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The Cold War in global context, 1945-1991 - Expanding the circle of conflict

Q: What is 'Vietnamization'? How did this relate to president Nixon?

It became apparent that the president's plan for 'Vietnamization' - the strengthening of the South Vietnamese military coupled with the withdrawal of American forces - had not revived the fortunes of the South.

7 important questions on The Cold War in global context, 1945-1991 - Expanding the circle of conflict

How did the first phase of the Cold War end?

The first phase of the Cold War ended with the promulgation of the Truman Doctrine and the adoption of the policy of containment as the basis of America's posture toward the USSR.
Abandoning any thought of a possible rollback of the existing Soviet sphere of influence, Western diplomatic and military strategy, led by the US, would now focus on resisting communist expansion around the globe.

What happened in Korea?

After the South Korean army retreated to a small area around the southern coast, MacArthur's forces quickly reversed the tide of battle with a daring amphibious landing some 200 miles behind enemy lines at Inchon, north of Seoul.
Pushing forward on the strength of an ambiguous UN resolution to "take all appropriate measures to insure a stable situation in the whole of Korea," MacArthur's army captured the Northern capital of Pyongyang and, after two months of fighting, approached the border of China.

What did China's intervention show to policy makers in the West?

China's intervention in a war that had been sanctioned by Moscow convinced many policy makers in the West that Beijing was now acting in concert with Soviet foreign policy.

What did the "Red Scare" imply?

During the late 1940s and throughout the 1950s, fear of an alleged global communist conspiracy seriously impaired domestic political freedoms in the US. The "Red Scare" of the early 1950s, fueled in part by heightened anxiety over the apparent failure of American foreign aid to stem the tide of communist revolution around the globe and revelations of espionage and betrayal on the part of prominent Americans, forged a climate of suspicion and recrimination in America.

What did senator Joseph McCarthy do? How did it end for him?

Joseph McCarthy's unsubstantiated allegations of communist infiltration at the US State Department and within the popular entertainment industry led to widespread blacklisting and ruined careers, the hysteria over clandestine communism gripped the country.
In 1954 McCarthy overextended himself when he alleged that the armed forces were saturated by communists. In December 1954 McCarthy's Senate colleagues censured him, but the wave of suspicion and anxiety over national security persisted.

What is "Vietnamization"? How did this relate to president Nixon?

It became apparent that the president's plan for "Vietnamization" - the strengthening of the South Vietnamese military coupled with the withdrawal of American forces - had not revived the fortunes of the South.

What happened to South Vietnam?

Two years after the departure of the last American soldiers in 1973, South Vietnam fell to the communist North.

The question on the page originate from the summary of the following study material:

A Concise History of the World Since 1945 | 9781352010206 | W M Spellman

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