History of Communism Containment

History of Communism Containment After the Second World War, the United States began seeing an expansion of communism into Eastern Europe and sought to stop the spread of communism by adopting a policy of containment. The U.S and President Truman saw the Soviet Union to be a serious threat to the free world and as a result, they were about to enter a new kind of war: the Cold War. After defeating Germany during World War II, most of Europe and Asia lay in ruins, and on the horizon a new threat appeared, communism. Even though the U.S. and the Soviet Union were allies during World War II, they both emerged from the war as global powers, with differences on their perspectives of the world. Both nations were competing with each other economically and militarily and where in at an impasse. The U.S. was the richest country in the world and it promoted democracy and capitalism, while the Soviets thought communism was a better (political system because it transformed their economy and status in the world from nothing but a declining empire to a super power once again) (StudyWorld). By 1947, relations between the two countries had broken down completely. President Truman took decisive steps to contain Soviet expansion in regions in which the U.S. had vital interests. With the takeover of Greece and Turkey by a Soviet backed guerilla movement, this was the first sign of communist aggression that forced the U.S. to react. In March 1947, Truman decided to (draw a line in the sand)(US History)by asking Congress to appropriate $400 million for these two nations to help them in the form of military and economic assistance. The Truman Doctrine came about as direct result of the Soviet aggression and was basically an (open pact to any group willing to stand against communism, guaranteeing them military and financial aid)(US Dept of State). This is also the beginning of an embarrassing an unprecedented series of foreign policy blunders on the part of the U.S. The Truman Doctrine would later be used to justify shady actions in Korea, Vietnam, and Cuba. The second step in containment was the Marshall Plan, which provided economic relief to the rebuilding of Western European nations such as Great Britain, France, Belgium and even Germany. By boosting these economies, the U.S. ensured that (communism would not rise in any of these countries from a weak economy)(Studynotes). Four years later, not only were the Western European industries producing twice the amount that they had before war broke out, but the U.S. saw a postwar economic boom with record levels of trade. At first the U.S. Congress wasnt in favor of the proposed plan, but following a coup by communist in Czechoslovakia, they approved it. An official alliance with other nations that opposed communism came to be after the coup in Czechoslovakia. In April 1949, NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) was founded. The countries agreed that they would (stand by each other as one, and any attack on a member of the alliance is an attack on all)(US Dept of State). At the time, this was a great idea; trying to prevent communism from taking over the world. But as time went by, we have come to realize that as a part of NATO, the U.S. is the majority partner, and is becoming the worlds police and major contributor of the funds for these efforts. I think that the U.S. needs to withdraw from NATO and try and get the U.S. back to status of the worlds super power. We dont have the funds to bail out the rest of the world, when our own economy is in such dire straits. Being a member of NATO, provides a presidential loophole for military intervention by America in any foreign struggle without Congress declaring war, which is a bad idea. All this did was force the Soviet Union to flex its muscles and in 1955, it formed an alliance, known as the Warsaw Pact, with other Eastern European nations, such as Poland, Bulgaria, E. Germany, and Romania. Now, these countries are (no more than puppet nations held by the Grand Puppeteer, Russia)(Pieper). In one fell swoop the Soviet Union (gained almost as much land as Napoleon or Hitler; but without a war)(US History). Americas idea of a united effort at the containment of Communism had exponential grown into a united expansion of communism, just the opposite effect the U.S. was trying to accomplish. After World War II, redrawing of boundaries all over the world came about. Korea, who was conquered by Japan during the war, was divided at the 38th parallel, and the northern part of the country was given to the Soviet Union and the southern half to the U.S. In 1950, the Soviets left N. Korea leaving a communist regime behind. That regime, funded and equipped by China, invaded S. Korea. The United Nations, led, of course, by the United States, (raised an army to restore peace and expel the aggressors)(Pieper). The U.S. established a cease-fire zone, but not before the victory changed hands twice and lasted three years. Some might say that (communism in this case was successfully contained but with the loss of 53,000 American lives in a fruitless attempt to topple a regime is hardly a victory)(US Dept of State). Another failure of containment by the United States would be in Vietnam. After the fighting with France ended in 1954, Vietnam was split in two like Korea, North Vietnam being Communist and South Vietnam led by the Vietnamese who supported the French. In 1963, the South Vietnamese leader was assassinated, and the U.S. sent over American troops to support the non-Communist regime, while in accordance with the Truman Doctrine. The resulting struggle would prove to be (the most agonizing and long defeat of the American military in history)(StudyWorld). Two elements of the U.Ss failure of Vietnam were trying to win a traditional war in a guerrilla setting and not having full support of the U.S. people. This resulted in a loss of 68,000 U.S. soldiers and over 400,000 South Vietnamese. The U.S. started withdrawing troops in 1973, but by 1976, all of Vietnam came under communist rule, proving once again that containment didnt work. Even after the Korean War and the creation of the Warsaw Pact, the expansion of communism was not over. In 1959, a rag-tag band of guerillas overtook the government of Cuba and it fell under Fidel Castros regime. The U.S. was unwilling or unprepared to stop this, either for fear of judgment from the international community or of the (shortsightedness caused by a general distaste for Cubas previous government)(Nuclearfiles). This would later come back to haunt them, in both the Bay of Pigs fiasco and the Cuban Missile Crisis. Realizing the problem that Castro could cause, the U.S. planned a literal exertion of the Truman Doctrine. President Kennedy ordered the execution of The Bay of Pigs operation and in April 1961, 1500 Cuban exiles landed in the Bay of Pigs. American air support never arrived and the plan backfired and all of the exiles were gunned down mercilessly. Again containment was once again dashed. A year later was probably the scariest moment of the Cold War. The Soviet Union made a deal with Castro to place nuclear missiles on Cuba and those missiles gave the Soviets a chance to hit U.S. soil without an air offensive. The range of those missiles was 3000 miles, which could demolish the whole eastern seaboard. After a U2 flight over Cuba, President Kennedy ordered a blockade of Cuba and stated that any further attempts to arm Cuba would result in an act of war. The Soviets backed down and removed the silos from Cuba. It was found later, that Russias president made a secret deal with the U.S. agreeing to remove the missiles from Cuba if the U.S. would remove missiles from Turkey. The Cuban Missile Crisis was a (propaganda victory for the U.S. and an undisclosed blow to containment)(Nuclearfiles). Even though 1989 marked the end of the Cold War, some say that since the Soviet Union ultimately fell, the policy of containment was successful. I think this is wrong. The Soviet Union fell under its own weight; the countries expenditures were huge. They had a very large army to support and the cost of such a large country could not be sustained, leaving them no choose but to declare bankruptcy. Another symbol of the U.S. failures to contain communism, is that the nations under the Soviet bloc remain to this day; Vietnam, North Korea, Cuba, and China are still completely Communist nations. Not only was American (containment in the height of the Cold War a failure)(US History), those failures can still be seen to this day. And if the U.S. isnt careful, we too could come under communist rule due to our astronomical debt in which China holds the note. Works Citied Containment of Communism Nuclearfiles.org. Nuclear Age Peace Foundation. 1998-2012. Web. 5 Nov 12 Pieper, Moritz. Containment and the Cold War: Reexaming the Doctrine of Containment as a Grand Strategy Driving US Cold War Interventions. Student Pulse. 2012. Web. 5 Nov 12. Studynotes.org. 2008. Web. 5 Nov 12. Studyworld.com. Oakwood Mgt. 1996-2012. Web. 5 Nov 12. U.S. Department of State. Office of the Historian. US Department of State. Web. 6 Nov 12. USHistory.org. Containment and the Marshall Plan. Hall Assoc. 2008-2012. Web. 5 Nov 12

