Take home mid term Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Take home mid term - Essay Example This was during the Second World War. On the other hand, Soviet Union scientists were busy also developing their own nuclear weapons. The USA undertook the Manhattan project in secrecy since Britain and America did not trust the Soviet Union despite their allegiance at the time (Haass 67). America was the only nation after World War II which had nuclear power. It hoped that with the possession of nuclear weapons, it would manipulate and draw concessions from the Soviet Union. However, this was not to be the case since the Soviet Union also was continuously working behind the scenes to develop their own nuclear weapon. The Soviet Union was initially unable to build its own atomic weapon since the war limited its access to uranium. Thus, after the end of World War II, uranium deposits in Eastern Europe became readily available. The Soviet Union detonated its first nuclear bomb in 1949. Subsequently, both the United States of America and the Soviet Union commenced the construction of a hydrogen bomb. The United States tested the hydrogen bomb on November 1952. Also, the United States gain tested another hydrogen bomb in 1954 on bikini atoll. The introduction of the ICBMs (intercontinental ballistic missiles) was a major development during the arms race period (Weir Jr 87). Unlike bombers, missiles were seen as better carriers of nuclear warheads. To show the world that they could deploy a missile which could reach anywhere in the world, the Soviet Union launched into the earth orbit the sputnik satellite in 1957. The USA launched its version in 1959. The notion behind the nuclear arms race during the cold war was for supremacy purposes. The country with the largest arsenal would manipulate the other. Also, the mutual assured destruction concept or notion ensured that both the United States and the Soviet Union could not attack each other. Although both nations invested heavily in military defence programs, none of these were secure (Caldicott