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  • Essay / Kissinger's involvement in détente and SALT...

    This investigation assesses the success of Henry Kissinger's policies during the tense period of the Cold War and the following years, particularly with regard to peace summits with Russian officials in 1972. and 1973 regarding strategic arms limitation treaties. This investigation assesses the impact of Kissinger during the SALT treaty period on the reduction of nuclear weapons and the implementation of détente. Specifically, how Kissinger got what he wanted, the risks involved, and the outcome of the treaties. The sources used, Détente and the Nixon Doctrine, by Robert S. Litwak and Kissinger: 1973, The Crucial Year, by Alistair Horne, will then be evaluated for their origins, their purposes, their values ​​and their limits.B. Summary of Evidence On January 20, 1969, Richard Milhouse Nixon became the 37th President of the United States and faced great challenges at home and on the world front. Richard Nixon chose Henry Kissinger to be his assistant for national security affairs. Under their control for the next 6 years, they oversaw the formation of détente and the creation of triangular diplomacy. The Nixon-Kissinger strategy regarding the approach to the Soviet Union was full of contradictions and risks. One of the most serious and notable risks was the possible preemptive nuclear strike that the Soviets threatened to launch against China; an attempt by the Soviets to intimidate the Chinese into negotiating the Sino-Soviet border. Getting involved in Soviet affairs was very dangerous, because, as Kissinger observed, the balance of power due to missile power was shifting from the dominant position of the United States to that of the Soviets. Kissinger, after realizing this fact, ...... middle of paper ...... thinned the world community by reducing the threat of nuclear war through arms reduction and helping each superpower share a new respect and a new understanding of the other, both welcoming the long-awaited period of stability. The détente that Kissinger so actively campaigned for created a new method of cooperation between the superpowers, thereby reducing the intensity of conflict felt during the Cold War. Works Cited Aitken, Jonathan. Nixon: A Life. London: Regnery Pub. 1993. Ambroise, Stephen. Nixon: The Education of a Politician. New York: Simon and Schuster. 1987. Horne, Alistair. Kissinger: 1973, the crucial year. New York: Simon and Schuster. 2009. Kissinger, Henry. The years of upheaval. Canada: Little, Brown and company. 1982. Litwak, Robert. Detente and the Nixon Doctrine. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 1984.