GTCharlie:

> Cuba made their choices also, there didn't have to be an embargo

Yes, Cuba made its choices. I think that Cuba becoming a socialist country was unavoidable. There are those who will say that if the US had taken a more moderate approach then maybe Cuba would not have gone over to ask for help from the USSR. I disagree. I think in the end Cuba would have ended up where it was, with or without pressure from the USA.

> the USA are mean,evil and bad.

I think that the Cold War had little to do with being good or bad. I think both the USA and the USSR saw an opportunity to acquire wealth and power. They went ahead to compete for territory, natural resources, etc. A lot of smaller, weaker countries got squeezed in between. Some countries became communist, others remained capitalist. In the end the USA remained strong and powerful on account of its massive banking and lending economics. The USSR collapsed because they relied in commodity production (oil, gas and steel) and commodity prices collapsed in the 1980s.

The USA did what it had to do to protect the wealth and power of those that run its country. It meant promoting fascism and dictatorship in those countries that fell under American influence. The Soviets tried to do the same, and failed miserably at it. Both the USA and the Soviet Union oppressed people, because that is how the powerful react when they want to retain control ovr the political and economic systems.

Today we have the aftermath of the Cold War. Saddam Hussain, Osama Bin Laden, Iran's Ayatollahs, Fidel Castro, etc. These are men that got their start during the Cold War. Some fought for the USA, some for the Soviet Union. Others arose out of these countries failed foreign policies.

Once we strip ideological excuses (freedom, democracy, revolution, end of exploitation, etc.) the Cold War was an exercise in the pursuit of power and brutality. Ultimately the Cold War did not really end. It was merely put on hold. Soon enough Russia will rise again on account of its massive commodities production and the world's need for those commodities. China is getting richer day by day and eventually they will want to rise to the top of the echelon of power. The USA will react by trying to stop them, and the whole thing will start all over again. That is why these countries refuse to give up their nuclear weapons and their WMDs. They are insurance for the unavoidable "Cold War" that will return at some point. It is unavoidable because human nature is the same and the rich and powerful are as greedy as ever. In the end it is the poor and the innocent who pay the price. Millions died during the Cold War, and not even one of them was one of the rich and powerful who ran the show.