...Assignment 1: The Cold War and U.S. Diplomacy Annette Hickson Dr. John Cronin Strayer University POL300 – International Problems February 9, 2014 Introduction The Second World War forever changed how the United States viewed its role in foreign affairs. America understood it could no longer stand by and watch countries abroad occupy other nations without feeling any impact. In order to combat this threat, several presidents introduced ideologies to prevent the spread of communism and position America as a leader of the free world. America looked for ways to promote democracy around the world but it was met with opposition. The Soviet Union was not willing to conform to America’s way of life and this battle was the basis for the Cold War. The Sixties was an era in which the Freedom Movement gained momentum and Americans began to question whether or not the government was honest with the public (Schultz, 2012). Meanwhile, foreign policy would dominate as President Lyndon Johnson inherited the U.S. involvement in Vietnam. To better understand President Johnson’s ideals, this paper will summarize the situation that required U.S. diplomatic efforts during President Johnson’s time in office. Furthermore, President Johnson’s diplomatic doctrine will be analyzed with reference to specific actions and events. Finally, the effects of these diplomatic efforts for the U.S. and other countries will be described to assess its impact...
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...consequently Mao Zedong criticised peaceful coexistence and dismissed the U.S nuclear threat as a ‘paper tiger.’ The Geneva Peace conference happened in July 1954, at the conference Indochina was divided into Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia. Vietnam was divided again at the 17th Parallel between the communist north and the democratic south in an interim arrangement pending elections. The U.S support cancelled the elections with the leader of South Vietnam when polls proved that Vietminh would win 80 percent of the vote. With democracy being defended in Asia, the United States supported the corrupt dictatorships of Diem in Vietnam, Rhee in South Korea and Jiang Jieshi in Formasa. However peaceful coexistence was boosted with the end of the war in Indochina and the ‘Spirit of Geneva’, but military threats faded the new battleground it became military and provided economic aid to the third world. Khrushchev decided that peaceful coexistence was not a realistic policy...
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...October 10, 2011 The Arab Oil Embargo of 1973 The Arab oil embargo of 1973 resulted after the formation of Israel [ (American Business) ]. After WWII Israel was created. The formation of Israel upset surrounding Arab countries because they wanted “Israel to return to Arab land it had been occupying since 1967” [ (If Americans Knew) ]. During October 1973, “Egypt and Syria attacked Israel, starting the Yomkippur War” [ (American Business) ]. “Persian Gulf oil producers” wanted to weaken any ties between the United States and Israel. As a result of the United States helping Israel during the war, OPEC (Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries) decided to end all exports to the United States as well as any other western countries that supported Israel [ (American Business) ]. “Saudi Arabia’s King Faisal ibn Abdul Aziz had been warning the Nixon administration of an oil boycott” [ (If Americans Knew) ]. Even with warning from Saudi Arabia, the Nixon administration ignored any threats of an oil boycott. With the boycott, gas prices increased 45 percent [ (American Business) ]. Many business passed on the costs to their customers, while other businesses closed down. The oil embargo lasted only five months from October 17, 1973-March 17, 1974 [ (American Business) ]. Although it only lasted five months, the embargo affected the lives of many people long after it was over. Resulting from the embargo was a long term effect that encouraged “the government, businesses...
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...The Truman Doctrine Shortly after World War II had ended the Cold War began in 1945. The Cold War was fought between the United States and the U.S.S.R. The Cold War got its name because it never got “hot” with action of an actual battle. It was more of a verbal fighting and threating to blow up each other but never actually doing it. When the United States decided to drop a bomb on Japan, the U.S.S.R was mad the United States had secretly developed the bomb. Then Russia started spreading communism and the Truman Doctrine helped stop the spread of communism. According to www.historylearningsite.co.uk/truman_doctrine, The Truman doctrine happened March 12, 1947. It was a speech by President Harry S. Truman. The Truman Doctrine gave economic and military aid to Greece and Turkey because they were threatened by communism. At this point in time there was already a policy trying to contain communism called the Containment Policy. The Containment Policy was a reaction to a series of moves by the Soviet Union to expand communist influence in Eastern European, China, Korea, and Vietnam. Similar to the containment policy the Truman doctrine of the United States was to “support free people who are resisting being conquered by armed minorities or by outside pressures”, which was said directly by President Truman. Truman had to convince congress that a crisis in two far away countries would threaten the security of the United States, and that four hundred million dollars was needed to save...
