During the cold war, both the West and USSR together with other signatories of the Warsaw Pact were wary of each other and believed that the other party wanted to attack them (Aldrich, 2001 p. 3). The West, led by the USA, the UK, and NATO, were more successful in their activities as they successfully monitored the Soviet Union and prevented them from attacking them or worse, bringing down the West altogether. The success of Western intelligence in avoiding a nuclear war with Russia between 1970 and 1989 by collecting as much information about the Russian as possible was mainly down to:
- Owning superior technological devices that aided them in monitoring Soviet activities
- The confusion in the Soviet ranks especially after the rise of Mikhail Gorbachev.
Why Western Intelligence Succeeded
The West, led possessed much more sophisticated equipment for collection of information about their enemy. This is exemplified by America’s ability to use Satellite Surveillance Systems that comprised of giant satellites, with hard cameras, in space and other equipment (Aldrich, 1998 p.337). Secondly, the West gained a good advantage over their opponents once Mikhail Gorbachev was chosen as the new leader of the Soviet Union; Gorbachev did not seem to know what he was doing and his failures helped the West to make good ground, hence, the eventual collapse of the Soviet Union (Nedzarek, 2012 p.2).
Challenges Faced During the Operation
The main challenge faced by the West was the bad economic situation back in America. The economic situation, which has been described as stagflation, threatened to interfere with the strength of the American military and the function of their intelligence systems (Hunt, 2006 p.73). Moreover, the situation in most European countries at the time coupled with subtle differences between various European countries left America with Britain as her only reliable supporter in war. The situation was further compounded by a threat to NATO’s unity – the union was on the verge of collapse in the 1970s.
Inevitability of the West’s success
The Soviet Union looked strong and seemed to have the power to attack an economically strived America under an unpopular president, Ford. However, the rise of Leonid Brezhnev to power in 1979 seems to have been the beginning of the end of the USSR. Brezhnev was not a real communist and his administration saw the USSR engage in costly third-world projects, which did not help strengthen the Soviet Union (Zubok, 2009 p.243). The rise of Mikhail Gorbachev later made the situation worse as he was not conversant with military and political strategies in war (Zubok, 2009 p.314; Nichols et al., 2014 para 13).
The Success of the West was Possible
A keen look at the events of the cold war between 1970 and 1989 shows that at some point, the Soviet Union was favorite to win the cold war (Nichols et al., 2014 para 13). However, the success of the West was made easier and possible by a series of wrong decisions made by the Soviet leaders (Wohlforth, 1993 p.281). Among these decisions was a reluctance to attack America at its weakest point in accordance with Shultz and Vogt (2002 p.413) doctrine of striking first; and a decision to engage in costly third-world projects, which did not help the communism agenda of the USSR, but benefited the third-world countries in question.
Bibliography
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Aldrich, R.J., 2001. The hidden hand: Britain, America and Cold War secret intelligence. London: John Murray.
Hunt, B., 2006. Oil price shocks and the US stagflation of the 1970s: Some insights from GEM. The Energy Journal, pp.61-80.
Nedzarek, R., 2012. A Critical Evaluation of Mikhail Gorbachev’s Role in Ending the Cold War. E-International Relations. Available at http://www.e-ir.info/2012/07/30/a-critical-evaluation-of-the-role-of-mikhail-gorbachev-in-ending-the-cold-war/ (Accessed 7 May 2017)
Nichols, T. et al., 2014. Five Ways the Soviet Union Could Have Won the Cold War. The National Interest. Available at: http://nationalinterest.org/feature/five-ways-the-soviet-union-could-have-won-the-cold-war-10888 [Accessed May 7, 2017].
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Zubok, V.M., 2009. A failed empire: the Soviet Union in the Cold War from Stalin to Gorbachev. University of North Carolina Press.
