WWII, the Cold War, and conflict in Korea, Vietnam, and the Middle East have in common

What did WWII, the Cold War, and conflict in Korea, Vietnam, and the Middle East have in common

The Cold War was a time following WWII when the world's most considerable great powers, the United States and the Soviet Union, were involved in a verbal and intellectual battle. Even though these two nations did not go to War directly, their rivalry resulted in countless wars. Two of these confrontations were real wars between areas ruled by the two superpowers. The 38th Parallel was and continues to be the dividing line seen between the two Koreas. Proxy wars refer to the Korean War (1950-1953) and the Vietnam War (1955-1975) (Citino, 449). In a proxy war, competing states (such as the US and the Soviet Union) employ other nations to battle each other instead of fighting directly.

 Even though the war in Vietnam and the Korean War shared ideological origins and military tactics, both countries were divided into two parts, with the north supporting communism and the south supporting democracy. There were also contrasts in the way the conflicts developed, with the Korean War lasting three years and the Vietnam War lasting longer, as well as the involvement of Chinese forces inside the Korean War, the use of chemical warfare in Vietnam, and the differing outcomes.

The US sought to safeguard its interests in both cases while the Soviet Union attempted to assist the communist regime. It would be inappropriate to argue that the US was merely a minor player in the battles (Citino, 454). Since the US and the URSS provided forces to the Vietnamese and Korean troops, both initiated the wars; both governments expected it to end.

Furthermore, neither system wanted to start an open fight, particularly on their territory. They chose Vietnam as the basis from which to evaluate both systems' forces while attacking each other (Roberts, 13). Such politics continued colonial rule, which had always existed in this part of the world but took on a new face.

In conclusion, many parallels were discovered during that period, and the War also demonstrated that the UN could prevent an assault on a member nation. It demonstrated that China might stand its own in a battle without nuclear weapons. It also demonstrated that the two superpowers' Cold War would continue. 

Work Cited

Citino, Nathan J. "The Middle East and the Cold War." (2019): 441-456. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/14682745.2019.1576677?journalCode=fcwh20

Roberts, Priscilla, ed. The Cold War: Interpreting Conflict through Primary Documents [2 volumes]. ABC-CLIO, 2018. https://books.google.co.ke/books?hl=en&lr=&id=hs56DwAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PP1&dq=What+did+WWII,+the+Cold+War,+and+conflict+in+Korea,+Vietnam,+and+the+Middle+East+have+in+common&ots=nxE0RQMIKo&sig=3gTNNx5ownrZ_86hks0f2gbQmQI&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q&f=false