The United States and its allies have encountered many dangerous enemies over the years, all of whom have proven to be existential threats to world order and global peace. None of these enemies, however, have proven to be as much of a menace to world peace as that of the Soviet Union after World War II. The threat of war and distrust between the United States and the Soviet Union was a time of great distress that eventually developed into a tenuous stalemate known as the Cold War. No one knew what to expect from the titanic struggle between the two superpowers and there was constant anxiety about all-out war erupting. Their actions often seemed to be arbitrary and to come out of nowhere, with each escalating threat more terrifying than the …show more content…
First expressed in 1947 by United States President Truman in a speech to Congress seeking aid for Greece and Turkey, the doctrine was seen by the communists as an open declaration of Cold War. In it, Truman stated that, “The seeds of totalitarian regimes are nurtured by misery and want. They spread and grow in the evil soil of poverty and strife. They reach their full growth when the hope of a people for a better life has died. [The United States and its allies] must keep that hope alive” (Truman). While Truman thought that this would help destroy the threat of communism, in reality, it did not. The Soviets continued their threats for more than four decades, relentless on destroying their enemies. The fact that both of these two superpowers had nuclear capability caused worldwide fear that the hostility between the two might escalate. One of the most dangerous threats was the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962, which was a confrontation between the United States and the Soviet Union over the presence of missile sites in Cuba. During this time, a briefing was released from Washington, where it was