David, Host of The Cold War

Algeria wasn't an imperial possession, in the minds of the French (the Algerians were absolutely colonials but the land was French...). How they set up their post-colonial relationships with subsaharan Africa was learned from mistakes in Indochina

The Berlin Wall. A firm border that prevented the sucking drain from East to West which was resulting in inflamed tensions as there wasn't at the time a formal mechanism. The Wall allowed for rules to be followed and enforced across the entire region, same as the inner German border had done

The Soviet Union didn't end because of the actions of an outside force; it ended as a result of its own actions. Glasnost and Perestroika interacted with growing nationalisms and the hollowed out weakness at the centre couldn't hold it together anymore

Similar idea, yeah. More Keynesian I think...investment to spurn more innovation

It was a high level discussion that was had while Mao and Ho were in Moscow and Stalin largely directed attention towards Korea. Logevall makes reference to it in his "Embers of War" as does Goscha in "Road to Dien Bien Phu" although neither expounds on it deeply

I had a teacher who was in Berlin when it happened and he woke up and couldn't figure out what the hell had happened. Total surprise

BRIXMAS/USMLM/SOXMIS was the significant exception. And it's qualification as espionage may result in some debate as while they were spying, everybody explicitly KNEW what they were there for? Probably a good debate to be had about that actually

I would argue that while there were lots of changes and a general relaxation from about 1986/7 onwards, there was a baseline adversarial thread between the US and the Soviets, that until the Soviets ceased to exist was always going to be there. Had the August Coup succeeded, a redeepening was likely

"A sonofabitch but our sonofabitch"...

"I cannot afford to live in NYC, so I am forced to leave" - a thing that happens to people

"I can afford to live in NYC, but they slightly raised my taxes so I no longer want to live there" - not a thing that happens to people

What did KGB Know About Iran's SAVAK and CIA in Iran in Mid-1970s?

Find out in my new article just published on Substack. #espionage #coldwarhistory @socintelhist.bsky.social

Here's the link: open.substack.com/pub/kgbstack...

Those are ongoing regional conflicts that originated during the Cold War but aren't central to what defined the Cold War, which was the power struggle between the US and the USSR.

Bank holiday today so at a water-access cottage for the day.

and the funny thing about it is, the US wasn't even very good at maintaining that rule! Happy to deal with Tito and happy to deal with Mao/China ...i should probably revise the point to just be "anti-Soviet"

B-1 Bomber, stealth, tomahawk, MX missile, Patriot...all were funded/greenlit by Carter

Happy to! Cold War periodization is turning into my jam 😅

I remember watching episodes of Куклы while in Moscow but my Russian was never good enough to follow it

Jacobin just recently published an article suggesting the end of the Cuban Missile Crisis end the cold war, but that is an argument steeped in definitions and interpretations that Im not overly fond of

It's an "absolutely no later than Dec 26, 1991" situation. Possible contenders include the failure of the August Coup in 1991, the Fall of the Berlin Wall, the signature of the CFE Treaty and some have suggested Gorbachevs pledge in early-ish 1989 to not interfere in the domestic affairs of the Pact

Land of Confusion has the absolute best video, hands down

It's like a stopped clock made out of hate and ignorance. It may be correct from time to time, but fundamentally...

I freely admit that the first two are a poor excuse for the third.

I justify it by showing up on YouTube a few times a month trying to educate. Which is well outside my comfort zone!

Too old, too inflexible, and most importantly, too embarrassed to be around all the fit people who take pole (and various other classes requiring coordination and/or effort)

The label shows up for me. Fortunately, I am not shy and clicked though to see athletic abilities I am in no way, shape, or form able to accomplish.

I find it too upsetting. Getting dragged down and beaten with their own ignorance and stupidity

Russian history, the short version: "and then things got worse"

a group of men standing next to each other with the words say yes written on the bottom Alt: a group of men standing next to each other with the words say yes written on the bottom

I was thinking of a Ghostbusters are-you-a-god type reference but that would require engaging with them.

So, this has been a lot of fun, and really good for my thought process on a bunch of things. I will add a few more probably as they occur to me but I am not going to hit 200+ posts, I apologize.

Please do consider supporting us (The Cold War Channel) on YouTube and/or Patreon!

absolutely stunning