The Cold War marks a point in history that is distinguished by international turmoil and distrust between what were at the time, the world's two most powerful nations. Advancements in technology as well as different visions in governing style came together to establish one of the most tense periods in history.
After the US essentially ended the second World War by dropping the newly created atomic bomb on the Japanese cities of Nagasaki and Hiroshima, the immense power that this weapon showcased caused a ripple of fear to roll through the world. The fact that the US possessed what was at the time a weapon of almost unparalled capabilities led to feelings of distrust to manifest, especially in their wartime allies of the Soviet Union. This…show more content… Each tends to ascribe to the other a consistency, foresight, and coherence that his own experience belies." Kissinger is of course referring to the fact that both Eisenhower and Khrushchev, the leaders of the United States and the Soviet Union respectively, were both on track to a relaxation in the immense tension, however both men were without the ability to comprehend or trust the motives and behaviors of the other. To deal with the American public's wariness of the Soviet superpower that was emerging, the government of the United States began work to expand reconnaissance missions in order to document the Soviet's progress. The U-2 program was one of the CIA's "greatest intelligence achievements"(Tenet). Up until this point, US intelligence did not have the adequate means to provide the vital information that could warn Eisenhower of an imminent Soviet attack, as well as supply him with enough information to be able to make difficult decisions concerning the nation's security. The US had been blind. With the creation of the U-2, the United States gained the ability to see past the Iron…show more content… A U-2 plane piloted by Francis Gary Powers went missing on a routine reconnaissance flight over the Soviet Union. The CIA reassured Eisenhower that this was not an immediate cause for concern as even if the plane had been shot down, it was equipped with self-destruction mechanisms that would destroy all evidence of it intended purpose. In addition to that as an added precaution pilots had been supplied with a coin that contained a poisoned needle that if it came down to it they were to use and as a result perish to avoid capture. Because all this information indicated that the US would be in the clear, the government decided to issue a statement exclaiming that an American weather plane had veered off course and crashed somewhere over the Soviet Union. This was in all manners of the word a cover story which ends up thrusting the U.S. into hot water. What the US did not know, was that not only did Powers choose not to use the needle and was captured after surviving the crash , but he had been unable to set of the detonation to destroy the evidence, so Khrushchev was now in possession of the almost fully intact aircraft complete with the incriminating photos that revealed the true nature of the flight. Khrushchev was justifiably furious at the complete dishonesty and lack of trust that the United States clearly projected. When the U.S. government issued the statement containing
