Deck 14: Challenges of the Cold War

Question 1

Why did President Eisenhower not chose to use nuclear weapons in the Korean War?

A) He thought them of little value in this war.
B) He followed his predecessors' policy of never using nuclear weapons.
C) He feared the political consequences of using nuclear weapons.
D) He was morally opposed to the use of nuclear weapons.

Answer 1

A

Question 2

How did the Soviet Union respond to the formation of NATO?

A) They organized their satellite regions into a military alliance.
B) They enhanced their conventional military capabilities.
C) They eliminated their nuclear arsenal.
D) They eliminated conventional and nuclear capabilities.

Answer 2

A

Question 3

How did the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, Admiral Arthur Radford, propose that the U.S. respond to the possibility of Soviet possession of the hydrogen bomb?

A) Launch a preemptive nuclear strike against the Soviets.
B) Initiate talks on a broad range of potentially volatile issues.
C) Inform NATO allies and holding a joint strategy development summit.
D) Take no action until the reports were confirmed.

Answer 3

A

Question 4

What gave the Secretary of Defense broad new powers, including the ability to designate the development of certain weapons systems for specific services?

A) Defense Reorganization Act of 1958
B) National Defense Education Act
C) National Endowment for the Humanities
D) Gaither Act

Question 5

Who presented the most in-depth critique of the strategic dilemmas posed by the New Look?

A) Bernard Brodie
B) Maxwell Taylor
C) Herman Kahn
D) Henry Kissinger

Question 6

What was the integrated defense plan developed under Eisenhower known as?

A) Single Integrated Operational Plan
B) All or Nothing
C) Massive Retaliation
D) Brinksmanship

Question 7

Why did President Eisenhower reject French requests to assist at Dien Bien Phu?

A) He feared that American assistance could bring China into the conflict.
B) He did not subscribe to the Domino Theory.
C) He did not want to have to ask Democratic congressmen for support.
D) He did not believe that the Vietnamese were capable of defeating the French.

Question 8

Which of the following best describes the relationship between the United States and Ho Chi Minh?

A) Although they were once allies, Minh's association with Communism severed those ties.
B) While the United States continued to back Minh privately, they publically supported the French command.
C) Because of Minh's connections to Communism the two had never been amicable.
D) The United States fought Minh during World War II but needed his assistance in the 1950s.

Question 9

Which countries contested the ownership of the islands of Quemoy and Matsu?

A) China and Taiwan
B) China and Japan
C) China and Korea
D) Taiwan and Korea

Question 10

How was a world war averted during the Suez Canal conflict?

A) Great Britain and France obeyed a United Nation proposal to cease their aggression.
B) Eisenhower sought a quick military solution.
C) The Soviet Union and the United States aligned politically.
D) Egypt opted against nationalizing the Suez Canal.

Question 11

Who was the pilot of the U-2 spy plane shot down by the Soviets in May 1960?

A) Gary Powers
B) Kermit Roosevelt
C) Herbert Hoover, Jr.
D) John Eisenhower

Question 12

In general, how is Kennedy's approach to Cold War strategy compared to Eisenhower's?

A) Less formal than Eisenhower's relying on systems analysts and advisers.
B) As formal as Eisenhower's, using staff-like think tanks.
C) More formal than Eisenhower's, consisting of top-secret policy making shut-ins.
D) The two cannot be compared as Kennedy set a completely different defense agenda.

Question 13

How did helicopter usage change under the tactics of the Kennedy administration and McNamara?

A) They began to be used for combat purposes.
B) They were used primarily for reconnaissance missions.
C) They were rearmed with nuclear weapons.
D) They were solely used for medical evacuations.

Question 14

What was the purpose of the Berlin Wall?

A) to stop the flow of refugees from the eastern bloc
B) to provide a symbol of Soviet oppression
C) to embarrass Kennedy in the eyes of the world
D) to stop American counter-intelligence operations in East Berlin

Question 15

How did Kennedy compromise with Khrushchev during the Cuban Missile Crisis?

A) He agreed to remove American missiles from Turkey.
B) He agreed to call off the Bay of Pigs invasion.
C) He allowed the Soviet Union to place missiles in Havana.
D) He recognized Fidel Castro as the Cuban leader.

Question 16

Describe the paradoxical nature of nuclear weapons within the strategic concept of the Cold War. How did policy makers seek to solve the impasse?

Question 17

How did the U.S. and its NATO allies differ in planning for war with the Soviet Union? What assumptions underlay the strategic thinking regarding nuclear weapons by both groups? Were these accurate? Why or why not?

Question 18

Why did cutting the budget become a key factor in Eisenhower's defense policy? How did the Joint Chiefs respond to the economic concerns of the president? What were their plan's strengths and limitations? Was it adopted? Why or why not?

Question 19

How did the American strategic approach to nuclear weapons fundamentally alter as a result of focus on nuclear deterrence? What were the advantages and pitfalls of this approach?

Question 20

Was there any consensus of opinion among the civilian strategists? If so what was it? Were their concerns well founded? Why or why not?

Question 21

How did SIOP-63 differ from SIOP-62?

Question 22

How did the regional challenges of the later 1950s and early 1960s underscore the problems inherent in the basic assumptions of the New Look?

Question 23

What was the Domino Theory? How did it affect U.S. conceptions of the Cold War?

Question 24

What factors combined to make the Middle East a significant front in the Cold War? How did the U.S. respond to challenges in this region?

Question 25

How did the U.S. respond when it confirmed the basing of Soviet missiles in Cuba?