Why do so many insult U.S foreign policy during the cold war?

[American4Americ]

The U.S. takes its share of blame with the proxy wars in the 70's---especially in Central and South America. But c'mon, we did what we had to do to stop communism. And this wasn't light-weight communism found on college campuses or in labor union protest rallies, this was communism that got people killed and threatened the planet, but is mostly forgotten by the younger generations that didn't live through it. Russian backed armed forces or missile bases directly under the Mexican border would be a detrimental threat to U.S. security, as Cuban Missile Crisis clearly demonstrated, yet that's downplayed. Instead, the motives for the U.S. to "invade" is due to the evil, imperialistic C.I.A. wanting to take land away from peace-loving hippie farmers, and only the brave communist rebels can save them and offer them hope and change under the banner of a red star. The revisionism displayed by the far left is simply staggering.

 

[HenryBHough]

And them damn hippies didn't wash either.

 

[S.J.]

Ignorance of history, but when we have an educational system run by communist sympathizing morons rewriting history, it's no surprise.

 

[Mojo2]

And them damn hippies didn't wash either.

Wash either?

You mean they didn't wash their heads or their tails, either?



j/k

 

[KGB]

This one is simple....I would bet half the people on here criticizing our foreign policy during the Cold War weren't even alive then. They have no idea what kind of threat the Soviets actually represented. They can't conceive the notion of living under the threat of nuclear Armageddon.

 

[occupied]

Our foreign policy of the era deserves to be critically examined, not simply excused with "we stopped communism". We undermined democratically elected governments, assassinated labor leaders for the sake of our large corporations operating overseas, propped up military dictators, Trained murderers to be better murderers on our own soil and a host of other pretty nasty things and in spite of the Soviet union being long dead we are still doing the same thing.

 

[deltex1]

Our foreign policy of the era deserves to be critically examined, not simply excused with "we stopped communism". We undermined democratically elected governments, assassinated labor leaders for the sake of our large corporations operating overseas, propped up military dictators, Trained murderers to be better murderers on our own soil and a host of other pretty nasty things and in spite of the Soviet union being long dead we are still doing the same thing.

Your critical examination lacks specifics and context. I know you don't have the time...and we don't have the capacity in our whining containers.

 

[occupied]

Our foreign policy of the era deserves to be critically examined, not simply excused with "we stopped communism". We undermined democratically elected governments, assassinated labor leaders for the sake of our large corporations operating overseas, propped up military dictators, Trained murderers to be better murderers on our own soil and a host of other pretty nasty things and in spite of the Soviet union being long dead we are still doing the same thing.

Your critical examination lacks specifics and context. I know you don't have the time...and we don't have the capacity in our whining containers.

Look into the "School of the Americas" and what it's graduates went on to do in S. America in the name of stopping communism(democracy) for starters.

 

[Bfgrn]

The U.S. takes its share of blame with the proxy wars in the 70's---especially in Central and South America. But c'mon, we did what we had to do to stop communism. And this wasn't light-weight communism found on college campuses or in labor union protest rallies, this was communism that got people killed and threatened the planet, but is mostly forgotten by the younger generations that didn't live through it. Russian backed armed forces or missile bases directly under the Mexican border would be a detrimental threat to U.S. security, as Cuban Missile Crisis clearly demonstrated, yet that's downplayed. Instead, the motives for the U.S. to "invade" is due to the evil, imperialistic C.I.A. wanting to take land away from peace-loving hippie farmers, and only the brave communist rebels can save them and offer them hope and change under the banner of a red star. The revisionism displayed by the far left is simply staggering.

You have an extremely naive and uninformed understanding of who and what the United States is.

In the 50's and 60's we had Joint Chiefs of Staff who firmly believed the U.S. should unleash a pre-emptive nuclear broadside against Russia while America still enjoyed massive arms superiority.

South America and the Middle East are the manifestation of America imperialism. America wasn't stopping communism, they were stopping sovereign nations from self determination and especially preventing them from control of their own natural resources.

 

[American4Americ]

The U.S. takes its share of blame with the proxy wars in the 70's---especially in Central and South America. But c'mon, we did what we had to do to stop communism. And this wasn't light-weight communism found on college campuses or in labor union protest rallies, this was communism that got people killed and threatened the planet, but is mostly forgotten by the younger generations that didn't live through it. Russian backed armed forces or missile bases directly under the Mexican border would be a detrimental threat to U.S. security, as Cuban Missile Crisis clearly demonstrated, yet that's downplayed. Instead, the motives for the U.S. to "invade" is due to the evil, imperialistic C.I.A. wanting to take land away from peace-loving hippie farmers, and only the brave communist rebels can save them and offer them hope and change under the banner of a red star. The revisionism displayed by the far left is simply staggering.

You have an extremely naive and uninformed understanding of who and what the United States is.

