Nuclear Weapons and the Cold War Lecture

These vocabulary flashcards cover the key figures, nuclear tests, treaties, and operations discussed in the lecture transcript regarding the nuclear arms race from 1949 through the end of the Cold War.

NSC-68 (1950)

A strategy document drafted under Paul Nitze that encouraged building the US nuclear stockpile and the hydrogen bomb based on the assumption that the Kremlin intended to take over the world.

38th parallel

The boundary between North and South Korea; during the Korean War, Chinese and North Korean forces pushed South Korean and American forces past this line in late November 1950.

Perimeter (mid-1980s)

A Soviet 'doomsday machine' discovered after the collapse of the USSR, located in the Ural Mountains; it used sensors to detect nuclear detonations and could automatically authorize the launch of all Soviet ICBMs against the US.

Chernobyl (April 1986)

A nuclear power plant disaster in Ukraine resulting in over $10,000$ victims, which influenced Mikhail Gorbachev to limit the nuclear arms race.

Intermediate Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty

A Dec. 9, 1987, agreement to dismantle medium-range missiles deployed against each other; the weapons were 'destroyed' partly to appease the Chinese.

Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI)

Also known as 'Star Wars,' a program announced by Reagan on March 23, 1983, to build defenses like nuclear-pumped x-ray lasers against Soviet ICBM attacks.

Operation RYAN (1981-1983)

A joint mission between the KGB and GRU led by Yuri Andropov to seek signs that the US and its allies were planning a surprise nuclear attack against the Soviet Union.

Able Archer 83

A NATO exercise to test nuclear release procedures that the Soviets mistakenly believed was a mask for a real first strike, causing them to 'freak out' according to double spy Oleg Gordievsky.

A.Q. Khan

A nuclear physicist who worked for a Dutch atomic energy cooperation and provided documents to Pakistan, aiding their pursuit of uranium and nuclear weapons.

Smiling Buddha (May 18, 1974)

The codename for India's first nuclear detonation in the western desert; India characterized it as a 'Peaceful Nuclear Device' (PND).

Homi J. Bhabha

A leading Indian nuclear physicist who advocated for dual-use technology (civilian and military usage) under Prime Minister Nehru.

Dimona

An Israeli nuclear plant in the desert that was officially referred to as a textile mill to hide its role in plutonium processing.

Mordechai Vanunu

A technician at Dimona who defected and leaked information to the London Sunday Times, revealing that Israel had over $100$ nuclear weapons.

Vela satellite

A US satellite that photographed a characteristic double flash on September 22, 1979, between South Africa and Antarctica, indicating an above-ground nuclear test.

Pelindaba

A South African nuclear enrichment site; the name is derived from the Zulu phrase for 'end of story'.

Nunn–Lugar Act (1991)

US legislation that paid the salaries of ex-Soviet scientists to continue their work for peaceful purposes.

Budapest Memorandum (1994)

An agreement between Ukraine and Russia where Ukraine turned over its nuclear weapons in exchange for Russia recognizing its sovereignty.

Operation Hurricane (Oct. 3, 1952)

The first British nuclear bomb detonation, taking place in the Montebello Islands, Western Australia.

Gerboise Bleue (Feb. 13, 1960)

The codename for France's first nuclear test in Algeria, yield at ~$70$ kilotons, making it the largest first test ever.

Lob Nur

The isolated site in the western deserts where China detonated its first nuclear bomb on October 16, 1964.

Operation Anadyr

The secretive 1962 Soviet operation to send missiles and soldiers to Cuba; soldiers were told to pack for cold weather to maintain the ruse.

ExComm

The Executive Committee of US government officials convened to advise President John F. Kennedy during the Cuban Missile Crisis.

Flexible Response

A strategy endorsed by Kennedy and writers like Henry Kissinger that favored building up military capabilities to respond to various levels of conflict rather than relying solely on full retaliation.

Operation Mongoose (1961-1963)

A CIA-backed program of covert operations and sabotage against Cuba intended to damage its economy and create domestic outrage against Castro.

Tsar Bomb (October 30, 1961)

A Soviet thermonuclear weapon yielding $50$ megatons of TNT ($3,000 imes$ the yield of the bombs dropped on Japan), making it the largest explosion of all time.

New Look

The Eisenhower administration's military strategy that increased reliance on nuclear weapons and the threat of massive retaliation.

Brinkmanship

The practice, championed by John Foster Dulles, of pushing dangerous events to the edge of active conflict to achieve an advantageous outcome.

Eisenhower Doctrine

A policy stating that the US would not allow anti-US, communist regimes to exist in the Middle East.