The Cold War and American Foreign Policy - Essay Example

The Cold War and American Foreign Policy Three Prominent Events That Happened During The Cold War The cold war began as geopolitical confrontation between countries in the Western block led by the US and its allies and the Eastern bloc led by the Soviet Union and its allies. In as much as the precise dates for the beginning and the end of the cold war are not widely agreed upon, the ware became clearer after the World War II, with growing military and political tensions between the West and the East (Murray, 27). There were no any direct military wars between the two factions, but the differences in their policies manifested in their reactions and responses to large-scale wares involving their allies. For instance, regional wars in Afghanistan, Korea, and Vietnam heightened the differences and tensions between the US and the USSR. Consequently, the cold war shaped the foreign policies of the US as the country prepared to protect itself and its citizens against any potential wars. The first major event that occurred during the cold war is the death of President Franklin D. Roosevelt (FDR). FDR had ben pivotal in creating the Axis alliance that emerged victorious during the World War II (Murray, 53). The Axis alliance brought together the US, the USSR, and the United Kingdom with their allies. There was mutual respect between the three leaders; FDR, Joseph Stalin, and Winston Churchill, which helped to promote good working relations during the World War. However, FDR’s death in April 1945 changed the relations between the three countries and might as well have been the course of the cold War. FDR’s successor, President Harry S. Truman, adopted a different approach in his relations with the East, including the USSR. At this time, the anti-communism stances were developing strongly in the West. President Truman continued his public negative statements about the USSR, worsening the relations between the two countries and their allies (Murray, 77). The second major event during the cold war was the formation of The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), which brought together countries in Europe and the US to form a strong union that would counter the growing influence of the USSR. The original founders of NATO are The US, United Kingdom, Portugal, France, Italy, Denmark, Norway, Canada, Iceland, Luxembourg, Holland, and Belgium (Murray, 115). NATO created a unified force under the US, which was able to counter the influence of the USSR in the East. The other prominent event in the cold war was the enactment of the Mutual Security Act in 1951, under President Harry S. Truman. The Act was a declaration by the US government for collaboration and offering support to other countries in order to free them from the influence of the Soviet Union. The Act was an intentional attempt wade off the influence of the USSR by providing technical, economic, and military aid to countries that were willing to collaborate and align themselves with the US (Murray, 127). This event as significant because it resulted in further strained relations between the USSR and the US as each country sought to exert its influence around the world. 2. Three Of The Most Important Events In American History Of The Last 33 Years The impeachment of President William, (Bill) Jefferson Clinton inn 1998 is one of the significant events that have happened in the recent history of the US. The impeachment process arose from a series of events that ensued following a lawsuit filed by Paula C. Jones in the US District Court of Arkansas on May 6, 1994 (Schippers, 41). Paula alleged that the president had violated her federal civil rights while he was governor of Arkansas and Jones was an employee of the Arkansas state. She sued the then Governor Clinton who had made sexual advances to her in a hotel room in 1991. The court ruled in favor of President Clinton, but Mrs. Jones appealed the case to the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals, but reached settlement wit6h the president before trial commenced. However, one of the would be witnesses in Jones case was Ms. Monica Lewinsky, who had worked as a White house intern. Her confidential conversations with her confidante Ms. Tripp had reached the attorneys in the Jones case (Schippers, 56). Tripp also provided the recorded conversations implicating the President in a sexual relationship with Ms. Lewinsky to Independent Counsel Kenneth W. Starr who was investigating the matter. During initial interrogations, both the President and Lewinsky denied having an affair. However further investigations revealed the president indeed had an affair with Mr. Monica Lewinsky. The president was found to have obstructed justice by requesting Lewinsky to deny the affair in a sworn affidavit and for perjury in Jones Case. The two crimes formed sufficient grounds for Clinton’s impeachment in the House of Representatives. He was, however, acquitted in the Senate and continued to serve as President (Schippers, 64). This event is significant because it represents only the third time in the history of the US that a sitting president faced an impeachment threat. The second major event in recent years is the September 11, 2001 attacks commonly known as 9/11 only eight months after President George W. Washington became President. These were a series of four terrorist attacks initiated by the Al-Qaeda terrorist group in New York City and Washington, D.C. The attacks, in which 2996 people and about $10 billion worth of property lost, is one of the deadliest attacks on US soil in history (Bodden, 46). During the attacks, two airplanes crushed into the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York City, bringing down both towers in two hours. A third plane was crushed into the headquarters of the US department of Defense at the pentagon. A fourth plane crushed at Shanksville, Pennsylvania, but was headed to Washington D.C. The US responded to the attacks by launching a global war on terror that resulted in the Afghanistan invasion and the Iraq War. The third prominent event in recent history of the US is the election of President Barrack Hussein Obama as the 44th president of the US in 2008. He officially assumed office after his inauguration on January 20, 2009. He was also re-elected for a second term, which began in January 2013. The election of President Obama, a Democratic candidate represents a significant movement in the history of the US for various reasons. Firstly, he was the first African American to be elected president. His late father was an African from Kenya with his mother hailing from Hawaii. President Obama is also the first Hawaii-born president (Liu, 63). He is also the first Democratic presidential candidate to win a reelection after President Franklin Roosevelt. Works Cited Bodden, Valerie. The 9/11 Terror Attacks. Mankato, Minn: Creative Education, 2008. Print. Liu, Baodong. The Election of Barack Obama: How He Won. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 2010. Internet resource. Murray, Williamson. The Making of Peace; Rulers, States, and the Aftermath of War. , 2009. Print. Schippers, David, and Alan P. Henry. Sellout: The Inside Story of President Clintons Impeachment. Washington, DC: Regnery Pub, 2001. Print. Read More