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Vietnam's past can be summed up by two words: foreign rule. Vietnam was first under China's rule, then France, then Japan in World War II. After World War II, France wanted Vietnam back but the nationalists wanted independence and was supported by the United States. In 1954, the Geneva Accords ended war with France and divided the nation into North and South Vietnam. North Vietnam would be occupied by the Vietminh (Communists), while South Vietnam would be under the control of anti-Communist nationalists. The United States did not step in until the Vietnam elections of 1956, when Ngo Dinh Diem canceled the elections so that Ho Chi Minh would not win. The United States supported Diem, however, he was very corrupt and eventually Diem's popularity decreased. Even with financial and military aid from the U.S. Diem failed to support his nation, resulting in his removal. After Diem's removal and death, South Vietnam became a mess. Then in August of 1964, the Tonkin Gulf Resolution was made on the basis of an alleged torpedo fired from North Vietnam to an American destroyer and USS Maddox. This alleged torpedo prompted President Johnson to launch bombing strikes on North Vietnam. By 1967, there were 500,000 American troops in Vietnam.

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The Vietnam War was a war between North and South Vietnam. The United States' involvement was unnecessary and called on the basis of an alleged torpedo attack, which was later proven to have never happened. The United States had grown more interested and confident about their ability to stop the spread of communism around the world. The conflict in Vietnam was one of these situations in which the U.S. believed it could help, but only resulted in a 20 year long war. The United States is significantly more guilty in this situation.

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Castro and the Soviet Union's Premier Nikita Khrushchev had a very powerful alliance. Khrushchev promised to defend Cuba with Soviet arms and by the summer of 1962, the number of Soviet weapons shipped to Cuba had increased greatly, including nuclear missiles. President Kennedy warned that America would not tolerate nuclear weapons in Cuba. Following this warning, photographs taken by American planes revealed Soviet missile bases in Cuba, some with missiles ready to be launched. Kennedy addressed the situation by making it very clear that any attack from Cuba would result in "all-out attack" on the Soviet Union. For the next six days, the world worried about the possibility of a nuclear war. In the Atlantic Ocean, Soviet ships headed towards Cuba while the U.S. Navy prepared to quarantine Cuba and prevent ships from coming close to Cuba. In Florida, 100,000 troops were stood ready to invade. The tension finally broke when the Soviet ships stopped suddenly, a few days later Khrushchev offered to remove missile bases in Cuba if the U.S. pledged not to invade Cuba.

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The Cuban Missile Crisis was a very big deal. With the discovery of the Soviet missile bases, and knowing the tension between the Soviet Union and the United States did not make matters any better. People were genuinely afraid. Just like the Soviet Union, the United States had secret missile bases in Turkey. Because of this, both countries are equally at fault for the tension and atmosphere at the time.

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When Fidel Castro came into power in 1959, he openly declared himself a communist and welcomed aid from the Soviet Union. While some Cubans supported Castro, others did not and saw him as a tyrant. About 10% of Cuba's population was exiled, most of which went to the United States. Within the large community of exiles in Miami, Florida, a counterrevolutionary movement was created. In March of 1960, Eisenhower gave the CIA permission to secretly train Cuban exiles for an invasion of Cuba. When Kennedy learned of this plan, he approved it. On April 17th, 1961, approximately 1,500 Cuban exiles who were supported by the U.S. military landed on the southern coast of Cuba in the Bay of Pigs. What seemed to be a good and clever plan quickly turned to chaos. When the main commando unit landed, it faced 25,000 Cuban troops backed up with Soviet tanks and aircraft. Some invading Cuban exiles were killed, others imprisoned. Kennedy negotiated with Castro for the release of surviving commandos and paid a ransom of $53 million in food and medical supplies. Kennedy warned that he would resist further Communist expansion in the Western Hemisphere and in response, Castro welcomed more aid from the Soviet Union.

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As the Soviet Union continues to influence other countries, the United States specifically Kennedy, is frustrated that Cuba has become a Communist country. The United States wants to force already Communist countries out of Communism, knowing that will cause tension and possibly many deaths. The United States knew what it was getting into by invading the Bay of Pigs, making the U.S. more at fault than the Soviet Union.

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In 1955, Egypt went to Great Britain and the United States for help constructing a damn at Aswan on the Nile River. Great Britain and the United States agreed, however the head of Egypt's government, Gamal Abdel-Nasser, also asked the Soviet Union for aid. In 1956, after learning that Nasser was making deals with the Soviets, Dulles withdrew his loan. Nasser responded by nationalizing the Suez Canal, the Egyptian waterway that was owned by France and Great Britain. The nationalization of the waterway also affected Israel as Nasser refused to let ships bound for Israel pass through the canal. Israel, Great Britain, and France responded by sending troops and seized the Mediterranean end of the canal. The UN quickly stepped in, persuading Great Britain, France and Israel to withdraw but the canal remained under Egyptian control.

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In the events leading up to the Suez War, there is no body at fault but Egypt. Nasser tried to play the Soviets and the Americans against each other.

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On October 4th, 1957, the Soviet Union launched the world's first artificial satellite, Sputnik. Sputnik traveled around Earth at 18,000 miles per hour, circling Earth every 96 minutes. Sputnik was the Soviet Union's advantage in what was called the Space Race, a competition for international prestige. The race was between the United States and the Soviet Union, with the launch of Sputnik, Americans began working endlessly to catch up and on January 31, 1958, the United States successfully launched its first satellite.

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The Space Race was a huge deal in both the Soviet Union and the United States. The competition meant respect from other countries and world power. This race added to the tension between the two nations and leaves both nations equally at fault for the virulent environment during the Cold War.