In the 50's and 60's we had Joint Chiefs of Staff who firmly believed the U.S. should unleash a pre-emptive nuclear broadside against Russia while America still enjoyed massive arms superiority.

South America and the Middle East are the manifestation of America imperialism. America wasn't stopping communism, they were stopping sovereign nations from self determination and especially preventing them from control of their own natural resources.

Jokes on you, I already knew that.

 

[Publius1787]

Our foreign policy of the era deserves to be critically examined, not simply excused with "we stopped communism". We undermined democratically elected governments, assassinated labor leaders for the sake of our large corporations operating overseas, propped up military dictators, Trained murderers to be better murderers on our own soil and a host of other pretty nasty things and in spite of the Soviet union being long dead we are still doing the same thing.

Funny how the above statement leaves the Soviets out for doing the same thing. When propping up unruly dictatorships is the international standard the question is not "Should we not interfere due to the fact that a ruthless dictatorship would arise out of the situation," but, "If we do not prop up an unruly dictatorship friendly to us are we willing to allow the Soviets to prop up an unruly dictatorship friendly to them residing next to the US and her allies in light of such events as the Cuban Missile Crisis and soviet espionage?" If you ask the question that way the choice becomes clear and we can see which one holds the moral high ground. Leftists hate this way of thinking because, like Carter and Obama, they believe that treating everyone in a friendly way that goes against the grain of US interests makes them like you, and also, many of them really wanted the Soviets to expand socialism/communism/Marxism. I throw anyone with the name "occupied" in the latter category.

The Soviet Union isn't really dead. They took a hit in their geopolitical spheres of influence but the foreign policy ideology is still the same. Instead of the Warsaw Pact we now have the BRICS nations. Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa. Russia wants badly to expand their sphere of influence back into Eastern Europe, South East Asia, South America, and the Middle East. They are making headway via funding elections and candidates friendly to themselves (See Ukraine and Georgia). They are funding our enemies who are killing our troops (See Iran and Pakistan). The list goes on but you get the point. The Cold War might be over by definition, but not in practice.

 

[oldfart]

This one is simple....I would bet half the people on here criticizing our foreign policy during the Cold War weren't even alive then. They have no idea what kind of threat the Soviets actually represented. They can't conceive the notion of living under the threat of nuclear Armageddon.

Well, I happen to belong to the half that were alive during all of the Cold War. I got the elementary school "duck and cover" newsreels. I was glued to the radio during the Cuban Missile Crisis. And I got through graduate school on a National Defense Education Act fellowship doing work on the Soviet economy. I still try to keep up with what we are learning from the opened Soviet era archives.

It would be hard to overstate how badly American foreign and military policy was during the Dulles brothers reign. Their successors were often only marginally better. More than once these policies brought America to the brink of nuclear war and by all probability, only the grace of God saved a hundred million American from being crispy critters. They certainly weren't saved by American intelligence operations, military doctrine, or diplomatic expertise.

All of the components are there for a true history of the Cold War period, but I doubt if it will be written in my lifetime. There is simply too much failure and incompetence on both sides to be believable.

 

[Publius1787]

This one is simple....I would bet half the people on here criticizing our foreign policy during the Cold War weren't even alive then. They have no idea what kind of threat the Soviets actually represented. They can't conceive the notion of living under the threat of nuclear Armageddon.

Well, I happen to belong to the half that were alive during all of the Cold War. I got the elementary school "duck and cover" newsreels. I was glued to the radio during the Cuban Missile Crisis. And I got through graduate school on a National Defense Education Act fellowship doing work on the Soviet economy. I still try to keep up with what we are learning from the opened Soviet era archives.

It would be hard to overstate how badly American foreign and military policy was during the Dulles brothers reign. Their successors were often only marginally better. More than once these policies brought America to the brink of nuclear war and by all probability, only the grace of God saved a hundred million American from being crispy critters. They certainly weren't saved by American intelligence operations, military doctrine, or diplomatic expertise.

All of the components are there for a true history of the Cold War period, but I doubt if it will be written in my lifetime. There is simply too much failure and incompetence on both sides to be believable.

I know they are translating the commintern archives. Is there any good online databases where translated Soviet Archives can be accessed? What are some good direct or marginally attached online resources of such nature?

 

[georgephillip]

Our foreign policy of the era deserves to be critically examined, not simply excused with "we stopped communism". We undermined democratically elected governments, assassinated labor leaders for the sake of our large corporations operating overseas, propped up military dictators, Trained murderers to be better murderers on our own soil and a host of other pretty nasty things and in spite of the Soviet union being long dead we are still doing the same thing.

