Sunday, May 22, 2011

Blog 45

Topic 12 Concept Guide

Truman Doctrine - Policy set up by President Harry Truman in 1947 stating that the U.S. would support Greece and Turkey with economic and military aid to prevent their falling into the Soviet sphere. This basically meant that we would provide help at all costs to make sure any anti-communist country did not succumb to communism. This consisted of several aspects such as the Marchall Plan and the Point Four Program.

Containment Policy - United States policy using military, economic and diplomatic strategies to stall the spread of communism, enhance America's security and prevent a the "domino effect" (method of communism spreading to all countries and them falling into it like dominos).

Bay of Pigs Invasion & Similarities with Panama - An unsuccessful action by a CIA-trained force of Cuban exiles to invade southern Cuba with support and encouragement from the U.S. government in attempt to overthrow the Cuban government of Fidel Castro. In 1989, we invaded Panama during the administration of President George W. Bush to overthrow Noriega. Similar to the Bay of Pigs Invasion, we did this to defend democracy.

U.S. Foreign Policy (Korea & Vietnam) - In Korea, we became very involved - President Truman said to "give the Korean government troops, cover and support." The U.S. also heavily influenced South Korean uniforms and way of fighting. In Vietnam, we were quite involved as well. Although many hippies and anti-way protesters existed in America at this time, we sent many troops over to help fight off communism.

Intervention - In Vietnam we sent troops to help fight; we didn't really want to get our military involved in Korea so we sent financial aid and support to fight communism without getting physical.

Cold War Development - The main cause of the Cold War was the growing fear of communism. Countries all over the world, especially America, we trying to prevent the "domino affect" and not give in to communist ways. Nuclear powers also contributed to this heated time period of stress and worry.

WWII Foreign Policy vs Post WWII Foreign Policy - Before WWII, the U.S policy was isolation; we tried to stay our of foreign affairs and focus on building up our economy. After the war our policy began to intervene and get more involved with countries in need of help. 

Limited War - the opposite of total war. A limited war consists of participants not using all avaliable resources (human, industrial agricultural, military, natural, technological...)

Examples of Containment in Europe - One of the most well known examples of containment is the Berlin Wall which was used to separate Germany from communists.

Main Points of Division of Germany - Germany split into two sections: East Germany and West Germany. The east was a dictatorship allied with the Soviet Union and the west was a parliamentary democracy.

MacArthur Dismissal - In 1950 after North Korea invaded South Korea, U.S. General Douglas MacArthur was designated commandr of the UN forces defending South Korea. Seven months later, President Truman fired him for making public statements that contradicted the offcial policies of the U.S. Government, especially with regard to Truman's order to restrict military interaction with the media.

Korean War Similarities with Persian Gulf War - The Korean and Persian Gulf war were similar in which they both had the assistance of the U.S in order to prevent a government from gaining power and they both started with a sudden invasion of one country over the other.

Nuclear Test Ban - In August 1963, The U.S, U.K, and Soviet Union signed the Limited Nuclear Test Ban Treaty after eight years of action. Although we signed this agreement, we still continued to test nuclear weapons.

Long Term Effects of Vietnam - Every war comes with significant long term effects. From the Vietnam war , people/countries suffered great economic costs, extreme number of casulties, toxic chemicals in soil and water and angry hippies in the U.S.

Peace Corps - an American volunteer program run by the United States Government. The mission includes: providing technical asistance, helping people outside the U.S to understand our culture and helping Americans unterstand the cultures of other countries.

End of Cold War - The end of the Cold War was really determined when the Berlin Wall was torn down in 1990. This freed Germany and ended communism regimes in eastern Europe.

Domino Theory - If one country became communist, all other surrounding countries would fall to it in a domino effect.

Nixon's Détente - Extrication from Vietnam and the opening to China were two strategies that Nixon designed to produce a more favorable balance of power in the East. In the West, a policy of political and military détente with the Soviet Union, coupled with expanded East-West trade, formed the cornerstone of Nixon's diplomacy.