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...boarders and coast lines as defensive mechanisms, conversely though, China is known for tactfully moving in-land and using its terrain for defence; which form up to two thirds of China’s land (Gaddis, 2005). Will Hutton argues that China has “burst back on to the world scene in a manner parcelled in scale and speed in world history only by the rise of the United States.” It first endured a “century of humiliation” (Lecture). Opium Wars dominated China in the 1840s until 1860, after which the Taiping Rebellion – a civil war, revolting against the Quing Dynasty took place, closely followed by the Boxer Uprising – a rebellion provoked by imperialist expansion (Gaddis, 2005). Looking at this, we can see that China has been closely linked to war throughout the last century. More recently, it had a major role, following the former Communist Soviet Union in the Cold war, where China endured crises by both foreign and internal, such as Mao Zeodong’s attempts to bring China forward in the world, and the Tiananmen Square massacre. Throughout the Cold War, “China conveyed the appearance,...
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...SARAH ELM- Mr. Regan, Looking back, what would you describe as the principles of The New Right? PRESIDENT RONALD REGAN- The principles were that people could come together and network to achieve a goal, or many goals, not only conservative Christians but a credible coalition of people. SARAH ELM-Why did you support The New Right? PRESIDENT RONALD REGAN- I felt like I should use my popularity to bring awareness to the policies I believed in and it was my duty to be a part of this mission to create a strong and steady republican party. SARAH ELM- What were your intentions at the end of the Cold War? PRESIDENT RONALD REGAN- My number one priority was an end to nuclear weapons buildups. An agreement not to expand atomic arsenals was what we needed and the slowing of arms control incentives is what lead to achieving this. SARAH ELM- How would you describe the Regan Doctrine? PRESIDENT RONALD REGAN- The Regan doctrine was our support to any country who opposed communism whether or not they had any direct connection to the Soviet Union. SARAH ELM- What did you want to show the world about the United States of America with this doctrine? PRESIDENT RONALD REGAN- I simply wanted the world to know that there was a new American activism who supports all how oppose communism. SARAH ELM- Why did you propose supply-side economics? PRESIDENT RONALD REGAN- We needed to take a bold move in order to restore our economy in 1980. Excessive taxation was one of the major causes of the...
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...is the fact that there may not be a warning siren, though it is expected there will be. The idea was to educate children about the possibility of an attack and how, it was thought to be, the best way to they could protect themselves. Living Under the Threat of Nuclear War Living under the threat of nuclear war must have been an extremely stressful experience. To live life in constant fear that a nuclear bomb could detonate at a moments notice would cause anxiety and fear, making many people fearful of leaving the (perceived) safety of their homes. This must have been especially true for children that may not have fully been able to comprehend the threat. In the comments section of the video, one viewer wrote “I used to have nightmares about the "Bomb" when I was a kid. It was such a nebulous but terrifying thing. In school we had this sort of "duck and cover" propaganda complete with drills and explanations about the "bright flash", etc. As a child, one of my big fears was that this horrible thing called the "Bomb" would happen WHEN I WAS NOT AT SCHOOL! To my 6-year-old mind, the only safe place in the world was under my desk at school!” (C. Random, September 10, 2005). The Threat of Nuclear War Compared to the Threat of Terrorism The threat of danger was and is real in both cases. Terrorists are responsible for the attacks on the Pentagon on September 11, 2001...
