The Cold War, NATO, NORAD

What was the Cold War?

The Cold War The Cold War is the name given to the relationship that developed primarily between the USA and the USSR after World War Two.

The Cold War The Cold War was to dominate international affairs for decades and many major crises occurred - the Cuban Missile Crisis, Vietnam, Hungary and the Berlin Wall being just some. For many the growth in weapons of mass destruction was the most worrying issue.

The Cold War USSR in 1945 had the same borders as Russia post-1917 This included all the various countries that now exist individually (Ukraine, Georgia etc)

Europe, 1945 - 1989

Europe, 2012

The Cold War Logic would dictate that as the USA and the USSR fought as allies during World War Two, their relationship after the war would be firm and friendly. This never happened and any appearance that these two powers were friendly during the war is illusory. Winston Churchill, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and Joseph Stalin at the Yalta Conference in February 1945.

The Cold War The Soviet leader, Joseph Stalin, was also distrustful of the Americans after Truman only told him of a “new terrifying weapon” that he was going to use against the Japanese. The first Stalin knew of what this weapon could do was when reports on Hiroshima got back to Moscow.

Europe Post WWII The scene after WWII Both sides distrusted the other. One had a vast army in the field (the Soviet Union with its Red Army supremely lead by Zhukov) while the other, the Americans had the most powerful weapon in the world, the A-bomb and the Soviets had no way on knowing how many America had.

What exactly was the Cold War? In diplomatic terms there are three types of war. Hot War : this is actual warfare. All talks have failed and the armies are fighting.

2. Warm War : this is where talks are still going on and there would always be a chance of a peaceful outcome but armies, navies etc. are being fully mobilised and war plans are being put into operation ready for the command to fight.

3. Cold War : this term is used to describe the relationship between America and the Soviet Union 1945 to 1980. Neither side ever fought the other - the consequences would be too appalling - but they did ‘fight’ for their beliefs using client states who fought for their beliefs on their behalf.

The Cold War e.g. South Vietnam was anti-communist and was supplied by America during the war while North Vietnam was pro-Communist and fought the south (and the Americans) using weapons from communist Russia or communist China. In Afghanistan, the Americans supplied the rebel Afghans after the Soviet Union invaded in 1979 while they never physically involved themselves thus avoiding a direct clash with the Soviet Union.

The Cold War The one time this process nearly broke down was the Cuban Missile Crisis. 

Handouts: The Cold War Canada and the Cuban Missile Crisis Causes of the Cold War

Cold War Defences

NATO In 1949, Canada and the United States joined with ten western European countries to form the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). Its purpose was to defend Europe and the North Atlantic from Soviet aggression.

NATO Although primarily a defensive alliance, NATO had an economic advantage for Canada as well, since such an arrangement binds together all of Canada's trading partners. NATO was a real threat to the Soviets.

NATO In 1955, they formed their own alliance, the Warsaw Pact, with the Soviet satellite countries of Eastern Europe. In the event of attack by NATO countries, the Warsaw Pact members agreed to come to each other's defence.

Countries involved in the Warsaw Pact, 1955

NORAD In 1957, Canada signed a treaty with the United Sates that created the North American Air Defence System (NORAD) Aimed at protecting North American from Soviet attack - NORAD joined Canadians and American fighter, missile and radar units under a single command center.

NORAD NORAD headquarters are located deep inside a mountain in Colorado. The commander in chief is an American general. A Canadian general serves a deputy commander. Both are always in direct contact with the American president and the Canadian prime minister, whose approval would be necessary for an attack or counterattack.

NORAD and Santa The program began on December 24, 1955 when a Sears department store placed an advertisement in a Colorado Springs newspaper which told children that they could telephone Santa Claus and included a number for them to call. However, the telephone number printed was incorrect and calls instead came through to Colorado Springs' Continental Air Defense Command (CONAD) Center.

NORAD and Santa Colonel Shoup, who was on duty that night, told his staff to give all children that called in a "current location" for Santa Claus. A tradition began which continued when the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) replaced CONAD in 1958.

NORAD and Santa Today, NORAD relies on volunteers to make the program possible. Each volunteer handles about forty telephone calls per hour, and the team typically handles more than 12,000 e-mails and more than 70,000 telephone calls from more than two hundred countries and territories.

DEW Canada's geographical position between the United States and the Soviet Union makes it vital to North American's defence. Canada worked closely with the U.S. to monitor northern airspace and warn off aircraft that intruded there.

DEW In 1957, the United States and Canada built a line of long-range warning stations, known as Distant Early Warning (DEW) stations, to monitor airspace activity. If any station - there were fifty in total - detected missiles or aircraft of unknown origin, it sent a message to NORAD headquarters in Colorado.

DEW Although both Canada and the United States were involved in the creation of DEW stations, the $250 million cost of building these radar stations was paid for solely by the United States.

Reading Impact on Society page 293-294 and answer questions 1-3. The Debate of Nuclear Warheads