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After World War II, Korea split into two nations: one communist and the other democratic. By 1948, the Republic of Korea, also known as South Korea, was established in the zone that was once occupied by the U.S. Its government was led by Syngman Rhee and based in Seoul. Meanwhile, the Communists established themselves in North Korea and formed the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. They were run by Kim II Sung and based in Pyongyang. At the time, the U.S. only had 500 troops in South Korea, the Soviet Union assumed that the U.S. would not defend South Korea and prepared to back North Korea by sending tanks, airplanes, and money. In June of 1950, North Koreans moved into South Korea, in a few days they had already taken most of South Korea. South Korea went to the United Nations for help, in response, Truman ordered troops to Japan to support South Korea and an American fleet to be stationed in between Taiwan and China. Altogether, 16 nations sent approximately 520,000 troops to help South Korea with the majority being American troops. With time, the UN army was able to chase North Korean troops out of South Korea, and eventually UN troops approached the border of North Korea and China (Yalu River). The Communists Chinese wanted North Korea as a Communist border state and backed up North Korea, sending UN troops back into South Korea while also capturing Seoul. Eventually, the war ended in a stalemate in 1953 with the coexisting nations of South and North Korea.

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In the Korean War, the Soviet Union only backed up and encouraged North Korea to invade South Korea because they thought the United States would not get involved. The Soviets also didn't get to veto the UN's plan of military action to help South Korea. The Soviet Union did not think of the consequences that would follow the invasion of South Korea. In this situation, the Soviet Union is more at fault than the United States. But the United States does hold some responsibility.

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In hopes of helping the post war chaos in Western Europe, in June of 1947, Secretary of State George Marshall proposed that the United States provide aid to all European nations in need. Western Europe was eagerly in need of help, most of its factories had been bombed or ransacked, people were living in refugee camps, and that winter only made matters worse. The winter of 1946-1947 destroyed crops, froze rivers, cutting off water transportation and causing a fuel shortage. For the next four years, 16 European countries received about $13 billion in aid. By 1952, Western Europe was thriving and the Communism was losing its popularity.

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As the United States sent out aid to Western European countries like Britain, France, Italy, West Germany, etc, it was also decreasing the strength and popularity of communism. In doing this act of kindness, the United States also benefited. By supplying Europe with goods, American farms and factories raised production. As a result, America's economy was flourishing. The Marshall Plan may have been brought up on the basis of helping people in need but it ended up doing much more than that. In the eyes of the Soviet Union, the U.S' involvement could have been seen as a way to interfere with the Communist party. Thus creating even more tension between the two countries. Because of all this, the United States is only slightly more at fault than the Soviet Union.

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The Truman Doctrine, was a statement made by President Truman in regards of the United States' involvement in Greece and Turkey. The Soviet Union was trying to expand their power by influencing Greece and Turkey, at the time Britain was financially supporting both nations' resistance to Soviet Union influence. Britain's economy was heavily influenced by the war and could no longer give aid to these nations. Britain then asked the United States to take over the responsibility. President Truman accepted and in March of 1947, asked Congress for $400 million for economic and military aid for Greece and Turkey. In the Truman Doctrine, Truman states "it must be the policy of the United States to support free peoples who are resisting attempted subjugation by armed minorities or outside pressures." Congress agreed and between the years 1947 -1950, the United States gave Greece and Turkey $400 million, which helped reduce communist expansion.

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The Truman Doctrine was one of the very first conflicts between the United States and the Soviet Union. Although, both nations were allies, they did not maintain the greatest communication with each other and disagreed on various matters. One of them being the Soviet Union's desire to expand their communist ideas. With the Truman Doctrine, the United States worked against the Soviet Union, thus creating a tension between two of the most powerful nations. In this situation, the Soviet Union is more at fault than the United States. The Soviet Union was forcing their ideas onto the people of Greece and Turkey, forcing Britain to help. Britain then asked the United States to takeover the responsibility, and that is when the U.S. stepped in.

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In February of 1945, Roosevelt and Churchill, also known as "The Big Three", met with Stalin in the city of Yalta in the Soviet Union. This meeting took eight days. At this meeting they discussed the effects of the war on Germany, as well as the rest of the world. The Soviet Union was devastated by German forces and preferred a harsh approach on Germany; the Soviet Union wanted to keep Germany divided into occupation zones that would be controlled by Allied military forces. Churchill strongly disagreed with Stalin, while Roosevelt acted as mediator. Roosevelt wanted the Soviet Union to join the war against Japan and Stalin's support in a new peacekeeping organization, the United Nations. To satisfy Stalin, Roosevelt convinced Churchill to agree to a temporary division of Germany into four zones. The zones would be under the control of the Americans, the British, the Soviets, and the French. In exchange, Stalin promised "free and unfettered elections" in Poland and other Soviet-occupied countries, agreed to join the war in the Pacific and participate in an international conference in April in San Francisco, where the United Nations would be created.

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Due to their actions at the Yalta Conference, the Soviet Union and the United States are equally at fault for the hostile atmosphere after World War II. The Soviet Union had been hit hard by German forces and wanted vengeance. Stalin wanted to approach Germany harshly, by keeping Germany divided into military zones Germany would never be able to threaten the Soviet Union again. The Soviet Union wanted to regain their world power and although Churchill strongly disagreed, Roosevelt managed to convince Churchill to agree to Stalin's ideas. Roosevelt was willing to compromise with Stalin because he was more interested in having Stalin's support in the Pacific against Japan and in a new world peace organization, the United Nations. Roosevelt did not try to stop Stalin, so they are equally at fault for creating a hostile military environment in Germany, as well as with other world powers.