Hans J. Morgenthau once proclaimed
that “men do not fight because they have arms” On
the contrary, “they have arms because they deem it
necessary to fight.” “Only two nations – the
United States and the Soviet Union – had the
military strength, the ideological conviction, and
the political will to fight in the Cold War.”
(Jones 54) The massive arms build up was a necessary
part of the Cold War even though it was a waste of
a large amount of money and resources. If the Cold
War had not taken place, a conflict between two
superpowers – the United States and the Soviet
Union- could have caused a “worldwide holocaust.”
(Jones 79) The U.S. constantly stayed ahead in the
massive arms race insuring that a nuclear war
would not erupt. The Cold War ended in 1991 along
with the collapse of the Soviet Union. “By the end
of the Cold War both superpowers had massive
atomic arsenals and shared equal insecurity under
the regime of Mutual Assured Destruction, a
situation that left the Soviet Union no better off
than before and that clearly marked a decline in
American power.” (Hogan 77) The
massive arms build up was a necessary part of the
Cold War even though it was a waste of a large
amount of money and resources, but without it
there would have been a “worldwide holocaust.”
(Jones 79) The total cost of the cold was from 1948-
1991 was $13.1 trillion. Three atomic reactors
were used to produce Uranium 235, a rare form of
Uranium, and an even rarer element, Plutonium,
which was used in an explosive device. If the arms
race had not taken place, and another nation had
just given up and attacked with what they had at
the time, a nuclear war could have meant an end to
a nation and all of the inhabitants living in it.
