April 25-29

[3Kaitlyn]

Monday: notes

• The "West"
• The "East"
• Goals of the US 
  • Policy of Containment (Stop the spread of Communism)
  • Promote Democracy throughout the world, especially in Asia and Africa
  • Wanted to promote open markets for US goods to prevent another depression
• Goals of the USSR
  • create a greater security for itself
    • lost tens of millions of people in WWII and Stalin's purges
    • feared a strong Germany
  • Establish defensible borders
  • Encourage friendly governments on its borders
  • Spread communism around the world
• "Iron Curtain" Speech - Winston Churchill
  • the communist and anti-communist places in Europe were split by an "Iron Curtain"
• Domino Effect - if one country falls to communism, they all will
• Policy of Containment - stop communism from spreading
• Truman Doctrine - Greece received large amounts of arms and supplies for help against the guerrillas and beat the communists by 1949 (Greece and Turkey were the only countries in Eastern Europe that didn't fall to communism)
• Marshall Plan
  • massive economic aid plan for Europe to help it recover from the damage caused by the war
  • Motives
    • helping Europe to recover economically would provide markets for American goods, benefiting American industry
    • a prosperous Europe would be better able to resist the spread of communism
• Brinkmanship - US has to be willing to go to the brink of war and hope that USSR backs down (Cuban missile crisis)
• Massive Retaliation/Mutual Deterrence/Mutual Assured Destruction 

Tuesday: notes

• NATO
  • Western nations formed the North Atlantic Treaty Organization to coordinate their defense against Russia
  • defensive alliance
• Warsaw Pact 
  • USSR and its allies
  • defensive alliance
• CIA (Central Intelligence Agency 1947-Present) vs KGB(Komitet Gosudarstvennoy Bezopasnosti/Committee for State Security 1954-1991)
  • spying
• Stalin dies in 1953
• De-Stalinization
• Detente
  • easing of tensions between US, China, and Soviet Union
• Mikhail Gorbachev Comes to Power in USSR 1985
• Prestroika and Glasnost 1985
  • Restructuring of the Soviet economy and political system (More democracy, free elections)
  • More openness of the Soviet government and for it's people (free speech and press)
• USSR's first atomic test 1945
• Nuclear Powers of the World
  • US
  • Russia
  • UK
  • France
  • China
    • Not supposed to have them:
      • India 
      • Pakistan
      • North Korea
      • Israel
      • Iran

Wednesday: notes

• Nuclear Power Treaties/Organizations
  • Nuclear Test Ban Treaty 
    • underground nuclear testing
  • Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty
    • prevent the spread of nuclear weapons and weapon technology
    • promote cooperation in the peaceful uses of nuclear energy
    • further the goal of achieving nuclear disarmament and general and complete disarmament 
  • Anti-Ballistic Missile - US/USSR
    • limited weapons that would seek out and destroy nuclear weapons once launched
    • in the 80s, President Ronald Reagan announces the Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI)
    • US withdraws in 2002 under George W. Bush
      • withdrew due to missile defense system
  • Ballistic Missile Defense System 
    • designed to counter any nuclear missile attack on the US or allies
  • SALT (Strategic Arms Limitations Treaty) I Treaty - US/USSR
    • froze the number of strategic ballistic missile launchers at existing levels
    • limited new submarine-launched ballistic missile
  • SALT II
    • Signed but never ratified by Congress
    • Due to Soviet Union's invasion of Afghanistan in 1979
  • Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty
    • Signed by President Bill Clinton
    • Not ratified by the Senate
    • banned underground nuclear testing
    • We don't know if other countries will abide by it 
  • International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)
    • watchdog organization - inspecting countries' nuclear weapons
  • INF
    • limit nuclear weapons
  • START (Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty)
    • START I
      • largest and most complex arms control treaty in history
      • resulted in the removal of about 80% of all strategic 
    • SORT (Strategic Offensive Reductions Treaty)
      • between US and Russia
      • Stockpile of both deployed and reserve nuclear weapons was to be cut in half by 2012
      • goal was achieved in 2007
    • New START (2011)
      • Signed by President Obama and former Russian Medvedev
      • The number of strategic nuclear missile launchers will be reduced by half 
      • A new inspection and verification system will be established
      • Lasts until 2021
    • United Nations
• The First Berlin Crisis (1948-1949)
  • Germany was divided into four zones (British, Russian, French, US)
    • we wanted to divide Berlin (in the Russian zone) they blockaded Berlin
    • we airlifted supplies in - Stalin ended the blockade

Thursday: work day

Friday: work day