History Fact Finder | Eras and Their Highlights - Was The Cold War Really A War?

Was the cold war really a war?

The cold war, an ideological conflict between Communist and non-Communist countries that began after World War II (1939–45), was not a conflict in the sense that outright physical battles took place. The primary enemies in the cold war were the United States and the former Soviet Union. The United States opposed communism, which was the basis of the Soviet government; in turn, the Soviet Union was determined to rid the world of capitalism, which is a major component of America's political system. Although the two countries did not engage in military confrontation on Soviet or American soil, cold war military activities did take place in more than thirty countries around the world, such as Angola and Mozambique in Africa and Nicaragua and El Salvador in Central America. Communist agitators encouraged citizens to overthrow existing governments, while anticommunist organizers urged resistance...

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