USA. Furthermore, most of the Western Berliners would starve to death if supplies did not arrive quickly.
3. It could choose to lift supplies to Western Berlin by air. Although this was a solution to the problem, it was dangerous because it could also be potentially viewed by the USSR as a reason to engage the USA in war. Their planes could also be shot down, causing a potential loss of supplies.
Out of the three choices, the third choice was the best choice to the USA. It did not pose as much of a threat as the first choice, for it was far less likely to be deemed as a possible reason for war. It could effectively send supplies into Western Berlin as well. And thus, the USA chose to act upon the third choice.
After almost a year of delivering supplies via airlift, the USSR had no choice but to lift the blockade, for they could see that the airlift was clearly working. A potential war had been avoided.
jona.lwz
Definition of Crisis
In this section, I will be talking about the 4 main crises of the Cold War. First of all, I will start out by defining what a crisis is.
Crisis
–noun
a stage in a sequence of events at which the trend of all future events, esp. for better or for worse, is determined; turning point.
(from dictionary.com)
As mentioned in my earlier post, I will be covering 4 main crises of the Cold War, each of which could have possibly ended in the eruption of a full-scale war, or even a nuclear war between USA and USSR.
First of all, I will start with the Berlin Blockade.
jona.lwz
Crisis
–noun
a stage in a sequence of events at which the trend of all future events, esp. for better or for worse, is determined; turning point.
(from dictionary.com)
As mentioned in my earlier post, I will be covering 4 main crises of the Cold War, each of which could have possibly ended in the eruption of a full-scale war, or even a nuclear war between USA and USSR.
First of all, I will start with the Berlin Blockade.
jona.lwz
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