WWII and the Cold War: The World's Haunting Past
World war II brought countries together as quickly as it tore them apart, resulting in many conflicts that plagued our countries, regions, and most definitely the entire globe.
Some of these issues were resolved while others remained, leaving scars that will forever taint our world. The complexity of these issues where met with equally complex degrees of “success.” The Cold War and Terrorism are two globalized issues that effects us greatly, and will continue on to in the long run if not dealt with properly. Resulting from World War II they have haunted us and most definitely left their scars on the world, seeing as they have not yet been address properly or solved. After fighting along side each other during WWII against the Axis powers the relationship between the Soviet Union and the US remained tense.
The Americans were cautious of Soviet communism and troubled about the despotic and bloodthirsty rule of Joseph Stalin in Russia. While the Soviets continued on to bear a grudge for the Americans’ decades-long refusal to treat the USSR as a valid part of the international community as well as their delayed entry into World War II, which resulted in the deaths of tens of millions of Russians. In 1946 after the end of the war, all leading powers agreed to follow the policy of “Containment,” where none of the remaining powers could go at war directly at one another. But with the bad blood between the US and the Soviet Union, they worked their way around that policy. The series of events caused between these two counties is called The Cold War. It can be argued that the Cold War in itself is World War III, it nearly destroyed the globe and ruined many countries all over the world, causing great tension modern day.
The Cold War consisted of a series of Proxy-wars. These where wars that where being funded and encouraged by the US and the Soviet Union. The two rivals would have countries turn against each other and fight each other in their own place. It was a race for land, power, wealth, and ego. For example, the Iran-Iraq war was a proxy war caused by the US because of their paranoia that both countries would become communist and no longer be able to trade with the US. It was a very petty, foolish, and rash act on the US’ part.
Then there’s the Korean War, the war that never ended. Again, caused by the US and the Soviet Union, all this and why? It was a race between bear and Eagle to see who can catch the most fish. There was the Warsaw pact, the Truman doctrine, the berlin airlift, the blockade, and so many more. The need to control and decrease the communists, for the US, and the capitalists, for the Soviet Union, got way out of hand. The Cold War had a big effect on the world, and one of the effects of the Cold War that til modern day still globally affects us is Terrorism. Terrorism is something that impacts the world negatively today to a great extent, countless lives have been lost and no one has been able to make a decision that would bring an end to it or even control it.
A prime example of this would be the Iran-Iraq War. Also called the Iran Contra Scandal was brutal. At an attempt to stop communism in Iran and Iraq the US funded weapons to both countries through the black market so that both countries could eliminate the communist threat that was slowly making itself known. The back and forth fighting was brutal, turning families against each other and even forced the involvement of other countries and royalty as well.The United States messed up a lot with this war, whether they’d like to admit it or not, the US is the cause of the heavy tensions between the two countries modern day and for many of the issues between ruling family countries that were either allied or related to the rulers of Iran and Iraq.
This was terrorism at its finest, the Golden Age of Terrorism. After the war ended, there was an overwhelming sense of mutual distrust and enmity between the two countries. The Americans feared that Russia planned to control the world; meanwhile the Russians detested the American officials’ aggressive arrogance and domineering method to international affairs. With such as hostile atmosphere, no one specifically was entirely to blame for the cold war; in fact, some historians believe it was inevitable. Terrorism was a branch of the lasting effects of the Cold War on the world, when two powers crazed countries go at each other head to head, using other countries to fight in their place it was only natural for these radical people to come out and start to retaliate against them.
Terrorism was a form of self-destruct, no body knew who was who at this point and you couldn’t trust anyone and everyone was turning on each other.It was complete chaos and havoc. Mussolini said it best, “War is to man what maternity is to women,” clearly it was to the US and the Soviet Union.
