The Arms Race

1. Read Source 12. What methods do you think Dulles had in mind to 'liberate captive peoples' without a war?
Dulles thought that in order to liberate captive peoples without a war they should make policies short of war. For example he set up a network of anti-Communist alliances around the world. The South-East Asia Treaty Organisation (SEATO) was formed in 1954. Also, the Central Treaty Organisation (CENTO) was formed in 1955.


2. Look at Source 13. Would you agree that the Communist world was encircled? Explain your answer.
I do not agree that the Communist world was encircled. The USSR only felt threatened by these policies/alliances therefore they wanted to do something about it quick because the USSR and the USA were having an arms race at the time and they didn't like each other one bit, they were enemies. They saw them as having a more aggressive purpose something they didn't really see before with the policy of Containment. Therefore the USSR had accused the USA of trying to encircle the Communist world.

3. Carefully examine the verticle timeline on page 343. Then look back at Source 12. Do you think the development of nuclear weapons was what Dulles might have had in mind?
The timeline on page 343 shows the rapidly growing obtainment of weapons the USSR and the US race to have to outgrow each other. I do not think that the development of nuclear weapons was what Dulles had in mind. Dulles did not believe that war was the answer to liberating the captive people, or getting rid of the communism. He said that liberating the captive people, did not mean war. He believed in taking a different approach by creating different policies around the USSR. The development of nuclear weapons only gives the US and the USSR something to start a war. The nuclear weapons would only lead to violence and war which Dulles believed was not the way to solve the problem.

4. Look at Source 16. What is the Soviet cartoon saying about the U-2 plane?
Source 16 shows Eisenhower looking through a telescope/the U-2 Plane at CCCP. CCCP is the USSR (Union of Soviet Socialist Republics) in Russian (Союз Советских Социалистических Республик.) The Soviet Cartoon is saying that the U-2 Plane was a way for America to spy on the USSR. Eisenhower is holding the telescope while also wearing a spectacle. This helps portray the message the Soviets were trying to get across, being that the US was being sneaky and spying on the USSR by using its U-2.

5. Read the Factfile on page 344. Explain why the USSR was so angry about the US spy flights.
The USSR was so angry about the US spy flights because the plane they had been using, called the U-2, had sophisticated listening devices and such powerful cameras that it could read a newspaper on the ground from 23,000 meters. In conclusion, U-2 spying flights kept the Americans fully informed about Soviet weapons technology through the late 1950s. This of course angered the Soviets extremely since the US and the USSR were having and arms race and constantly trying to out- weaponize each other.


6. How would the USA justify this violation of Soviet territory?
The USA would justify this violation of Soviet territory by making the point that the Soviet Union had also been using spies which is just as bad as violating the Soviet territory. Either way both the countries were going behind the other's back trying to obtain secret information to benefit themselves.

7. If the USSR had had U-2 planes, do you think it would have used them? Why?
I do not think that if the USSR had the U-2 planes they would have used them. The USSR preferred to use human spies like Rudolf Abel. Also, the US had a hold of short-range missiles that could hit the USSR in minutes. Either way if the USSR had wanted to use their U-2 planes, it would have been shot down by the US very quickly.

8. Look at Source 17. Why do you think the USA had missiles based in Europe?
The USA had missiles based in Europe because the theory was that such weapons made them secure. If both the USSR and the USA had missiles based, then the enemy would not dare attack first, because it knew that, if it did, the other would strike back before its bombs had even landed and it too would be destroyed, it would be suicidal. Therefore by having nuclear weapons deterred the other side from attacking first keeping them secure. This policy became known as MAD.

9. Define the term 'nuclear deterrent' in not more than 20 words.
A nuclear deterrent is the nuclear weapons possessed by a country with the idea that it would discourage an enemies attack.