The Cold War: An Assessment of Strategy
Abstract
The first Cold War is over. This conflict between ideologically opposed superpowers represented a classic war of resources. Leverage was gained by the side who could introduce a better technology, create a new political or economic alliance, or maintain the national economic base necessary to sustain a high technology force structure in the nuclear era. The major difference between this Cold War and traditional wars was that the military instrument of power was held in check by nuclear technology and its associated delivery vehicles. Moreover, nuclear warfare imposed a set of constraints never realized in past conflict. The consequence of a nuclear exchange between the superpowers was manageable at first, but rapidly escalated until the means clearly did not justify the ends. The fact that a nuclear exchange was avoided is a tribute to proper strategy. The U.S. grand strategy of the Cold War was 'Containment'. Just how to contain the Soviet Union, it's ideology and it's military force, was the ultimate challenge of U.S. strategists. Consequently, six distinctly different containment strategies were advanced to meet the national objectives. Five of the six, including The New Look, Flexible Response, and Detente, were defensive in nature and did not sufficiently provide the means to achieve their objectives. The final strategy- Reagan's 'peace through strength' initiative - was the first offensive strategy properly resourced.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Apr 01, 1993
- Accession Number
- ADA283125
Entities
People
- Chris T. Anzalone
Organizations
- Air War College