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M.A.D.
Stands for Mutually Assured Destrucction. A docterine of military stretegy and national security. Full-scale use of nuclear weapons by two or more opposing sides. It would cause destruction of both attackers. A first strike must not be capable of preventing a retaliatory second strike or else mutual destruction is not assured. -
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Units 10 & 11
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Brinkmanship
1947-1991. During the Cold War. Describes the tactic of seeming to approach the verge of war in order to persuade one's opposition to retreat. It was an effective tactic because neither side of a conflict could contemplate mutually assured destruction in a nuclear war. A nuclear deterrence for both the side threatening to pose damage and the country on the 'receiving end'. Ultimately, it worsened the relationship between the USSR and the US. -
Berlin Airlift
1948-1949.1948-1949. At the end of the Second World War, United States' British, and Soviet military forces divided and occupied sections of Germany. They also divided Berlin into four occupation zones; US, British, USSR, British, and French. Berlin was located far into East Germany, which was controlled by the Soviet Union. The US, allied militaries controlled the western zones of Berlin. On June 24th, 1948 Germany closed the entrance into Eastern Germany. Blocking out the allied forces. -
Korean War
June 25, 1950-July 27, 1953. Started when N. Korea invaded S. Korea. US aided S. Korea and the USSR and China aided N. Korea. 2.5 million lives were lost. Ended as a "stalemate". -
Berlin Wall
August 13th, 1961 - November 9th, 1989. Barrier that divided Berlin. The wall completely cut off West Berlin from surrounding East Germany and from East Berlin until government officials opened it in November 1989. The wall included guard towers placed along large concrete walls. It was later known as the 'death strip'. The main purpose of the wall was to keep Western “fascists” from entering East Germany and undermining the socialist state. It limited the allied militaries' control in Germany. -
Cuban Missle Crisis
October 14th 1962 - October 28th, 1962. It was a 13-day confrontation between the United States and the Soviet Union concerning Soviet ballistic missiles deployment in Cuba. In a TV address on October 22, 1962, President John Kennedy (1917-63) notified Americans about the presence of the missiles, explained his decision to enact a naval blockade around Cuba and made it clear the U.S. was prepared to use military force if necessary to neutralize this perceived threat to national security. -
9/11
September 11, 2001. Was a series of four coordinated terrorist attacks by the Islamic terrorist group Al-Qaeda on the United States. Two airplanes crashed in New York, NY. One I each World Trade Center. A third plane hit the Pentagon just outside Washington, DC. A fourth plane crashed in a field in Pennsylvania. Over 3,000 people were killed during the attacks in New York City and Washington, D.C. The attack devastated the United States. -
War On Terror
September 11, 2001 - present day. U.S. President George W. Bush first used the term "War on Terror" on 20 September 2001. The Bush administration and the western media have since used the term to argue a global military, political, legal, and conceptual struggle against both organizations designated terrorist and regimes accused of supporting them.
