28: Flirting With Disaster

I don't believe there are any Russians, and there ain't no Yanks:
Just corporate criminals playing with tanks.
– Michael Been

The segments of this lecture are:

• 28a: Introduction
• 28b: A Farewell To Empires
• 28c: The Iron Curtain Descends
• 28d: Proxy Wars and the Arms Race
  
• 28e: Conclusions
  

 Important terms, concepts, individuals, and events:

British Commonwealth, French Indochina, Ho Chi Minh, Republic of Israel, Suez Crisis, Douglas MacArthur, West Berlin, East Germany, Taiwan, Marshall Plan, Dwight D. Eisenhower, Korean War, Bay of Pigs Invasion, Cuban Missile Crisis, mutually assured destruction (MAD)

Questions for consideration:

1. Why did the British and French empires crumble after World War II, and what were some of the consequences?
2. How did the Western attitude toward the former Axis countries differ from the Soviet attitude toward the former Axis countries?
3. Discuss the phenomenon of "proxy wars" from the beginning of the Korean War(1950) to the end of the Cuban Missile Crisis (1962).