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The War Of The Cold War

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For almost 15 years the U.S. has been in a constant state of war. Various terrorist organizations, from al-Quade, to the Taliban, and now Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) have maintained our focus so much so that we have almost forgotten about prior threats. Ten years prior to the start of the conflict in the Middle East, the Cold War had officially concluded, ending almost 45 years of server political and military tensions between the U.S. and Russian following WWII. During this period of time, Russia was the central focus of the U.S., although China and North Korea also posed a significant threat. While terrorist threats and activates remain a significant threat, Russia recent annexation of Crimea proves that they are still a very …show more content…

in the near future and what, if any, countermeasures the U.S. has to counter this potential threat.
For more than a century, intelligence and security services have played a role within Russian foreign and domestic policy. The czars, General Secretaries of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, and all post-Soviet leaders have viewed these services as crucial in coping with rebels and domestic terrorists, and gathering intelligence on both internal and external threats. One of the first official Russian Intelligence agencies created was the Extraordinary Commission for Combating Counterrevolution and Sabotage (CHEKA) in 1918 (Pringle, 2011). This agency was responsible for foreign intelligence, domestic security, counterintelligence, and border control until 1921 when it was disbanded. In 1922, its functions were transferred to the State Political Directorate (GPU), renamed in 1923 to the Unified State Political Directorate (OGPU), which was initially much less powerful than its predecessor. However, by 1932, the secret police again acquired vast punitive powers under party leader Joseph Stalin. In 1934 the secret police were renamed the People 's Commissariat for Internal Affairs (NKVD). No longer subject to control by the party or restricted by law, the NKVD became a direct instrument for Stalin to use against the country and opposing party members during the Great Terror of the 1930s (Library of Congress,

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