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China becomes Communist
Description: The Communist Party of China was founded in 1921, chiefly by Chen Duxiu and Li Dazhao. Analysis: The more significant element of China becoming a Communist nation was that it ratcheted up the effort in the 1950s to ensure that Southeast Asia was protected from going Communist. China helped to spawn the "domino theory" mode of thought in the State Department that if one nation of a particular region became Communist, the others would, as well. -
Soviet launches Sputnik
Description: the world's first artificial satellite was about the size of a beach ball and took about 98 minutes to orbit the Earth on its elliptical path Analysis: US and USSR were in a space race -
The Six Day War
Description: The Origins of the Six-Day War by Israel and the neighboring states of Egypt (known then as the United Arab Republic [UAR]), Jordan, and Syria, lay in both longer term and immediate issues. Analysis: The Six Day War spawned the special relationship between Isreal and the United States. -
US sends a man to the moon
Description: Beginning in the late 1950s, space would become another dramatic arena for this competition, as each side sought to prove the superiority of its technology, its military firepower and–by extension–its political-economic system. Analysis: The Space Race was a 20th-century competition between two Cold War rivals, the Soviet Union (USSR) and the United States (US), for supremacy in spaceflight capability. -
USSR invades Afghanistan
Description: The Soviet Union intervened in support of the Afghan communist government in its conflict with anticommunist Muslim guerrillas during the Afghan War (1978–92) and remained in Afghanistan until mid-February 1989. Analysis: The Afghan war was a great drain on the Soviet military, and it cost the Soviet regime significant international prestige. Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev withdrew the last Soviet troops in February 1989. -
US invades Grenada
Description: President Ronald Reagan, citing the threat posed to American nationals on the Caribbean nation of Grenada by that nation's Marxist regime, orders the Marines to invade and secure their safety. Analysis: Problems between the US and the Caribbean nation began in 1979 when a bloodless coup placed the pro-Marxist Maurice Bishop as the Prime Minister, which led to strengthened ties between Grenada and communist nations like Cuba and the Soviet Union.
