The Cold War was a result of tensions between the United States and the Soviet Union to dominate the world’s political power and ideologies to protect their national securities. The two ideologies clashed, but the U.S and the U.S.S.R never had combated each other. This was how the Cold War received its name. If the U.S did not use the containment policy for the Cold War, the U.S could have turned this war into "hot war,” which implied combating in the field with the U.S.S.R. Following WWII, the United States was the only country in the world that had atomic bombs (“Who’s Who The Allies”). The United States had the nuclear power to destroy the Soviet Union easily since the United States had proven its military power in forcing Japan to surrender in WWII. However, the United States could not take such action because it would require the support of the people. Because of the United States’ democracy system, the United States took too long to make decisions and when its leader realized the U.S.S.R. was a threat it was too late to take “hot war” action. I believe between 1945 and 1949 were the only years that the United States could have attacked the Soviet Union and win successfully (destroying the Soviet quickly). According to CNN, the Soviet Union exploded its first atomic device in August 1949; this Soviet bomb ended America’s nuclear monopoly (CNN). Therefore, the NSC 68 agreed that the best decision dealing with the Soviet Union was to be alert and to use the containment policy (May).

Although there was not enough evidence to convince the public for the need of a bloody battle, British Prime Minister Churchill, George Kennan, NSC 68, and Truman would argue that the two systems could not coexist. In 1946, Churchill recognized the iron curtain in Europe and he did not want the United States to return to isolation. The United States needed to work with Western Europe to fight the Soviet Union (Churchill Speech). Western Europe needed to maintain the free world because the Western European market was critical for the United States economic stability. This market was the only open market for the United States. In 1943, Kennan noticed that the Soviet Union was no longer the United States ally, and its ideology was to dominate the world, which was dangerous to the free world. If the Soviet took over the world with the exception of the United States, then the United States would have to fight everybody.

Moreover, in the Yalta Conference, Stalin agreed to allow free election in Eastern Europe, but he did not and Eastern Europe fell under communism. Shortly after WWII, the United States’ troops quickly pulled out of Germany, and that gave Stalin the advantage of taking over Western Europe since this region was economically and militarily severely weak. Britain sent a letter to the United States informing the U.S that England could not support Greece/Turkey, which also implied all of Western Europe. The United States was the only country at that time that had the power to intervene concerning the U.S.S.R and Greece’s and Turkey’s affairs (class lecture and discussion). Because Britain had problems of its own, its isolation led to Stalin’s advantage, which gave him the motive to expand communism and tested the United States will and power. Recall that the United States and the Soviet Union were Allies, who stood together side by side with Great Britain (a strong nation for thousands of years) to fight the Axis powers (Germany, Italy, and Japan). However, there was mistrust between the United States and the Soviet Union. One vivid proof was that the United States did not consult with U.S.S.R. before attacking Japan. In addition, George Kennan wrote in the Article X that Stalin believed that capitalist theory was bad and its seeds would be its own destruction. Likewise, the United States did not trust the Soviet Union. General Patton (the genius general in WWII) would agree with Kennan that the Soviet Union could not be trusted. According to Stanley P. Hirshson, the author of General Patton: a Soldier's Life, Patton believed that Russians, Chinamen, or Japanese were difficult to understand. Patton said, "I have no particular desire to understand them, except to ascertain how much lead or iron it takes to kill them....the Russian has no regard for human life and is an all out son of a bitch, barbarian, and chronic drunk" (650).

If the Soviet Union and the United States did not intervene with other countries, then the Cold War would not happen. Unfortunately, history had shown that the Soviet Union made many moves, so the United States responded to those events in order to contain the Soviet Union. The article NSC 68 predicted that the Soviet Union would take over Western Europe, the Middle East, Canada, and eventually the United States, which threatened the United States’ interests and national security (May). The United States felt that it was better for its nation and people to prevent the Soviet Union from spreading communism to the free world rather than to cure those who were under the Soviet’s control.

Both superpowers could destroy each other and nobody would win. Therefore, this situation, many events and decisions before and after WWII led into the Cold War. Both superpowers felt their national securities and interests were threatened, and that they lacked trust in each other. Therefore, building and possessing nuclear weapons empowered the countries to ensure and protect their interests in the world. The nuclear weapons were one of the main reasons why the Cold War even existed and that it took such a long period of time to be over. Is the Cold War over? To some people, the Cold War was over when the U.S.S.R collapsed. However, I believe that the Cold War is inevitable and it is not over yet. China could be the next Soviet Union.

Works Cited

Class Lecture and Discussion
“CNN Cold War- Knowledgeable Bank: Timeline.” CNN. http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/cold.war/kbank/timeline.
D'Este, Carlo. Patton: A Genius For War. New York : HarperCollins, 1995.
Hirshson, Stanley P. General Patton : a soldier’s life. New York : HarperCollins, 2002.
Kennan, George. “The Article X.” American Diplomacy 1900-1950. Chicago: The Univ. Of Chicago Press, 1951.
May, Ernest R. ed. American Cold War Strategy: Interpreting NSC 68. Boston: Bedford Books of St. Martin’s Press, 1993.
“Modern History Sourcebook: Winston S. Churchill: “Iron Curtain Speech.”” Internet Modern History Sourcebook. March 13, 2005. .
The Avalon Project. Truman Doctrine. March 13, 2005. .
"Who's Who The Allies." The P38/Lost Squaron Museum. March 11, 2005. < http://www.p38lessonplan.com/whoallies.htm#Patton >.