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If you think there was, what one country would you say was the center of the Cold War? I just read a paper saying Germany. It was basically over the decision of what to do with Germany after being defeated. Germany eventually had to be divided and was under the influence of 2, what would become, rival super powers.
Yeah, I would agree with that assessment. It was the heart of Europe, a place where the U.S. and U.S.S.R. butted heads, and it revealed two separate ways of life under the two global powers. With the air lift with food after WWII the place had a history of geo-political tension. In particular, i think that Berlin was the central focus. Perhaps it was because of this that the tearing down of the Berlin Wall became so significant and suggested what would happen in a few years' time with the collapse of the Soviet Union. While Vietnam was the place where the Cold War was most notably manifested in armed conflict, I don't think that it held the same impact from a symbolic point of view. It's one thing if a jungled country on the other side of the world falls to Communism, but another when Communism is creeping right in your backyard.
It could be argued Korea was too. That's when the Cold War first spread to Asia. But definitley agree about Berlin.Here's that article by the way. It's actually a book review/peer review.http://www.h-net.org/reviews/showrev.cgi?path=25035967236740h-net.org has a wealth of information, but it's confusing to navigate. Don't even know how I found the article originally, and I had to look at IE history to add the link here...but I bookmarked it this time.
Ski, I've heard from bits and pieces of programs I've caught on the History Channel (when the remote isn't duct taped to my husband) that at the end of the WW2, we were racing Stalin to get to Berlin not only in hopes of capturing Hitler but also for the same reasons both you have posted. Were we, in fact, trying to be the first on the scene in hopes of capturing Hitler??
Germany, Vietnam, Cuba, and Korea were the most important centers of the Cold War with Israel coming in next. Other areas of significance were Egypt, Cambodia, Iran, Afghanistan, Angola, and Nicaragua. The Cold War was a very widespread global competition that affected millions of people from every walks of life….probably the single most world changing “conflict” next to World War II that spawned it.
Ski, I've heard from bits and pieces of programs I've caught on the History Channel (when the remote isn't duct taped to my husband) that at the end of the WW2, we were racing Stalin to get to Berlin not only in hopes of capturing Hitler but also for the same reasons both you have posted. Were we, in fact, trying to be the first on the scene in hopes of capturing Hitler??
BG, I don't know if we were trying to be first, but we did cooperate with Stalin for the sole reason of defeating the Nazis. (forgot what the meeting was called. Was that the one in Tehran or Yalta?). I read somewhere Churchill was angry after the war because he rightfully thought we were fighting the freedom of Europe and now everyone agreed to let the Soviet Union have a sphere of influence in the Baltics and Eastern Europe and place those countries under another oppressive government.
Yalta ConferenceIt seems like a geo-political situation that comes up every so often when strange bedfellows are made one decade even as they grow to become enemies in the next. Stalin definitely helped the U.S. and Britain during the War as Hitler was the larger threat at the time. Overall, was the USSR a larger threat to the U.S.? To a degree, yes it was. In the same vein, U.S. support of Osama bin Laden in its fight against the USSR has enabled the terrorist to become what he is now. I'm sure we could find many more examples of this kind of thing throughout history if we took time to look.
Phid, a difference with Russia during WWII and the Taliban during the Afghan War was we knew Russia was a threat even back then. It seemed the American and European leaders knew this and handled it very carefully. I don't think we knew the Taliban was going to become the threat that they turned out to be. Perhaps it was because we did not understand then the cultural significance of what winning a war means to a Muslim. I don't think we knew that their leaders and war heroes would be viewed as religious Prophets.
In the same vein, U.S. support of Osama bin Laden in its fight against the USSR has enabled the terrorist to become what he is now.
I don't agree (I don't completely disagree however). Afghanistan's civil war,after the Soviets withdrew, is what brought OBL and the Taliban into power, IMO.
I'm not saying that the U.S. trained OBL a la Johnny Rambo, but it might be the case that but for the U.S. support to him during the Cold War he would not have been a threat in the 90s and beyond. However, I admit I don't know specifically what the U.S. – OBL connection was during the Cold War. Also, I should make a distinction here. I know of nothing to suggest that the U.S. gave aid to the USSR in any way during WWII. Rather, the U.S. may have acted in concert with the USSR to defeat the Nazis....which is something that shouldn't be surprising given the state of the world then. On the other hand, as far as I know the U.S. actively gave arms and/or support to OBL during the Cold War.
I'm not saying that the U.S. trained OBL a la Johnny Rambo, but it might be the case that but for the U.S. support to him during the Cold War he would not have been a threat in the 90s and beyond.
I know. I'm not saying it wasn't, I'm just thinking he came into power moreso because of the civil war and fighting among the warlords.
Also, I should make a distinction here. I know of nothing to suggest that the U.S. gave aid to the USSR in any way during WWII. Rather, the U.S. may have acted in concert with the USSR to defeat the Nazis....which is something that shouldn't be surprising given the state of the world then. On the other hand, as far as I know the U.S. actively gave arms and/or support to OBL during the Cold War.
I thought the US and UK did supply arms to Russia. Perhaps that's incorrect?
