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Summary Cold War 1950s
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This document covers the start of the Cold War (1950s).
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Cold War 1950sNSC-68 Report (1952)
➢ It is suggested that the US announce that they will not use atomic weapons other
than in retaliation to prior use of them by the USSR.
➢ But refuse to make this announcement as the US thinks it makes them look weak
and there is a possibility of war with the USSR therefore the US would need them.
Eisenhower
➢ He consolidated the policy of containment.
➢ The United States ratified treaties designed to encircle the Soviet Union and its allies,
including the People’s Republic of China (PRC). For e.g:
○ Central Treaty Organization (CENTO)
○ Southeast Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO)
○ Bilateral defence/security treaties with Japan, South Korea, China, and the
Philippines.
➢ "New Look"
○ Maintaining the vitality of the U.S. economy while still building sufficient
strength to prosecute the Cold War
○ Relying on nuclear weapons to deter Communist aggression
○ Using the CIA to carry out secret or covert actions against governments or
leaders "directly or indirectly responsive to Soviet control”.
○ Strengthening allies and winning the friendship of nonaligned governments.
Brinksmanship and ‘Massive Retaliation’
John Foster Dulles - Eisenhower’s most influential foreign policy adviser and staunch
anti-communist.
Dulles' Speech in 1954
➢ ‘There is no local defense which alone will contain the mighty landpower of the
Communist world.’
➢ ‘A potential aggressor must know that he cannot always prescribe battle conditions
that suit him.’
The Situation by 1957
The US had access to better military bases in Europe and Japan.
1954 US conducts massive “Bravo” test. The US detonates a 17-megaton
hydrogen bomb, “Bravo”, at Bikini Atoll in the Pacific Ocean.
1955 US had the B-52 Stratofortress
1956 USSR responded with Tu-20 Bear
1957 USSR developed ICBMs (2 years earlier than the US)
Sputnik (1957)
Sputnik was the first satellite to orbit the earth successfully.
Oct 1957 - Launched by the USSR.
Raised US concerns that the USSR could launch military weapons from space.
Eisenhower's administration was criticised for having allowed the USSR to leap ahead in the
race.
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