War On Terror Vs Cold War

When comparing the Cold War and the War on Terror, special attention must be paid to the context surrounding these wars, the strategy used, the rationale for entering the war, the costs of the war, and the overall outcome. Each of these areas are vastly explained or rationalized differently in the two “wars.” To fully understand why the United States entered the Cold War, we must first look at the events and circumstances surrounding the Soviet Union and the United States during this time in history. Two examples of these circumstances are, the major shift in distribution power to the United States and the Soviet Union which came after the “defeat of Germany and Japan and the decline of the British and French Empires.” (NSC-68). and, the Soviet

Containing Communism to only the Soviet Union and its satellite states, becomes one of the key focuses of the United States during the Cold War, so that other countries and societies have to options to decide what form of government that they will have and so that they can have their own freedom. The United States also focuses on building up a “political, economic, and military strength” that will push us toward achieving our mission, the downfall of the Soviet Union and therefore, Communism. (NSC-68). The United States must have a massive military buildup if it plans on going on the offensive against the Soviet Union and their plan to expand their power globally. Political and economic build up for the United States, means that the U.S. will need to count on other free countries for resources while also creating friendly regimes in areas under Soviet Union control. This strategy is one that calls for deterrence and the plan of containing the enemy rather than direct action. On the other hand, the War on Terror’s strategy is more closely focused in striking fast and hard before the enemy knows what is happening; in other words, their strategy is pre-emptive warfare. Destroying and disrupting the terrorist’s organizations will create a crippling effect in how they will be able to attack us and their ability to plan and operate within their organization. We will attack their leadership, communications, finances, and their control. During the War on Terror, the United States is no longer utilizing the same strategies that have been employed in the past. Rather we are forcing a new path to be forged that takes a direct action against those who hold grievances towards our values and our citizens. There is one thing that we have kept in the new battle strategy from the past, and that is a rapid buildup of our military strength in times of war. While