Essay - The Cold War is One of the Longest and Most...

The Cold War is one of the longest and most frightening stand*****fs in our collective world history. During no other period of time (nearly fifty years) had the ***** been so close to the edge ***** complete destruction. This, of course, is ***** popular view of the Cold War, one where the United States and the Soviet Union had armed forces, technology, and strategies that were perfect counterparts to each o*****r. The truth is, however, that the Soviet ***** was never a match for the United States, it always had ***** and weaponry ***** was a gener*****tion-behind *****, most strikingly, it was influenced heavily and kept in check by the United States itself. It ***** ***** purpose ***** this paper to explore the origins, history, and events of the ***** War with the purpose in mind of demonstrating that while the world was at risk, a nucle*****r war would never have really happened, th***** *****e Soviet Union was unable to deliver on the bulk of its threats, and that the United States would have survived.

***** attempt to assign blame for what became one of ***** costliest ***** most psychologically damaging conflicts of the modern ***** has long ***** a point of contention between ***** East (the Soviet Union) and the West (the United States). On one side of the argument are the *****ern scholars who described a "Stalinist state bent on *****izing the world at any price. In ***** other corner were the "revisionists" pointing an accusing finger at the imperialist designs of the ***** St*****es (Flaherty, 35)." But, the Cold War ***** much more than a st*****ring match ***** the U.S. and the Soviet Union, it was a conflict th*****t would polarize the world ***** lead to wars in Vietnam, Korea, Afghanistan, and smaller conflicts throughout the *****. ***** is the ***** of this ***** to examine the ***** of ***** Cold War and the economic system differences between the two ********** as the primary points of contention, suspicion, ***** conflict.

***** had begun as an alliance against a common enemy was indeed a union of convenience and not ***** any great mutual love or respect. Though U.S. ***** ***** relations prior ***** the Revolution that coincided with much of World War *****e, resulted in ***** ascension to power a ***** Communist wave ***** Marxist politicians and military leaders, were certainly cordial, they were not totally friendly either. The Communists took over all of Eastern Europe in much the same way ***** Germany had ***** to and during the Second World War, which raised the possibility that they (the Soviets) would expand their brand of communism even further into the war-weakened West. Until ***** beginnings of the ***** World *****, Moscow remained both skeptical and impassive in the face of numerous attempts by ***** Germans to initiate discussions about improving political relations between the two countries—and thereby drive a wedge between the *****SR and ***** ********** powers, ***** ***** knew ***** engaged in negotiations about an *****ti-Hitler coalition