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Conclusion





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.


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