Cold War and Beyond World Term Paper

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Telecommunications made it easier to transfer ideas and information instantly and without the delays that hindered previous efforts at military and strategic intervention. Similarly, the barriers to international trade had largely been lifted. The seeds of the World Trade Organization had already been laid by the end of the Second World War. Finally, the United Nations and other trans-national governing bodies would become legitimized sources of power. Nations who could climb on board stood a chance and those who could not join in faced a perilous century of poverty and political disenfranchisement. America directly contributed to the imbalance of power that would ensue throughout the 20th century.

Being a bully seemed to come easy to the Americans. Armed with what had become the largest and most well-endowed military in the world, the United States forged a path toward hegemony almost effortlessly. As if it were trying to be the world's cowboy, America developed a messianic mission to destroy communism in all of its many manifestations. The idea of a communism spreading throughout Southeast Asia was unacceptable to the American government for two reasons. First, the political rhetoric of American presidents painted communism as the stated enemy of the United States: its arch-nemesis. To ignore the spread of communism in Southeast Asia would appear a sign of weakness especially in a binary universe. Second, communism did seem like an actual foe. The Soviets had developed a substantial military force and appeared poised to face-off with the Americans at any time. Americans were legitimately repulsed by the idea of the Soviets emerging the victor in the Cold War.

Communism also took root in regions beyond the borders of the Soviet Union, spurring the Americans to action. In particular, China loomed large as a significant yet mysterious Red power. The way the United States dealt with China during the height of the Red Scare underscores American economic self-interest.

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Nevertheless, devoting troops to the Korean peninsula seemed like a reasonable response to the threat of communism, and the American government should not be harshly criticized for its involvement there. Having the ability and manpower to offer assistance to smaller nations, America acted out of a sense of duty. After what happened during World War Two, the United States was not about to allow another nefarious tide sweep through the world. Communism also happened to be theoretically opposed to capitalist economic growth. In a post-colonial world, economic imperialism was the only way to ensure global hegemony.

Unfortunately the results in Korea were not much different than the results would be in Vietnam a decade later. The difference was mainly a matter of degree, as there were more deaths and more political fallout from Vietnam than from Korea. In both situations, countless lives were lost and communist governments still managed to secure strongholds in small but strategic geographic regions. America messed up in Vietnam, by devoting too much energy, money, and manpower to a lost cause. However, its intervention in Vietnam started off as a reasonable continuation of its foreign policy during the Cold War in general.

Historians can therefore argue that American intervention in 20th century world affairs was an intelligent response to the horrors witnessed during World War Two. Had the United States not entered the war, Hitler might have taken over the entire European continent and succeeded in the establishment of the Third Reich. Similarly, had America not been bullish about facing the communist threat, the Soviets may have launched atomic weapons. Heroism was nothing new for the American psyche and intervention grew out of the necessity of self-protection. At the same time, the United States can be easily criticized for being too arrogant and heavy-handed, elitist and corrupt, overly idealistic in its post-Cold War foreign policy......

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