Showing posts with label JFK. Show all posts
Showing posts with label JFK. Show all posts

Tuesday, April 30, 2013

America Enters the Vietnam Conflict

1. What European country controlled (ruled) Vietnam before, during and immediately following World War II?      
Before World War II Vietnam was controlled by the French, then they were conquered by the Japanese during the War. After the War the French tried to get Vietnam back but they were unsuccessful because Vietnam was supported by China. 
2. Who led the Viet Minh (anti-Japanese resistance group)?    
Ho Chi Minh was the leader of the Viet Minh.   
3. Which country helped France keep Vietnam and why?       
The United States tried to help France keep Vietnam because they saw them as puppets of Communist China, they didn't want Vietnam to become Communist as well. 
4. What is the Domino Theory?       
The Domino Theory was that Vietnam fell, then Laos, Cambodia, Thailand, Burma, and possibly India would fall to Communism. They wanted to isolate communism to those countries which it had already "infected". 
5. In 1955 the United States installed this man as the leader of the Republic of South Vietnam. Who was he and why was he placed into power?           
They put Ngo Dinh Diem in as leader of Republic of South Vietnam because he was bitterly anti-communist. He was ready to exile or persecute communists. 
6. What was the Ho Chi Minh Trail? How was it used?           
The Ho Chi Minh Trail was a system that went from North Vietnam to South Vietnam. It was used to provide the Viet Cong with materials, or arms. 
7. What was the Tonkin Gulf Resolution? What powers did it give President Johnson? 
The Tonkin Gulf Resolution was an act made by Congress that gave the President the power to do whatever it takes to achieve peace and security. 
8. Look at the timeline on page 256. Why is 1965 considered a "turning point" year for American involvement in Vietnam?               
1965 is considered as a turning point in the war because there was a large scale bombing of Vietnam done, and the first American combat troops touch Vietnam land at Da Nang. 
9. Why, according to Source 3 on page 255, were U.S. troops put into a difficult position in Vietnam?   
The U.S. troops were put in a difficult position in Vietnam because they could not tell who were and who was not a Vietcong sympathizer. They might have seemed to be a regular Vietnamese person but they could be a Vietcong, the same goes Vise-Versa vietcong being mistaken as regular Vietnamese citizen. 

Sunday, December 16, 2012

Nuclear Arms Race Since 1945 - part 2

1. Summarize the basic argument for and the basic argument against nuclear weapons.     
The basic argument for nuclear weapons is the they actually make the world safer, because countries are less willing to risk the use of force. The basic argument against nuclear weapons is that because imperfect human beings are involved, deterrence is not a fool-proof system.  
2. What is the difference between a strategic and a tactical nuclear weapon?       
The difference between a strategic and tactical nuclear weapons is there size and distance they can hit. Strategic weapons are a lot bigger and can hit targets up to six thousand miles away in thirty minutes or less. Tactical nuclear weapons can be concealed in something as small as a briefcase or a backpack and are used to hit targets near them.         
3. What is nuclear proliferation?       
Nuclear proliferation is the spread of nuclear weapons.        
4. What role has the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty played in preventing the spread of nuclear weapons?           
The Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty has played a big role in preventing the spread of nuclear weapons. Only four countries have not signed this Treaty. People say that if the treaty wasn't made President Kenndey's worry of 25 more countries having nuclear weapons by the 1970s would have come true. 
5. Explain Secretary of State Rice's high level of concern about the Russian nuclear arsenal. (See her quote on page 16 of your reading.)       
Secretary of State Rice's high level of concern about the Russian nuclear arsenal is all about them being secured. She is worried that if they aren't protected the can just be walked in by a thief and the nuclear weapons just be stolen. For this reason she want's their nuclear weapons to be dismantled so no one will ever have to worry about them being stolen.    
6. How as the threat of terrorism changed thinking about nuclear weapons?  
Terrorism has drastically changed the thinking about nuclear weapons. People are so scared of a terroist group getting a hold of a nuclear weapon, some think they already do. No one knows what they would do if they had one so that is what makes everyone so scared about it. What if they come after us if they have one? is a big question. People want to get rid of them because of this factor, if they got them who knows what they would do with it. 

Wednesday, December 12, 2012

Nuclear Arms Race Since 1945

1. Explain how Dragonfire's report on October 11, 2001 highlighted a new threat from nuclear weapons.                
Dragonfires report on October 11, 2001 highlighted a new threat from nuclear weapons because no one had ever used a nuclear bomb since the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, let alone use one against the United States. It also highlighted that no one had every brought a nuclear bomb into a country unknowingly especially into a major city like the heart of New York City.

2. Why is proliferation such a strong concern for the United States?             
Proliferation is such a strong concern for the United States because it is linked to the United States' most complex and challenging foreign policy problems. It is also a strong concern for the United States because we don't want them getting into the wrong hand, like our enemies.

3. What is deterrence?                  
Deterrence is the idea that if you trick someone into thinking you would retaliate big time if the did something to you. In this case if one side were to attack the other with nuclear Weapons, the other side would launch a nuclear response that would devastate the original attacker, knowing that they faced certain both sides would be deterred from attacking.


4. Explain the importance of the Cuban Missile Crisis.                  
The importance of the Cuban Missile Crisis is the Soviets and their nuclear weapons were getting extremely close to us, on 90 miles off our shores in Cuba. They were so close if we fired a missile at them they would hit us first from Cuba. It also got the two leaders of the countries to realize what this could do to their countries/ the world. They decided to back down from Cuba if the US removed their artillery from Turkey.


5. President John F. Kennedy worried that twenty-five nations would have nuclear weapons by the 1970s. Why do you think his worry did not come to pass?                          
I think that his worry did not come to pass because the other nations in the world could see what it did to countries and what it could do it the nuclear war had actually begun. They saw what it was instilling in the US/USSR and they probably didn't want that. Lastly they probably knew that if they gained the nuclear weapons they would join in this "battle".


6. What was the Cold War? How long did it last?                     
The Cold War was a period of hostility and tension between, mostly, the US and the USSR from 1946 to 1991. The two countries were making an enormous amount of nuclear weapons incase there actually was a nuclear war. It was basically all talk. It lasted about 45 years.