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...Conceptions of the Cold War James Brinkley The Cold War was a bloodless battle fought on the political front for over 40 years. It was not declared over until 1991, with the fall of communism and the USSR. During this war, there were no lives lost but billions of dollars spent by both countries playing a worldwide chess game with nuclear warheads. For the research on this topic, I conducted interviews and got personal opinions on matters related to the cold war. The people interviewed were two military personnel and a female homemaker. I wanted to get varied opinions on this topic to determine how well they grasped the topic. The first topic discussed was “what comes to your mind when you think of the term Cold War.” Unanimously, all three responded with similar answers. They described the cold war as a war between Russia and the United States of America to determine who would have advantage during a nuclear war. I found this interesting as the term was originally coined in the 14th century by Don Juan Manuel describing the conflict between Christianity and Islam. The modern terminology is synonymous with the battle less conflict between the USSR and the United States of America. Also found in my research that the Cold War was not only about nuclear supremacy, but about being the number one super power in the world on all fronts. Tied in to Cold War Politics is also the “Space Race” where both parties raced to have supremacy in space as well as on the earth. The second...
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...Immigration Immigration laws in United States are in need of regulation because immigrants are unfairly forced to leave the country after establishing residency and employment. The American law says as long as a person is born here then he or she is considered an American citizen. But, this law proves to be quite inconvenient for many adults, most of whom are parents to American-born children, are either allowed or illegally migrate to the United States. These immigrants are looking for a better way of life for their children who will be born into this country; as well as the families that many United States immigrants leave behind. Some immigrants from countries like Haiti, Africa and Mexico look for and work visas in order to get American employment. But, a visa does not guarantee elimination from being deported. This country benefits from the talents that many immigrants have. However, the United States pay these type of employees very little. Many employees are often told to leave the country due to non-citizenship. Immigration begin with illegal immigrants being processed into this country. Some people were denied as race and class was a major reason. The first colonies of immigrants worried about diseases and adapting unpredictable weather. Then there was slavery, which was one of the first regulated immigration systems to exist in. These people were unfortunate. Today, immigration is highly favored due to many odd jobs taken on by many immigrants...
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...Afghanistan. PDPA was a Communist party and therefore held close ties to the Soviet Union. The PDPA instituted many political and social reforms in Afghanistan, including abolishing religious and traditional customs. These reforms incensed groups of Afghans who believed in adherence to traditional and religious laws. These factions began to challenge the government so rigorously that in 1979, the Soviet Army entered Afghanistan, beginning an occupation that would last a decade. This is the historical point in The Kite Runner when Baba and Amir leave Afghanistan. Throughout the ten years of Soviet occupation, internal Muslim forces put up a resistance. Farid and his father are examples in The Kite Runner of these mujahedins or men engaged in war on the side of Islam. The United States was among the countries that supported the resistance, because of its own anti-Soviet policies. When the Soviet Troops finally withdrew in 1989, Afghanistan remained under PDPA for three more years. Then in 1992, in the wake of the collapse of the Soviet Union and therefore Soviet support for the government, the mujahedin finally won Afghanistan and converted it to an Islamic...
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...Maria F Castrillo Moral Life: A study in Ethic Tiffany Sutton Friday, 6 September 2013 3 Dilemmas One of the most controversial decisions in America history, the moral dilemma of President Truman had to face during the War World II, whether invasion or the bomb, a problem in intelligent choice and a matter of life and death. Truman ordered US planes to drop atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. An argument supporting his decision would be that it saved many lives and ended the war. However an invasion of Japan would have been very costly and both sides would have had more losses. An argument against his decision would be that it was wrong to directly target civilians. It also caused long-term damage as many people developed cancer and other illnesses from the radiation left by the atomic bomb. Whether to use the atom bomb on Japan to end the 3 and a half year war. He used it, and it was responsible for the deaths of tens of thousands of Japanese citizens and soldiers. But it did force the Japanese to surrender once and for all. I honestly think this was the wrong way to end the conflict; war is never the answered. Another ethical dilemma that attracts my attention is a situation in which a person is faced with two choices which conflict with their ethical system. Per example in your ethical system stealing is always wrong. Also letting one's family die from starvation is always wrong. A person in such a situation would be forced to commit one wrong to avoid...
