Cold War

Why did the United States get involved in the Korean War (1950-1953)?

• North Vietnam threatened to overrun the entire Korean peninsula and turn it communist.

• After the fall of China to communism, the U.S was afraid of a domino effect.

• China armed South Korea to defend its communist government against the democratic North.

• Since North Korea was a NATO country it forced the United States into the war on their side.

The successful launching of Sputnik by the Soviet Union in 1957 signaled the beginning of

• American fears that the Soviets had achieved technological superiority.

• the Cold War with the United States.

• Soviet aggression in Afghanistan and China

• disarmament discussions between the superpowers.

The Bay of Pigs incident involved

• the presence of Soviet nuclear missiles in Cuba.

• a U.S.-sponsored attempt by Cuban exiles to overthrow communist dictator Fidel Castro.

• a confrontation between U.S. and Soviet troops in Europe.

• a clash between a U.S. Navy destroyer and North Vietnamese patrol boats.

Which of the following best characterizes the Cuban Missile Crisis during John F. Kennedy’s presidency?

• The presence of Soviet missiles in Cuba was discovered by an American spy plane.

• The president of the United States overreacted and invaded the island-nation of Cuba.

• Fidel Castro threatened to invade Florida if the U.S. did not lift its economic embargo.

• Nikita Khrushchev refused to install nuclear missiles in Cuba in order to limit the extent of the Cold War.

Which of the following best summarizes the United States’ main reason for participating in the Vietnam War?

• The United States was required to fight under the terms of its military alliance with Japan.

• Vietnamese leader Ho Chi Minh requested American military assistance.

• The government felt obliged to protect the United States’ considerable business interests in Vietnam.

• American foreign policy experts believed that, without intervention, communism would spread from Vietnam into Laos and Cambodia.

All of the following are reasons why the Viet Cong was formed EXCEPT:

• persecution of the Buddhists by the South Vietnamese government.

• persecution of the poor by the South Vietnamese government.

• strong support for South Vietnamese president Ngo Diem Dinh.

• a desire by many South Vietnamese to reunite with the North.

Why did the United States not utilize nuclear weapons during the Vietnam War?

• It feared North Vietnam would retaliate with its own nuclear weapons.

• It feared that the Soviet Union might get involved and utilize its own nuclear weapons.

• The U.S. was under treaty not to utilize nuclear weapons ever again in Asia.

• The U.S. did not have the capability to deliver nuclear weapons to far destinations such as North Vietnam.

All of the following were results of the Vietnam War EXCEPT:

• South Vietnam was defeated.

• the reunification of Vietnam into a communist country.

• the fall of Laos and Cambodia to communism.

• victory by the United States.

Why did the Soviet Union invade Afghanistan on Christmas, 1979?

• because it viewed Afghanistan as an enemy.

• in order to destroy Al-Qaeda.

• to help Afghanistan’s communist government remain in power.

• to help the rebels there defeat the government.

The Soviet invasion of Afghanistan was very similar to the experience of the U.S. during the Vietnam War in all of the following ways EXCEPT:

• they both fought against guerrilla armies.

• they both withdrew from the war

• they were both victorious.

• they both had a difficult time distinguishing the enemy from civilians.