Fast Food or Dine in Debate Essay

The dispute over whether fast food or a Dine-in meal is just more practical, and better in general for our everyday lives is a reoccurring debate in America in a time where health issues are at an all time high. Some people argue the point that fast food maybe the unhealthier of the two choices. Others would make the rebuttal that they can equally be a knock on your health meter. In this paper I would like to explore these debates and find common ground between the two. According to QSR magazine (QSR; Drive-thru performance study, 2009) the average time it takes you to receive your food though take-out is one hundred and thirty-four seconds. If you refer to the same magazine it also tells you that most of the Top dine-in restaurants take anywhere from 12-30 minutes average for a family meal. For this sole reason alone many Americans who have busy lives prefer to make quick stops at fast food joints on lunch breaks. In today’s society we live on the go, and we would like our technology and food to be the same way. Restaurant tycoon McDonalds has made put a substantial margin of space between it and any of its competitions annual income. McDonalds Net worth is fifteen billion dollars, more than double the net worth of the most popular dine-in according to the â€Å"Super size me† documentary (super size me, Sundance films, 2004) . The fact that fast food sales outweigh dine-in sales through out the world does not mean necessarily that this choice and source of food is better for you. Or does it?

Arab Nationalist Fervor Syria - 1875 Words

In the mid-twentieth century, an Arab nationalist fervor overtook Syria, leading to a series of coups which would eventually install the ostensibly socialist Ba’ath party at the head of state -- a rule that lasts tenuously to the present day. In the chaos of the aftermath of European occupation the seeds were sown for the conflict that rends Syria today as a nation struggles to define itself outside of the context of both factionalist terrorism and the autocratic al-Assad regime which has reigned since that period. When Hafez al-Assad, father of current president Bashar al-Assad, came to power in 1970 he seized the whole of the nation’s political power, placing it firmly in the hands of his family and therefore those of the military†¦show more content†¦The initial protests that sparked the Syrian Civil War occurred in the context of the Arab Spring, a series of mass protests and uprisings that overtook the region beginning with the Tunisian uprising sparked by the self-immolation of a political dissident. The Tunisian Uprising ultimately led to the actual overthrow of the Tunisian government, but affairs were not to conclude so decisively in Syria. The Arab Spring protests writ large were inspired by Middle Easterners’ dissatisfaction with governments they viewed as overly repressive, corrupt, and non-representative, and the Assad regime, grown bloated and corrupt through forty-plus years of uninterrupted rule, certainly fit the bill. The Syrian government reacted in a predictably authoritarian fashion to protests, restricting movement and imprisoning those found guilty of supposedly seditious activities through the spring and summer of 2011, including simple anti-government graffiti (Fahim and Saad). Eventually, the military began to resort to open tactical opposition against mostly unarmed protestors, moving to militarily pacify the city of Daraa where the protests had begun in the late spring (BBC). Military dominance, though t aken for granted in a nation that had been ruled

The Prison Experiment And The Abu Ghraib Prison - 999 Words

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