Question
“The post-Second World War (1939-1945) decades (1945-1990) were marked by intense rivalry between two superpowes'. Examine the statement.
Solution
The post-war decades were marked by intense rivalry between two superpowers–the capitalist USA and the communist USSR—for world supremacy.
(i)Since nuclear weapons had become the new currency of power, both countries began to make and stockpile them on a large scale.
(ii)The Cuban Missile Crisis of October 1962 was a particularly dark episode in this unfolding military competition.
(iii)It began when American spy planes discovered Soviet nuclear missiles in neighbouring Cuba.
(iv)The USA responded by organising a naval blockade of Cuba and threatening military action against the USSR, if the missiles were not removed.
(v)This eyeball-to-eyeball confrontation ended when the Soviet Union withdrew the missiles.
(vi)During the two weeks it lasted, the crisis had brought humanity perilously close to the brink of total destruction.
(i)Since nuclear weapons had become the new currency of power, both countries began to make and stockpile them on a large scale.
(ii)The Cuban Missile Crisis of October 1962 was a particularly dark episode in this unfolding military competition.
(iii)It began when American spy planes discovered Soviet nuclear missiles in neighbouring Cuba.
(iv)The USA responded by organising a naval blockade of Cuba and threatening military action against the USSR, if the missiles were not removed.
(v)This eyeball-to-eyeball confrontation ended when the Soviet Union withdrew the missiles.
(vi)During the two weeks it lasted, the crisis had brought humanity perilously close to the brink of total destruction.
