The years immediately after the second WWII, United States had monopoly on specific knowledge on raw materials for nuclear weapon but secretly, the Soviet regime was building their own atomic weapon. Participation on this nuclear competition was extremely mandatory because if one side would decide to stay out of the race it automatically means that the other superpower will all have the means to destroying other nations without any fear of retaliation.
On May 1, 1960, 13000 miles into Soviet air space, an American U2 spy plane was flying at 65000 ft.out of range in theory from Soviet missiles. But then at 8:23 am at Moscow time, the pilot, Gary powers felt an explosion nearby. In a documentary made, Gary Powers was interviewed and he shared his experience. “ I felt the aircraft jerked forward, I saw tremendous flash of light from the cockpit in the sky.”
For the Soviet, a picture of a burned plane debris was a proof that America had invaded their air space was major propaganda triumph. Their leader told the world, “ We’ve got the pilot.” But it was America, not just the powers they put in the dark. This incident brought into focus the real nature of a Cold War, not a war fought on a battlefield but war of espionage, a war of propaganda, a war of arms race bluff and counter bluff. This is what COLD WAR is all about.
But earlier incidents happened that brought this war into a kick off. In April 1945, American and Soviet troops met in Germany, conquers from the west and from the east now face to face in the very heart of Europe. Brought together with a common purpose, the defeat of Nazism. They celebrated their joint victory. Toasting an end to war, toasting on cooperation now between east and west. But within just a matter of one month, cooperation turned into mistrust. A new war , cold war began between Soviets and their wartime allies. A war which would divide the world for the next forty years.
The US joined the military alliance NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) established in 1949 and on the other hand Soviet Union also established its own military alliance in 1955 called the Warsaw Pact. But it never came to an actual military confrontation between the two alliances but rather there were “Proxy Wars.” What is a proxy war? Well, it is characterized by two sides fighting to excerpt power and influence over a third state. In many cases, this third state is under some conflict that these two sides work to exploit for their own purposes. A good example of proxy war is the vietnam war from 1965 to 1973. The Soviet Union and China supported North Vietnam with some weapons. And what about the United states? Well they supported the side of South Vietnam.
So back onto the arms race, during the cold war, the US almost always had the lead but in 1950, the US have 300 nuclear warheads and the Soviet has 10. In 1945, the US released its first nuclear test in the New Mexico desert. A month later, it would drop bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. For the United States it wasn’t just about defeating Japan. The dispute with the Soviet Union was already heating up by then. The US wanted to demonstrate its military strength. By 1949, the Soviets finally had their own nuclear test. Step by step, a scenario of nuclear deterrence was drawn up that was a doctrine that based its principle for Mutual Assured Destruction or (MAD). This is a military strategy which causes the complete annihilation of attacker and defender. There was also talks about a balance of terror which describes the tenuous peace at the prospect of a world-destroying nuclear war.
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In America, 1953, Dwight Eisenhower became the president and he gave guidelines for dealing with the USSR conflict. Those of massive retaliation stipulates that US will retaliate in much greater destructive force in the event of any attack. This strategy worked in a way as long as the US keeps its superiority when it comes to nuclear weapons. But by this time, 1956, the Soviets had already shot their satellite Sputnik into the space. To the West, if the Soviets could launch into space , they could just launch a missile into the US. When both sides had this ability, the strategy of massive retaliation no longer seemed to be such a deterrent. But by 1962, the US and Soviet Union were actually on the brink of war. I am talking about the Cuban Missile Crisis. Never before had the east and west been so closed to using nuclear weapons. Afterwards, there was change in attitude as the two sides saw how dangerous it all was. After the Cuban missile crisis, there was an easing of tension between the two superpowers. However, this did not mean disarmament. With an emphasis on stability, the powers agreed on various control on arms which is so called Controlled Rearmament. That means a limit to the amount of arms that both sides must agree to keeping. In addition, the US and NATO moved away from the principles of massive retaliation. Instead, they have developed the Flexible Response which is a defense strategy not limited only to nuclear arms. This principle was written in NATO’s doctrine by 1967. And then the following happened: the Soviet Union replaced its older missile system into and the targets in Europe with modern weapons namely the SS-20 missile. NATO threatened to deploy its own new intermediate range rocket. In the so-called Dou-Track Decision of 1979, NATO and the Soviet Union entered into negotiations mostly geared towards eliminating the SS-20 missile. Should talks failed, NATO would give itself an upgrade.
But in 1983, Ronald Reagan spoke about creating a nuclear free world for the first time. The Soviet Union, two years later, Mikhail Gorbachev came into power. He wants to change the ways of his Authoritarian predecessors. The SOviet Union had economic problems and just wanted to put armament funds to rebuilding and reforming their nation instead of keeping up with the expensive technology for making weapons.
Finally, the time came for real disarmament resolutions. At a meeting, a decision was made to abolish nuclear weapons: a rule without nuclear weapons. It may took for the leaders ages to come up with this decision but at least they have turned everything for the better instead of engaging into a hot war.
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