The Cold War (1562)

After the World War II relations between the USA and the USSR worsened, the cold war intensified. In 1948 the USA played the leading role in forming a new alliance of Western nations, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).

In the race for technological superiority the United States exploded the first hydrogen bomb in 1952, but was second to the USSR in launching an artificial satellite and in testing an intercontinental guided missile.

In 1962, in reaction to the presence of Soviet missiles in Cuba, the United States blockaded Soviet military shipments to Cuba and demanded the dismantling of Soviet bases there. The two great powers seemed on the brink of war, but within a week the USSR acceded to US demands. The tension of the cold war eased when, in 1963, the United States and the Soviet Union reached an accord on a limited ban of nuclear testing.

Later republican Ronald Reagan revived Cold War, referring to the Soviet Union as the "evil empire", enlarged the US nuclear arsenal and suggested the Strategic Defense Initiative, a plan known as "Star Wars". In 1981 Reagan imposed sanctions against Poland, sought aid for counterrevolutionaries in Nicaragua, and ordered the invasion of the tiny Caribbean nation of Grenada. Reagan improved his image only by agreeing to a series of arms reduction talks initiated by Mikhail Gorbachev.

His successor George Bush was also aggressive in foreign affairs. His major military action was the Persian Gulf War. After Iraq invaded Kuwait on August 2, 1990, Bush announced the commencement of Operation Desert Shield, which included a naval and air blockade of Saudi Arabia.

President Bill Clinton was generally considered a political moderate. The economy improved during Clinton's first year in office. Clinton withdrew US troops from Somalia and helped in re-establishing democratic rule in Haiti.

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13. America in the 21^st Century (1244)

The 2000 presidential election brought George W. Bush to power. Internationally, the United States experienced some friction with its allies, who didn't like the Bush administration's desire to abandon both the Kyoto Protocol and the Antiballistic Missile Treaty. But the politics and concerns of the first months of 2001 became secondary on September 11, when terrorists hijacked four planes, crashing two into the World Trade centre, which was destroyed, and one into the Pentagon; the fourth crashed near Shanksville, Pennsylvania. Some 3,000 persons were killed or missing as a result of the attacks. The US government sought to build an international coalition against Al Qaeda group and the Taliban and against terrorism, working to influence other nations to cut off sources of financial support for terrorism.

In October air strikes and then ground raids were launched against Afghanistan by the United States. A force of US troops was based in Afghanistan to search for Bin Laden, the main leader of terrorists. In 2003 Bush continued to press for Iraq disarmament.

In February the nation's attention was pulled away from the growing tension over Iraq by the breakup of the space shuttle Columbia as it returned to earth. Seven astronauts were killed in this second shuttle mishap.

In July, 2004 the US commission investigating the terror attacks of September 11, 2001, criticized US intelligence agencies for failings and called for reorganization of those agencies.