Cold War Essay

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Politicians and citizens alike during the early 1970s viewed d tente as the first step towards ending the Cold War. This agreement to a cooling off of East-West tensions, initiated by U.S. President Nixon and Soviet Premier Brezhnev, gave hope for the first time that the two superpowers could coexist. In addition to political acknowledgement of each other s spheres of influence, d tente consisted of armaments limitations and reductions agreements starting with SALT in 1972. Moreover, economic ties began to formulate during this era as the USSR allowed Eastern European markets to be opened to Western imports. However, the Cold War was a long way from being over. Despite the apparent truths between the superpowers, a combination of several factors prolonged the Cold War.

First, as long as the ideologies behind the two governments continued to exist as they were, the Cold War could never come to a close. More important than any other factor, either the U.S. or the USSR had to change their tenets and practices before the Cold War could come to a close. Both still sought to spread their influence around the globe, despite any agreements made in respect for each other s spheres of influence. As long as the two superpowers continued in their competition for influence worldwide, the Cold War would continue to wage on. Therefore, it seems as if that from the beginning a misunderstanding existed between the U.S. and the USSR over d tente. The U.S. believed that d tente prevented the USSR from challenging it outside its own spheres of influence. The U.S. conceded recognition of Soviet hegemony in Eastern Europe and in turn expected the USSR to respect U.S. predominance in areas such as the Middle East, Africa and Latin America. The Soviets, however, saw d tente as only a relaxation in relations with the U.S. (Keylor) The USSR saw competition for influence, particularly in the Third World, as an acceptable and necessary part of Soviet foreign policy and well within the provisions of d tente. The Soviets felt justified in this approach since the U.S. had been preventing them from peacekeeping and expansion into the Middle East. As a result, regional conflicts continued to hamper the relationship between the superpowers. The Arab-Israeli conflict served to demonstrate just how volatile d tente really was. The two superpowers continued to arm and support their clients in the region, viewing the complex tangle of rivalries there through the lenses of the Cold War. (Keylor, p.396)

In addition to competition in the Middle East, Africa in the late 1970s began to transform into an area of strategic competition. The response of the United States to the escalating Soviet involvement in Africa underwent a gradual transformation in the course of the second half of the 1970s. (Keylor, p.422) At first, the U.S. was reluctant to involve itself in Africa, as it was still recovering from Vietnam. But when Soviet backed actions in Libya and Zaire threatened to undermine the security of pro-Western regimes on the continent and jeopardize American access to their strategic resources, the U.S. was left with no choice except to compete with the USSR by increasing its aid and assistance to dependent African states. (Keylor, p.422)

A third frontier where competition increased was in Latin America. In a 1983 speech, President Reagan addressed the issue of Soviet influence spreading so close to American borders. The problem is that an aggressive minority has grown in its [Latin America s] lot with the Communists, looking to the Soviets and their own Cuban henchmen to help them pursue political change through violence. Nicaragua, right here, has become their base. (Reagan, Document 77) Reagan looked to abolish Soviet influence in Central America by strengthening relations with U.S. anti-Communists allies in the region. Thus, it is clearly visible that so long as the U.S. and the USSR continued to engage in such regional competition, the Cold War could not come to an end.

Aside from regional conflicts, another factor that rekindled the hatred between the superpowers was the renewal of the arms race in the late 1970s. USSR testing of a MIRVed missile and deployment of a new long-range bomber, the Backfire, raised concerns amongst U.S. leaders about their nation s national security. (Keylor, p.385) Armaments tensions further heated when Soviet and American delegates failed to reach an agreement at the Intermediate-range Nuclear Forces (INF) talks. ...

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