Cold war, pt 1

Notas do Editor

1. At the end of WWII in Europe- V-E Day: May 8th, 1945- The Soviet Union occupies the eastern half of Europe while the British, French, and Americans occupy the western half.--Not surprisingly, these two groups had very different plans for Europe and different visions for the world.---What are the ideological differences between the two?----Free market vs. Communist----Democratic vs. Communist----Freedom vs. power----Do not make the mistake of morally equivocating the two.
2. Stalin wanted to extend Soviet power. He also had an interest in creating a buffer for the USSR.
3. The new American president was Harry S. Truman who takes office in April 1945 after Roosevelt dies. He had been veep for 82 days.- Truman was relatively untested, had been a haberdasher, got elected to the Senate with the backing the Kansas City Pendergast political machine and was thought to be controllable by the Democratic leadership. They were wrong. They underestimated him.- Truman was, however, a pretty upright guy with strong convictions.-- He was the only elected official to attend Pendergast’s funeral.
4. --He was rarely contacted by FDR and never really consulted about anything.---As a result, Truman had very little knowledge about what was going on. He didn’t know anything about the existence of the atomic bomb project until after he was sworn in.--Truman understood Stalin and his intentions in a way that FDR did not. Roosevelt’s approach toward Stalin actually appeared naïve to Truman.
5. The new British Prime Minister is Clement Attlee.- Churchill was always more anti-Stalin than FDR was. FDR was completely wrong about Stalin.-- FDR explained that "I just have a hunch that Stalin is not that kind of a man" and reasoned "I think that if I give him everything I possibly can and ask for nothing from him in return, noblesse oblige, he won't try to annex anything and will work with me for a world of democracy and peace."
6. The new British Prime Minister is Clement Attlee.- Churchill was always more anti-Stalin than FDR was. FDR was completely wrong about Stalin.-- FDR explained that "I just have a hunch that Stalin is not that kind of a man" and reasoned "I think that if I give him everything I possibly can and ask for nothing from him in return, noblesse oblige, he won't try to annex anything and will work with me for a world of democracy and peace."
7. At the Potsdam conference, the three leaders (Churchill at the beginning and then Attlee) meet to hammer out post-war issues.- It became clear there was an impasse. Truman wanted to expand democracy, freedom and free trade and Stalin did not.-- Truman also wanted to economically take advantage of the world situation to America’s advantage.
8. Eventually, Truman settles on the policy of containment.- It was apparent that eastern Europe was lost to the Soviet Union and nothing short of war would get it back. While Communism couldn’t be rolled back, it could be contained where it was and that the goal to keep it from spreading.--To this end, Truman enunciates the Truman Doctrine: Truman stated the Doctrine would be "the policy of the United States to support free people who are resisting attempted subjugation by armed minorities or by outside pressures."
9. Marshall Plan- Think of the Treaty of Versailles in reverse. Rather than punish damaged nations, you help them.-- Massive economic aid is given to western nations to get them back on their feet and reestablish their economies.$13B in aid.
10. Later leads to the Berlin Airlift- 277,000 flights over 327 days deliver 2.3m tons of food and supplies to West Berlin after Stalin closes off the roads and rail.- First big test of Western resolve. Stalin loses.
11. This is Uncle WigglyWings. His is a GREAT story that will warm your heart better than purified Hallmark card concentrate.
12. Creation of NATOBelgium, Denmark, France, Great Britain, Iceland, Italy, Luxmbourg, Netherlands, Norway, and Portugal.
13. China has two power blocs:the Nationalists led by Chiang Kai-shek…
14. … and the Communists led by Mao Tsetung (Tse-tung, Zedong, that guy).- The struggle between the two groups had been ongoing for years with the Nationalists being the recognized government.---They cooperated during WW2 against the Japanese, but go back to fighting when the Japanese are defeated.- The Nationalists were the larger party and force, but suffered from cruelty and corruption that lost them the support of the populace.---The desperation of the people lead them more to the Communists.Another factor is that more of the Nationalist troops were killed during the war than were Communists, which weakened them.
15. Mao also played a wicked game of ping-pong that Chiang just couldn’t match.
16. - The U.S. sent a lot of military and economic aid to the Nationalists, but the line wasn’t so clearly drawn as in Europe.- Eventually, the Nationalist government falls and Chiang Kai-Shek and his supporters flee to the island of Taiwan and set up a government in exile.--- Taiwan is still a touchy subject for the Chi-coms who regard the country of Taiwan as a breakaway province.
17. The north becomes dominated by the Communists and the south becomes a democratic republic by 1948.---The North is led by Kim Il Sung. --- If you lived in North Korea, you’d see this image in your sleep. Mainly because you would also see it everywhere when you were awake.
18. Younger Kim Il-Sung.
19. China invades into NK against the UN forces because, in part, they wanted a buffer.---Also worth bearing in mind that the PRC was not on the UNSC – it was Taiwan.--- Had very good battlefield discipline. Marched only at night, were camoed by 0530 and didn’t move when planes were overhead. All this was to avoid detection by UN aerial recon.
20. MiG Alley, where Russian-built (and often Soviet-flown) MiG 15s did battle with…
21. U.S. F-86 Sabres.--- the Soviets didn’t admit to their pilots flying MiG’s since that would make them an official combatant in the war, which they didn’t want to admit either.--- the Soviet pilots were disguised as North Koreans.
22. Creates a controversy between Truman and MacArthur---MacArthur wants to expand the war and invade China, up to and including the use of nuclear weapons.--- Truman doesn’t want to do this for a variety of reasons. MacArthur, however, not-so-privately pursues the matter and also tries to get prominent congressmen to intervene.-------This is a no-no. The military is subservient to the civilian authorities and MacArthur was trying to go over the Commander-in-Chief’s head. So Truman fires him.
23. Rock Star Kim! Personally, I’m glad he’s dead.
24. The new leader, Kim Jong-Il’s son, Kim Jong-Un. Like his father, waging a never-ending war against hair just above the ears.