The growth of the U. S. Military Research Paper

The growth of the U. S. Military - Research Paper Example In the 21st century, the American army has the largest defense budget in the world. The military makes use of advanced technology and is greatly organized. The military has participated actively in multiple wars since its inception. However, this paper will focus on the contribution of the Cold War and Vietnam War to the growth of the American military and highlight the current situation and organization of the army. The Cold War As the world war reached its conclusion, Russia had managed to control the Eastern Europe while the United States had gained control of the west. The west started a slow withdrawal from establishing an additional front in east Europe (Cowley, 2005). In addition, the United States resolved to discontinue aids to the Soviet Union after conclusion of World War II. These actions initiated tension between the two regions. Enmity was building in between the two world powers. Each of the global power had allies. One unique difference between the two countries is th e fact that Russia believed in socialism while America was capitalistic and industrious. Most of the countries in Europe were struggling to rebuild their nations after the end of World War II in1945. The Soviet Union was determined to win allies among European countries and introduce communism. The US introduced the containment policy requiring the leaders of most of the countries to remain cautious so that the Soviet Union did not get space to introduce socialism (Levy, 2004). The Soviet Union had previously threatened to expand their socialist system. The Soviet Union believed that capitalism exploited people. In addition, the Great Britain collapse contributed to the start of the Cold War. Before its collapse, Britain brought about a balancing effect in west Europe. Now that Britain was out of the picture, the United States took over. It was evident that the United States and the Soviet Union had differing goals on reconstructing the world after the world war two and the differen t interests gave rise to a cold threat. Towards the conclusion of the World War II, the American military had succeeded in making the first nuclear bombs and bombed Japan, causing immense damage. There was an intense fear of the nuclear warfare and this heightened the tension between east Europe and the west. Both countries wanted to exert a form of social and political control in countries that depended on their aid. Truman declared the Cold War officially when he decided to give financial aid to Greece. The Cold War lasted for a long time. The USSR armies and US did not have direct attacks. However, countries in support of the United States formed a military alliance. This was the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). This organization reached the decision that the United States would attack if the Soviet Union extended its influence to any NATO country. Russia already had control over all Eastern Europe, except Yugoslavia. The Cold War constituted of many proxy wars such as Korean War, Vietnam war and others (Gaddis, 2011). The Cold War persisted for some time and the world still experiences the effects. During the 1970-1980s, the Soviet Union was coming down because of the financial crisis. The union lacked adequate finances to run the system. Russian political and social reforms that came under new leadership did not favor the survival of the union. In 1991, the union split and withdrew from the Cold War