Blog 44

To a Vietnam War veteran:

Q: What was one major difference you saw between the fighting in North Vietnam vs. South Vietnam?
A: North Vietnam was supported by communist allies and South Vietnam was supported by the United States and other anti-communist allies. This aspect provided very different fighting methods and ways of dealing with war. Communist/Anti-communist combat were two extremely different war tactics.

Q: What caused you to enter the war and how did you feel about it?
A: Like many young men in the 60s, I was drafted. I was still in college and didn't really know too much about our foreign involvement policies so I was mostly confused and shocked. I didn't want to leave my home but was kind of excited for an adventure - I was later shown that is was not that simple and interesting.

Q: Was the actual combat part as bad as has it been told to be?
A: The war in Vietnam was nothing that I expected it to be. We had to fight in the jungles, through thick foliage, guns constantly being fired, soldiers constantly falling. You'd see a man next to you firing away and the next moment he'd be lying on the ground, struggling to stay alive and begging for help. You never really move on from witnessing such horrific actions.

Q: How long were you deployed in Vietnam? How did it feel when you came back?
A: I was away for about 3 years, fighting basically everyday. I was so relieved to finally come back to America. I wanted to continue my schooling and start my life but most of all, I wanted to be a hero. When I came back, people treated us as if we were the enemies, as if we were the bad guys. There were so many hippies and anti-war protesters ridiculing us, it definitely wasn't a typical "welcome home."

Q: Do you think communism would have continued to spread in that part of the world if America didn't get so involved?
A: I think communism probably would have grown in the Eastern Hemisphere, especially in Vietnam with the North being so powerful already. For some countries it seems to work, it just doesn't in others.


Blog 43

Waiting On The World To Change
John Mayer
Now if we had the power
To bring our neighbors home from war
They would have never missed a Christmas
No more ribbons on their door
And when you trust your television
What you get is what you got
Cause when they own the information, oh
They can bend it all they want
That's why we're waiting
Waiting on the world to change

      This Grammy winning song was released in 2006 on John Mayer's new album, Continuum. Because of its theme of discontent and hope, it quickly caught the eyes of many fans and was used in a variety of television programs, charity benefits, and other events. In this song, Mayer discusses the struggles that families have to deal with in times of war (missing loved ones, being deceived by the news...) "Waiting on the World to Change" is similar to many songs written in the Vietman era because they both have a sense of longing and a push for change. Throughout history, artists have written songs about current issues to express their feelings. I believe music is a very powerful tactic to motivate large groups of people and help them understand the artist's point of view.


Saturday, May 21, 2011

Blog 42

Mr.Prezzz
Guess our military can take it easy for a while, no intervention in Cuba.
4/12/61  9:04 AM

Mr.Prezzz
Bay of Pigs = Epic faaaiiilll!
4/17/61 8:41 PM

Mr.Prezz
You wanna mess with the U.S, Castro? Bring it! We'll see about that "World War" o.O
7/27/62  3:33 AM

Mr.Prezzz
Ohh ya know, just received a memo from John McCone about missiles in Cuba - no big deal.
8/10/62  11:11AM 

Mr.Prezzz
Say whhhaaaatt? Soviet missiles in Cuba? Hmm... to take action, or not to take action....
 9/11/62  6:36 PM

Mr.Prezzz
Good job, U2 flyers. Keep scopin' out those missile sites!
10/14/62  9:44 PM

MrPrezzz
Off to Connecticuit to campaign, wish me luck.
10/17/62  7:10 AM

MrPrezzz
Scratch that, campaign is canceled. Thanks upper respiratory infection -__- 
10/20/62  2:15 PM

MrPrezzz
Crusader jets, prepare yourselves! Khrushchev, you have been warned.
10/23/62 10:56 AM

MrPrezzz
So thankful for Soviet ships retreating from route to Cuba. Let's hope this ends peacefully.
10/24/62  1:47 PM

MrPrezzz
Compromise time? We will with drawl our missiles in Turkey if the Soviets with drawl in Cuba.
10/25/62  5:22 AM

MrPrezzz
Interesting letter, Khrushchev. Okay, the U.S won't invade Cuba...but only if you remove your missiles!
10/27/62  11:11 PM

Mr.Prezzz
Finnally! Missiles are removed from Cuba! We are safe again. No fear, America :)
10/28/62  8:18 AM