Among others, including Archbishop Oscar Romero during Mass at the hands of Salvadorian soldiers trained at the notorious School of the Americas:

"Romero was shot on 24 March 1980 while celebrating Mass,[18][19] at a small chapel located in a hospital called 'La Divina Providencia',[20] one day after a sermon in which he had called on Salvadoran soldiers, as Christians, to obey God's higher order and to stop carrying out the government's repression and violations of basic human rights.

"As soon as he finished his sermon, Romero proceeded to the middle of the altar and at that moment he was shot."

Óscar Romero - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

It is the Right in the US today seeking to rewrite Cold War history.

 

[Publius1787]

The U.S. takes its share of blame with the proxy wars in the 70's---especially in Central and South America. But c'mon, we did what we had to do to stop communism. And this wasn't light-weight communism found on college campuses or in labor union protest rallies, this was communism that got people killed and threatened the planet, but is mostly forgotten by the younger generations that didn't live through it. Russian backed armed forces or missile bases directly under the Mexican border would be a detrimental threat to U.S. security, as Cuban Missile Crisis clearly demonstrated, yet that's downplayed. Instead, the motives for the U.S. to "invade" is due to the evil, imperialistic C.I.A. wanting to take land away from peace-loving hippie farmers, and only the brave communist rebels can save them and offer them hope and change under the banner of a red star. The revisionism displayed by the far left is simply staggering.

You have an extremely naive and uninformed understanding of who and what the United States is.

In the 50's and 60's we had Joint Chiefs of Staff who firmly believed the U.S. should unleash a pre-emptive nuclear broadside against Russia while America still enjoyed massive arms superiority.

South America and the Middle East are the manifestation of America imperialism. America wasn't stopping communism, they were stopping sovereign nations from self determination and especially preventing them from control of their own natural resources.

Were not the Soviets doing the same?

 

[Bfgrn]

The U.S. takes its share of blame with the proxy wars in the 70's---especially in Central and South America. But c'mon, we did what we had to do to stop communism. And this wasn't light-weight communism found on college campuses or in labor union protest rallies, this was communism that got people killed and threatened the planet, but is mostly forgotten by the younger generations that didn't live through it. Russian backed armed forces or missile bases directly under the Mexican border would be a detrimental threat to U.S. security, as Cuban Missile Crisis clearly demonstrated, yet that's downplayed. Instead, the motives for the U.S. to "invade" is due to the evil, imperialistic C.I.A. wanting to take land away from peace-loving hippie farmers, and only the brave communist rebels can save them and offer them hope and change under the banner of a red star. The revisionism displayed by the far left is simply staggering.

You have an extremely naive and uninformed understanding of who and what the United States is.

In the 50's and 60's we had Joint Chiefs of Staff who firmly believed the U.S. should unleash a pre-emptive nuclear broadside against Russia while America still enjoyed massive arms superiority.

South America and the Middle East are the manifestation of America imperialism. America wasn't stopping communism, they were stopping sovereign nations from self determination and especially preventing them from control of their own natural resources.

Were not the Soviets doing the same?

You lost this debate when you made the Soviet Union our measuring stick. But it is really not surprising, because the beliefs, methods, policies and outcomes from the American right and the Soviet Union are identical. Be it foreign policy, environmental policy, human policy or human rights...

 

[S.J.]

You have an extremely naive and uninformed understanding of who and what the United States is.

In the 50's and 60's we had Joint Chiefs of Staff who firmly believed the U.S. should unleash a pre-emptive nuclear broadside against Russia while America still enjoyed massive arms superiority.

South America and the Middle East are the manifestation of America imperialism. America wasn't stopping communism, they were stopping sovereign nations from self determination and especially preventing them from control of their own natural resources.

Were not the Soviets doing the same?

You lost this debate when you made the Soviet Union our measuring stick. But it is really not surprising, because the beliefs, methods, policies and outcomes from the American right and the Soviet Union are identical. Be it foreign policy, environmental policy, human policy or human rights...

Bullshit. Another communist tactic of accusing your opponent of doing what you are doing.

 

[Bfgrn]

Were not the Soviets doing the same?

You lost this debate when you made the Soviet Union our measuring stick. But it is really not surprising, because the beliefs, methods, policies and outcomes from the American right and the Soviet Union are identical. Be it foreign policy, environmental policy, human policy or human rights...

Bullshit. Another communist tactic of accusing your opponent of doing what you are doing.

How do they differ?

 

[S.J.]

You lost this debate when you made the Soviet Union our measuring stick. But it is really not surprising, because the beliefs, methods, policies and outcomes from the American right and the Soviet Union are identical. Be it foreign policy, environmental policy, human policy or human rights...

Bullshit. Another communist tactic of accusing your opponent of doing what you are doing.

How do they differ?

You made the charge, you tell us how they are identical. And don't give us that vague and general bullshit you just gave. Be specific.

 

[JakeStarkey]

Most of the folks here who criticize American foreign policy in any of its era have no idea about what they are talking.