Looking back over the centuries representing American history, it is easy to call the great military negotiations representing the great wars of this country. From World War II to the Cold War to Korea to World War I, the United States engaged in many military operations and emerged victorious in all but a few. But one of the strangest, longest-running wars the United States has entered is the so-called "Cold War". In many modern American countries, the Cold War has been a reality for decades. The reason for the cold war was that there was no battlefield, no troops deployed, no physical statistics and no major discussions should be reported. Instead it was a long period of silent animosity between the United States and the Soviet Union that lasted from the end of World War II until the early 1990's. Ironically, the Cold War grew in our relationship with the Soviet Union during World War II, which was a friendly relations. But the seeds of “conflict” were there at the end of that terrible war. With the advent of nuclear technology, the idea of a "great power" was born. This did not cause controversy until the Soviet Union itself launched the bombing and there was a long cold stand when both nations trained thousands of these weapons to warn each other never to consider firing those weapons. It was a hotly contested competition that lasted nearly fifty years and created a struggle for both economies. Both countries had to maintain their own "equilibrium" with nuclear weapons, so neither country has gained more than one power and given the military a fair go. This was a strange idea because both countries had ample weapons to destroy the world many times but still insisted on “equality” throughout the Cold War. It was clear that no war between the Soviet Union and the United States could be tolerated. The potential effect of such weapons was potentially devastating to life on earth. But no country was willing to lay down its arms and start a peace process with another. So the weapons kept blazing, day after day, year after year, for fifty years. So instead of waging war directly, both countries are fighting each other in smaller world wars. The Soviet Union, in cooperation with China, happily contributed to the humiliating loss of Vietnam in the United States. But the United States then turned its back on the Afghan Mujahideen which led to the defeat of the Soviet Union in its occupation of that country. From representative wars, air racing, and occasional confrontations such as the Cuban Missile Crisis, the Cold War continued for decades to test the will and determination of both countries to never look back and offer another chance. Pressure on the economies of the two countries finally had a devastating effect in the early 1990's, especially in the Soviet Union as pressure to stabilize the expensive and fruitless war forced the Soviet economy to collapse and the empire to disintegrate. The United States had won the cold war with a will full of tolerance and forced rejection. This is not often the case with the American spirit but is what the Soviets learned from their own tragedy not to explore. Hopefully no other “superpowers” will ever think they are equipped to explore it again.
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