Weapons Of The Cold War

In the mid-twentieth century, the world was split into two parts the communist east, and the democratic west. This marked the beginning of a period known as the "Cold War". It could have been called this for many reasons. Perhaps it was the cold feelings between the west and the east. Or maybe it was because of the nuclear winter that would have resulted from open war. The most probable suggestion, however, is that there was no direct combat. In times of war, locations entailing heavy fighting are known as "hot-spots". In this war however, the east and the west never engaged in head-to-head combat, resulting in a "cold war'. Generally in war, battles are fought with soldiers as the primary weapon of each faction, but this war was in a new era, and a new age, with new weapons. The Cold War was fought with technological competition, fear, and words.

In war, weapons are many-times used for defense (despite the definition, suggesting a more offensive tool). One allegedly defensive weapon maneuvered by the Soviets was "defending" Cuba with long-range ballistic missiles. According to Document 9, "these weapons were only meant for defensive purposes." These weapons were later withdrawn in response to President John F. Kennedy's speech referenced in Document 8. Another defensive tactic by the USSR, while not entirely intentional, was the Iron Curtain, an invisible border that divided the east from the west Ð'- with no passage between.

One weapon used by the US was an elaborate financial aid program. The Marshall Plan was a strategy to contain and smother the spread of communism. This decision was made public on June 5, 1947 by Secretary of State Marshall as seen in Document 3. A more specific pan to suppress the communist threat was the Truman Doctrine, a program to aid financially depressed countries in order to maintain their government and not succumb to communism. This included "giving Greece and Turkey $400 million in aid" as displayed in Document 2.

A weapon used by both sides was the mass production of weapons (this was intended both offensively and defensively). The knowledge that at that very moment the other side was producing just as much or more weapons than your country aimed to be used against you was enough for you to not attack. This led to the arms race, an industrial and military battle to produce more weapons than the other side. As seen in Document 7, both sides increased