Cold war

Cold war

The Cold war(1947-1991) was a period of military and political tension between the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc dominated by the USSR. Military conflict was avoided because the use of nuclear weapons would mean mutually assured destruction.

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Cold war

National Security Act of 1947

Military; Cold war

This reorganization of the U. S. Defense establishment created the office of the Secretary of Defense, the National Security Council (NSA), the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), and the U. S. Air ...

MX missile

Military; Cold war

The most advanced U. S. ICBM in service, now known as the "Peacekeeper. " It was supported by Carter and first deployed under Reagan in 1988.

missile gap

Military; Cold war

The perceived Soviet superiority in ICBMs due to exaggerated estimates by the Gaither Committee in 1957 and USAF in the early 1960's.

Minuteman II

Military; Cold war

American ICBM entered into service in 1966.

military-industrial complex

Military; Cold war

A phrase first coined by President Eisenhower in his 1961 farewell address describing the close linkage between the U. S. Military and private contractors in the military industry.

McCarthyism

Military; Cold war

The practices of Senator Joseph McCarthy to discredit American citizens through sensational and unsubstantiated accusations of Communist complicity.

massive retaliation

Military; Cold war

Eisenhower's military doctrine of threatening a full nuclear retaliatory response to any perceived aggression against U. S. Interests; later replaced by flexible response because of its lack of ...