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The shock-waves of this rivalry still continue to be felt. In fact, the escalation of balance of terror and nuclear-generated environmental and health problems are a clear indication of the effects of the cold-war. The nuclear war-heads that were used during the cold war era have left a lasting impact on the lives of many.

Alliances that were crafted during the Second World War in part contributed to escalation of cold war. This resonates well with the article's contention about the emergence of cold war. When Stalin mooted the idea of invading Western Europe to relieve pressure on the Russians, the Russians suffered mass causalities from the Nazi Germans whom they were left alone to fight. When Stalin once more tried to impress on the Allied forces the need for a second front, the British and the Americans instead opted to invade Sicily in the summer of 1943. The Soviet Union as a result lost many of its soldiers. This led to distrust among the allied forces.

It is for a fact that United States history was punctuated with series of events especially between 1945 and 1949. During this period, they had no military alliances, had a small defense budget, and had limited troops. In the 60's, the United States had put in place a massive military establishment, signed mutual defense pact with forty countries, intervened in the affairs of her allies and enemies, built military bases across the world, and engaged USSR in protracted nuclear-arms race. The article's reference to cold war as neither being peace nor war is not in doubt because cold war espoused a series of undertakings that embodied both peace and war. I finding extremely confusing when the paper talks of Marshall Plan being in effect in late 1947 when the Marshall Plan was actually initiated in April 1948 to combat hunger, poverty, and desperation.