Truman's Tensions After The Second World War

Following the Second World War, tensions between the two worlds greatest superpowers, the USSR and the USA, grew substantially higher. The origins of these tensions dated back to the Russian Revolution in 1917. Various events from 1945 and onward included disagreements on the non-aggression pact, and the creation of the iron curtain which caused suspicion and mistrust leaving a negative impact on the relationship between the USSR and the USA for years to come. The peace treaty signing between Germany and the USSR during World War ll caused suspicion around the world. All allied powers are pledged to aid one another and fight their common enemy no matter the circumstances. However, the Soviet Union contribution with the peace treaty caused skepticism

Stalin argued how Truman never informed him about his development on a nuclear weapon. During the Potsdam Conference, however Truman deliberately mentioned the bomb to Stalin that “the US had a new weapon of unusual destructive force” (Hiroshima and the Cold War). Truman didn’t specifically referred to the weapon the atomic bomb and never said he was going to use it against Japan. “Stalin merely nodded, and witnesses were convinced he hadn’t realised the implication of what he had just been told” (Hiroshima and the Cold War). Despite, the US intentions of bombing Japan only, Stalin took it personally and felt threatened as the Soviet Union might become their next target. “They are killing the Japanese and intimidating us” (Stalin and the Bomb). In Stalin’s ‘Bolshoi’s Speech’, he accuses America of “using its atomic advantage for imperialism” (Bolshoi, Stalin). Without question, the atomic bomb directly became a prime factor that led to negative relations in the Cold War. Tensions begin to worsen once again between the two superpowers as their relationship continues to

However, Premier Khrushchev of the Soviet Union, declines the proposal continuing its Soviet foreign policy to “deny intercontinental inspections of any form” (U-2 Overflights). Khrushchev also mentions that the Soviet Union had developed numerous Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles, ICBMs. The Soviet Union’s implication only motivated the United States to explore new ways of interfering and gaining intel on the Soviet nuclear program. To gather data on their Cold War rival, President Eisenhower authorized a plan along with their government agency the CIA, to gather information on the Soviet Union about their nuclear capabilities and intentions. Eisenhower used U-2 spy planes and gained sufficient intel on the Soviet Union’s weapon supply and other information regarding its military technology. He is pleased that the Soviet’s strength in nuclear weapons are less advanced than what Khrushchev had claimed. Eisenhower decides to authorize two spy missions over the Soviet Union before its meeting at the East and West Paris Summit. Nonetheless, the US sends American pilot Francis Gary Powers on its reconnaissance mission in Soviet airspace. As Powers takes photographs on Soviet military facilities, he comes into contact with surface-to air missiles,