What responsibilities have beleaguered the U.S. since the end of the Cold War? Why?

~ The Cold War itself troubled the United States because of the longstanding disagreements between the Soviet Union and the United States.

~ Containment of the Soviet Union became an American policy during the post Cold War era.

- This called for economic aid to Western Europe.

- However, the United States feared that communist parties would profit from their wartime record of resistance to the Nazis and come to power.

~ The Cold War defined the political role of the United States: it held military alliances with 50 countries and had 1.5 million troops posted in over 100 countries. It also institutionalized a global commitment to peacetime military-industrial complexes and large-scale military funding.

- These military expenditures are estimated to have been 8 trillion dollars.

~ Cultural battles between the superpowers impacted Americans after the Cold War.

- As propaganda, the NSA encouraged anticommunist movies, but this raised suspicion of communist activity in America.