Vietnam (Conflict) War
The United States used the domino theory, which held that if a single country fell under the influence of communists, the surrounding countries in the region would inevitably follow the same course. Convinced that Communism China and the Soviet Union were spreading Communist to Vietnam by supporting North Vietnam, President John F. Kennedy approved a military campaign in Vietnam to aid the nationalist and capitalistic government to thwart the rebels in the north (White, 2018). The policy allowed the US to send more than 54,000 troops by 1969. In response, China and the Soviet Union increased their assistance to the Communists. Eventually, the US had to withdraw, and the entire country fell under Communism. Consequently, the policy was less effective in thwarting the spread of Communism in the region.
Camp David Accords
In the late 1970s, after the end of the Vietnam War, attention turned to the conflicts in the Middle East. Although communists did not have a lot of interest in the region, the US and the West feared that the continued conflicts between the Israelis and Arab nations would give the Soviet Union and other Communist countries a leeway to enter and expand Communism. In addition to searching for the peaceful existence of Israel in the region, Jimmy Carter decided to use Egypt to pave the way for Arab recognition of the Jewish state (White, 2018). To a certain extent, the Camp David Accords helped the US achieve this objective and prevent the entry of the Soviet Union into the conflicts.
Strategic Defense Initiative
This initiative played a critical role in the relationship between the US and the Soviet Union in the 1980s. Specifically, the industry helped end the Cold War by presenting the Soviet Union with a sophisticated and challenging technological challenge that it could not meet (Podvig, 2017). Most European nations supported the US and provided the Americans with adequate land to establish military bases and research stations that surrounded the Soviet Union. The Soviets realized that they could no longer match the US and eventually stopped their expansion of Communism in the region.
Personal Opinion
The US was right to worry about the spread of communism because the ideology often led many countries to dictatorship and affected international trade and global economies. In fact, it was necessary to consider effective strategies to thwarting the spread of communism around the world. Nevertheless, war was not necessary as it caused loss of life and destruction of property, especially in Vietnam and Korea.
References
Podvig, P. (2017). Did Star Wars help end the Cold War? Soviet response to the SDI Program. Science & Global Security, 25(1), 3-27. Web.
White, J. K. (2018). Still seeing red: How the Cold War shapes the new American politics updated and expanded. Routledge.