Events Relating To The Cold War That Almost Led To The Third World War (Essay Sample)

THE COLD WAR
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The cold war and World War III
In the year 1983, the cold war hit its peak and it almost led the entire world to nuclear Armageddon. The cold war was majorly a war of words and at its height, America was only an inch away from launching a nuclear attack on Russia. Out of a computer glitch, Russia and a majority of the West bungled American servicemen. The aerospace Defense Command that is based in Colorado had been informed of an imminent attack from the Soviet Union forces. At this top-secret base, the computer glitch showed screens that were full of the early stages of a military attack and America was ready to retaliate.
The cold war resulted in a shoddy U.S technology system, with the alert system indicating that hundreds of missiles had been released by the Soviet Union but this was a false alarm. Later after the end of the cold war, it became apparent that the U.S department of defense had mistakenly detected approximately 2200 Russian bombs that were set to land on its soil and Mr.Brzezinski who was in charge of defense at the time had only a few minutes to make the decision as to whether America would launch a nuclear attack using its arsenal or not. While preparing to call the president to determine whether it was wise to retaliate, he received a phone call indicating that the incoming terror alert was false and it had been cause by a small computer chip that was costing a 46 cents at the time.[Batchelor, Tom. “Incredible moment USA came within 30 Seconds of Launching a Nuclear Strike on Russia. December 24, 2016. Accessed April 26, 2017. /news/history/597914/cold-war-nuclear.america-moments-from-atomic-war-soviets.]
To show how close the world was to world war three, it is reported that the air force missile crew took all their launch keys from safes while the bomber crew headed to the planes. Fighter planes were ready to begin sky searches and all that stood in their way was a command from Mr.Brzezinski. He was President Carter’s security adviser and was asleep in Washington when William Odom, a military aide called to inform him that the said missiles launched from Russian submarines were headed to the U.S soils.[Batchelor, Tom. “Incredible moment USA came within 30 Seconds of Launching a Nuclear Strike on Russia. December 24, 2016. Accessed April 26, 2017. /news/history/597914/cold-war-nuclear.america-moments-from-atomic-war-soviets.]
Initially, Mr.Brzezinski had been informed that the soviet forces had launched 220 missiles but he ordered a confirmation of the attack before a retaliatory move could be planned. Had it been true, it was postulated that Washington could be down within minutes but 22 minutes later, General Odom called again to offer some correction and this time round he reported that the exact number of missiles from the soviet forces was 2200.
A similar alarm had been given a year earlier when an operator mistakenly inserted a training tape into one of the monitoring computers, one that contained a simulated attack from the soviet forces. At the height of this cold war, the world was at the brink of another world war when Norway released a weather rocket that was mistaken for a missile. Most of the systems that had been set up to govern the production, regulation and use of nuclear weapons were inherently faulty and any small mishap had the potential of causing a world war. Such flaws are tolerated since the systems are designed, built and maintained by human hands but the failure of any nuclear command can have devastating consequences. If the nuclear war is something to go by, then there are multiple cold war events that could have led to the third world war, despite the fact that this 1983 event was the most notable.
The 1950 Korean War
From the early stages of the cold war, the 1950 Korean War was the likely event that could have led to World War III. The war between North Korea and South Korea caused nearly 2.5 million deaths and it rose to an international standard in June 1950. The United States was the first and major participant in the war, coming to the help of South Korea but China also joined to help North Korea and it was predicted that this stand-off could have led to World War III.[Millett, Allan. “Korean War.” January 28, 2017. Accessed April 26, 2017. /event/Korean-war.]
The 1958 Taiwan Crisis
It was the tension between the Republic of China and the People’s Republic of China that led to a tough stand-off with regard to the ownership of particular islands in Taiwan. The people’s republic of China bombed various islands that were owned by the Republic of China and the United States was forced to in intervene and help the Republic of China. The United States policy towards East Asia contributed to the stand-off that is identified as the Taiwan Strait crisis in the early stages of the cold war. After releasing the seventh fleet to the Taiwan Strait to prevent the war, Chinese communists were highly angered and this conflict almost led to the third world war. Prior to the release of the seventh fleet, however, the United States policy makers engaged consultatively in an attempt to determine whether the move could ignite the Chinese civil war and whether this would have a significant impact on the United States. Together with the 1950 Korean War where the U.S and China took opposing stands, it was clear that the tensions between these two giants were high and a civil war was close.[Office of the Historian. “The Taiwan Strait Crises.” June 27, 2014. Accessed April 26, 2017. /milestones/1953-1960/the-taiwan-strait-crisis]
The 1962 Cuba missile crisis
This was perhaps the most dangerous and direct crisis between the America and the USSR during the cold war era. These superpowers came very close to a nuclear crisis that could have been unique in multiple ways. The game was majorly played between Kremlin level and the White House, in the absence of all the bureaucracies that were always involved whenever a foreign policy was at stake.
The United States failed in its effort to overthrow the Cuban Castro regime and the Soviet premier by the name Nikita reached a top-secret agreement with Cuba, to load the country with several Soviet nuclear missiles so that future invasions could be avoided. In September 1962, the Soviet Union began the construction of missiles on Cuban soil and during routine flight surveillance trips, the U.S intelligence unit discovered the plan. The American President gave a public warning to any country that had the aim of introducing dangerous weapons to Cuba. However, the U.S air force unit took pictures in September showing the construction of intermediate and medium-range ballistic missiles in Cuba, something that forced President Kennedy to summon a top-level consultative meeting. Most advisers including all the military chiefs went for the option of an air strike in order to destroy the missiles but a few of them went for the option of a direct warning to the USSR and Cuba. The president then sent a warning letter to the Soviet premier, stating that America would not tolerate any country that sends dangerous weapons to Cuba and he further ordered Russia to dismantle all the missiles that had been constructed.[Office of the Historian. “The Cuban Missile Crisis, October 1962.” June 20, 2008. Accessed April 26, 2017. /milestones/1961-1968/Cuban-missile-crisis.] [Office of the Historian. “The Cuban Missile Crisis, October 1962.” June 20, 2008. Accessed April 26, 2017. /milestones/1961-1968/Cuban-missile-crisis.]
The U.S president stated that any missile launched from Cuba to a...