Cold War Vocab

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Across
  1. 3. Asustained period of geopolitical, ideological, and economic tension between and the US USSR following World War II.
  2. 5. The most destructive type of nuclear weapon, using nuclear fusion to release immense energy.
  3. 11. A military doctrine and national security policy stating that a full-scale nuclear attack by one nuclear-armed state on another with similar capabilities would result in the complete annihilation of both the attacker and defender.
  4. 14. A 20th-century Cold War competition between the USA and USSR for supremacy in space exploration technology.
  5. 17. The policy of preventing the expansion of a hostile political power
  6. 18. An informal, powerful alliance between a nation’s military, defense industry, and political leaders, where private companies supply weapons and services, influencing government policy to ensure high defense spending.
  7. 19. An independent U.S. government agency established in 1947 responsible for providing national security intelligence to senior policymakers.
  8. 21. American CIA pilot
Down
  1. 1. A Cold War-era military doctrine where a state commits to responding to any significant aggression with overwhelming nuclear force, rather than relying on conventional weapons.
  2. 2. Countries that are formally independent and sovereign but under heavy political, economic, and military influence or control from a stronger foreign power.
  3. 4. A conflict where belligerents restrict their objectives, targets, or resources used, stopping short of total national destruction or all-out, existential fighting.
  4. 6. A formal document issued by a government or authority that creates an entity, defines its rights, or outlines the principles of a group.
  5. 7. The ideological, political, and physical boundary that divided Europe into two separate areas—Soviet-controlled Eastern Europe and democratic Western Europe—from the end of World War II (1945) until the end of the Cold War (1991).
  6. 8. A sovereign state with a lower average standard of living, underdeveloped industrial base, and a low Human Development Index (HDI) compared to developed countries.
  7. 9. A Cold War defense strategy implemented by the Kennedy administration in 1961 to provide a wide range of diplomatic, political, and military options to combat communist aggression.
  8. 10. The highest point, peak, or apex of a mountain, hill, or abstract concept.
  9. 12. The practice of pushing dangerous situations to the absolute limit of safety—the "brink"—to force an opponent to back down and make concessions.
  10. 13. A Soviet-led military and political alliance established on May 14, 1955, during the Cold War.
  11. 15. "Loosening" or "relaxation," used in politics to describe the easing of strained relations, tensions, or hostilities between adversarial nations.
  12. 16. A technique used in surveying, navigation, and technology to determine a precise location or point by measuring angles from a known baseline, forming triangles.
  13. 20. Actions, information, or objects that are hidden, secret, or not openly practiced, often implying intentional concealment or stealth.