All things considered, how well did the leadership of the United States perform in the Cold War? Your response should consider only the period of the conflict covered in the course so far (up through the early 1960s – the Cuban Missile Crisis and early involvement in Vietnam). Assign our collective leadership a letter grade for their performance, and explain your reasons for assigning that grade. A= excellent, B= good, C= average, D= poor, F=terrible.

Did American leaders achieve their overall goals? To what extent did their strategies produce the desired outcomes? How well did they understand the goals and intentions of their communist opponents? How effectively/creatively did they respond to what their opponents were doing? To what extent were their decisions constrained by factors beyond their control? What were their most important successes and failures? For whatever position, you take, what is the counter-evidence?

Your essay should draw upon material from both lectures and the course readings. You must cite at least three of the course readings. Please include a works-cited page.

1) NSC-68 – National Security Council 1968
2) Fried – Red Nightmare
3) Turse – Kill Anything That Moves