Cold War Outline
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Kennedy Intensifies the Cold War
JFK was determined to succeed where he believed Eisenhower had failed.
Critical of his predecessor for holding down defense spending and apparently allowing the soviet union to open up a dangerous lead in ICBMs, Kennedy sought to warn the nation of its peril and lead it to victory in the cold ear
In his inaugural address, he sounded the alarm
From the day he took office, JFK gave foreign policy top priority
He focused his foreign policy in the senate, gaining a seat on the foreign relations committee and publishing a book of speeches, The Strategy of Peace
His appointments reflected his determination to win the cold war
Dean Rusk headed the senate department
McGeorge Bundy, dean of Harvard college, became national security adviser
The cold war came down to the test of whether the united states wand the democratic world are fundamentally tougher and more purposeful in the defense of our vital interests than they are in the pursuit of global ambitions
Flexible response
The first goal of the JFK administration was to build up the nations armed forces
The united states thus opened a missile gap in reverse, creating the possibility of a successful American first strike
The administration augmented conventional military strength
He expanded the special forces unit at fort bragg, North Carolina, and insisted, over army objections, that it adopt a distinctive green beret as a symbol of its elite status
The purpose of this buildup was to create an alternative to Eisenhowers policy of massive retaliation
Instead of responding to communist moves with nuclear threats, the US could now call on a wide spectrum of force
The new strategy of flexible response meant the united States could choose among several operational plans
The danger was that such a powerful arsenal might tempt the new administration to test its strength against the soviet union
Crisis over berlin
The first confrontation came in Germany since 1958, when soviet premier Khrushchev had been threatening to sign a peace treaty that would put access to the isolated western zones of Berlin under the control of East Germany
JFK and Khrushchev focused on Berlin as the Key issue
The climax came sooner then either man expected
Kennedy