From the beginning of this unit on the Cold War a question has been in my head. Who was responsible for the so-called war? Since the war was between only two countries, there are only two options as to who started it. The USA or the USSR. It’s a hotly debated topic and one that has no correct answer. From my point of view it’s all about how you look at it, if you look at it one way you can find evidence to prove that that way is correct and the same goes for if you look at it a different way. However, my personal opinion on the matter is that the cold war was caused by the USSR. I take the traditionalist view, which states that the cold war was started by Stalin’s over aggressive policy towards expansion. After world war two, Stalin took control of the countries he had liberated and turned them into communist states of the USSR. America, understandably, did not like what it was seeing. I believe that America was merely acting out of concern for itself and its allies in Europe. Although allies in WWII, America and the Soviet Union both had very different ways of governing and America did not want communism forced upon them. America also knew how Stalin worked. He was confident but knew that the USSR would not survive an all out war with America. So by flexing its military muscle America was able to warn Stalin that it had no intention of becoming communist or letting its allies suffer a similar fate. I believe that the USA did the right thing by flexing its muscle. Sometimes the best defense is a good offense.
