The Cold War Essay -- American History Papers

The Cold War When World War II in Europe finally came to an end on May 7, 1945, a parvenu war was just beginning. The Cold War denoting the open yet restrictedrivalry that developed between the United States and the Soviet Union andtheir respective allies, a war fought on political, economic, andpropaganda fronts, with limited recourse to weapons, largely because offear of a nuclear holocaust.1 This term, The Cold War, was first used bypresidential advisor Bernard Baruch during a congressional debate in 1947. information operations dominating this war have been conducted by theSoviet State Security Service (KGB) and the Central Intelligence Agency(CIA), representing the two power blocs, East and West respectively, thatarose from the aftermath of World War II. Both have conducted a variety ofoperations from large outmatch military intervention and subversion to covertspying and surveillance missions. They have known success and failure. TheBay of Pigs debacle was soon followed by Kennedys ft manipulation of the Cubanmissile crisis. The decisions he made were helped immeasurably by information gathered from reconnaissance photos of the high altitude planeU-2. In understanding these agencies immediately I will show you how theseagencies came about, discuss past and present operations, and talk aboutsome of their tools of the trade.Origin of the CIA and KGB The CIA was a direct result of American intelligence operations duringWorld War II. President Franklin D. Roosevelt recognized the need tocoordinate intelligence to protect the interests of the United States. In1941, he appointed William J. Donovan to the head of the duty ofStrategic Services (OSS) with headquarters in London. Fo... ...or theenemy and ally alike so as to be able to understand their capabilities andshortcomings without intelligence agencies. The CIA and KGB by themselvescannot picture peace. With the knowledge supplied by each to its leaders,intelligent decisions can be made in the wo rlds best interest. Moreover,the status quo and power base remains relatively changeless with the East andWest on opposing sides. There can never be true and utterly complete peace,these organizations will continue to exist remote ignorant ideals of thepublic for peaceful coexistence.Works Cited1Encyclopedia Britannia index page 237 2KGB/CIA, Jonathon Bloch page 123KGB/CIA, Jonathon Bloch page 21 4CIA The Inside Story, Andrew Tully page113 5CIA The Inside Story, Andrew Tully page 119 6General doubting Thomas R.Phillips, U.S. Army, retired. 7Bay of Pigs, Peter Wyden page 59