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...Korean War Korean War began in June 1950, when North Korean army invaded South Korea in an attempt to reunite the county. As the Cold war began to develop, the American and Russian zones of occupation began to practice as two separate states. The USSR wanted Kim Ill Sung, the North Korean leader, to unify Korea and withdrew troops in 1948. The US wanted unification under the South Korean Leader Syngman Rhee and withdrew in 1949. The US and USSR withdrawal caused both local regimes to be more aggressive. The US and USSR weren’t too concerned about the immediate fate of Korea. Stalin was confident because Kim Ill Sung was in charge of the North, which bordered Russia. In January 1950, Acheson made his “Defensive Perimeter” speech which included all the countries the US would defend against communist aggression. South Korea wasn’t included. Kim told Stalin and Mao about his intention to invade. Mao refused to make any guarantees of military support to Korea because he was focused on the threat posed by Jiang Jieshi’s. Stalin refused at first, but then after Acheson’s speech, the Soviet leader approved. Stalin made it clear to Kim that, if the US became involved, the USSR wouldn’t intervene directly to help him. Stalin thought that since the US hadn’t intervened to prevent Mao’s victory in China, it was unlikely to aid South Korea. Questions 1) Korea lost its independence in 1910 when it was taken over by Japan and remained as a Japanese colony until August 1945...
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...7. Berlin Wall What made people fight for change and press the German/German wall to fall down in 1989? How did it effect the lives of West and East Germans? Are East Germans more free now? How would you explain the reasons for the phenomen of "Ostalgia" (people longing back to the former DDR) that is nowadays living in Eastern Germany? Why did I choose this topic? I think it is very interesting that after twenty years there are still so many problems with East Germany. Why there still is a higher unemployment rate in East Germany than in West Germany, and why people want to go back to the time of the Berlin wall (ostalgia). The fall of the Berlin wall influent the lives of the West and East Germans both on different ways where the East Germans got freedom what they never had before and West Germans got influence of new people of a new culture. But how can effect this still after 20 years? Why is there still such a difference between East and West, did not the western people though to easily that the East Germans will assimilate easy, did the East Germans got the time and the chance to build up a new life in reunited Germany? All those problems I think is very interesting, how people think and act. Proposition: They should never built a new Berlin wall, nobody will end happy than. You can understand on some way that people want to go back in time, because of the good things: education, health care. But the people forget that there was also the Stasi. East Germans...
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...Significant Events Lauren Smith 4 March 2012 Significant Events The social, economic and political events in the United States throughout the years have shaped the way we live today. After World War II and up until the 1990’s, the United States has gone through major tragedies, schools and jobs have integrated, and President’s have been assassinated. 1950’s Central High School in Little Rock, AK, forced to integrate became known as the little rock 9. September 20, 1957, Judge Ronald N. Davies granted the NAACP lawyers, Thurgood Marshall and Wiley Branton the right to stop governor Faubus from using the National Guard to stop the nine black students from entering the high school. After finally agreeing to not use the National Guard, he wished the students would stay away until integration could occur without violence. He knew there would be violence African Americans in their school. September 23, 1957 the nine black students were off to school. Being smart, they went in through the rear so they could avoid as many conflicts as possible. White mobs joined together to protest the new students while reporters met to support the black students. All of the white mobs went crazy when they finally heard that the new students were in their high school. The nine black students actually exited out the rear of the building the minute the mobs came so they would not get hurt. The following day President Eisenhower actually sent the 101st Airborne Division so the...
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...Anticommunism and McCarthyism Travis Hall His/145 4/27/2011 Richard Pinder At the end of World War II, there was a continuing state of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars and economic competition that existed between the United States and the Soviet Union, commonly known as The Cold War. These two superpowers conflicted and were competitive about many things, but none greater than the difference in government. The Soviet Union, being a communist country was highly unfavorable to the majority of the world. The United States attempted to use containment as a primary strategy to keep communism away from its shores. This strong resilience prompted the phrase, anti-communism, which simply means against communism. Even though America maintained itself as a democracy, there was a sweeping fear that communism may infiltrate the American government. Senator Joseph Raymond McCarthy became the most visible public face during this period. Senator McCarthy helped to perpetuate this fear, by making claims that there were an extremely large number of Communist and Soviet spies inside the United States federal government. This brought about the coining of the phrase McCarthyism. McCarthyism has become a common phrase for making accusations of disloyalty, subversion, or treason without proper regard for evidence. McCarthy’s method used the fears of Americans to perpetuate...
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