War: From World War II to 2002 Essay -- essays research papers fc

War: From World War II to 2002 The end of World War II was the spawn of a new war that would continue for over fifty years: The Cold War. Technically this war was not a fifty-year physical confrontation between two countries but more of a political confrontation between the world’s two remaining super-powers. The dropping of the atomic bomb in 1945 on Hiroshima and Nagasaki was the beginning of a new arsenal that would lead to the development of nuclear weapons.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  After Japan and Germany were defeated in World War II, a solutions to prevent the future event of a third world war were taken by the establishment of the United Nations to outlaw all private wars. Another right of the United Nations was to punish those villains that were guilty of war crimes against humanity. The problem with this type of procedure is that the winners of a combat situation, whether right or wrong, are the ones that get to decide who is on the wrong side of the law and who is not.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The atom bomb, which was mentioned earlier as the â€Å"problem solver† of World War II, would prove to lead to a larger dilemma. Prior to the atomic bomb and later the hydrogen bomb, it was thought that any weapon could be defended against. The problem with the communist countries of Russia was their doctrine of totalitarianism.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The main focus of the time was building an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), and the only countries with the resources were Russia and the United States. Russia shocked the world with the launch of Sputnik in 1957 followed by the first orbital flight around the world. It appeared that the Soviets were going to beat the Americans in the â€Å"Space Race† and reap all of the benefits from it as well: Reconnaissance, surveillance, communication, and delivery platforms for weapons.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Russian’s philosophy was built on the teachings of Clausewitz in that they maintained that war was a political means, peace was only a step towards war, and that conflict is inevitable. The Soviet Union was in no hurry to attack any country, but the state did engage in other types of warfare, such as political, economical, and psychological. The United States formed the Counter-Intelligence Agency as a means to resist the communist state.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The rest of the ... ...ed force was put together as a show of more than just observers. Forces were only dispatched if the host country approved them, and although they were authorized to carry arms there were strict rules that had to be followed. The UNEF could only use the weapons for self-defense, force could not be used to carry out their mission of observation, and they were not allowed to interfere with the countries administration. The UNEF would be expected to govern all of the United Nations actions after it’s establishment and for the most part has done so. Although the United Nation’s peacekeeping methods have not ended all threats to every country on the global front, the methods are a step in the right direction to a solution that provides every land with a peaceful resolution. WORKS CITED Brodie, Bernard and Fawn. From Crossbow to H-Bomb. (Bloomington, Indiana:Indiana University, 1973). Chap 9-11 Keegan, John. Mask of Command. (New York, New York: Viking Penguin, 1988). Conclusion Preston, Richard A., Alex Roland, and Sydney F. Wise. Men In Arms: A History of Warfare and its interrelationships With Western Society. (Belmont, California:Wadsworth/ Thomson Learning, 2001). Chap 19-22