Outline of the Cold War
End of the Cold War – While many observers state the 1989 Malta Summit was the end of the Cold War, it was December 1991 before the Presidents of the United States and the Soviet Union formally recognised the conflict's end, with the Soviet Union also being dissolved at that time. Some key events leading up to the end include:
Cold War (1953–1962)
Prior to his election in 1953, Dwight D. Eisenhower was already displeased with the manner that Harry S. Truman had handled the war in Korea. After the United States secured a resolution from the United Nations to engage in military defense on behalf of South Korea, whom had been invaded by North Korea in an attempt to unify all of Korea under the communist North Korean regime, President Truman engaged U.S. land, air, and sea forces; United States involvement in the war quickly reversed the direction of military advancement into South Korea to military advancement into North Korea; to the point that North Korean forces were being forced against the border with China, which led to the involvement of hundreds of thousands of communist Chinese troops heavily assaulting U.S. and South Korean forces. Acting on a campaign pledge made during his United States presidential election campaign, Eisenhower visited Korea on December 2, 1952 to assess to the situation. Eisenhower's investigation consisted of meeting with South Korean troops, commanders, and government officials, after his meetings Eisenhower concluded, "we could not stand forever on a static front and continue to accept casualties without any visible results. Small attacks on small hills would not end this war". Eisenhower urged the South Korean President Syngman Rhee to compromise in order to speed up peace talks. This coupled with the United States' threat of using nuclear weapons if the war did not end soon, lead to the signing of an armistice on July 27, 1953. The armistice concluded the United States initial Cold War concept of "limited war". Prisoners of war were allowed to choose where they would stay, either the area that would become North Korea or the area to become South Korea, and a border was placed between the two territories in addition to an allotted demilitarized zone. The "police action" implemented by the Korean U.N. agreement prevented communism spreading from North Korea to South Korea. United States involvement in the Korean War demonstrated its readiness to the world to rally to the aid of nations under invasion. particularly communistic invasion, and resulted in President Eisenhower's empowered image as an effective leader against tyranny; this ultimately led to a strengthened position of the United States in Europe and guided the development of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation. The primary effect of these developments for the United States were the military buildup called for in response to Cold War concerns as seen in NSC 68.