U.S. and Soviet Rethinking of Military Intervention

The bitter U.S. experience in Vietnam and the pain inflicted on the Soviet Union by its Afghanistan adventure have caused Washington and Moscow to rethink the costs and benefits of unilateral military intervention on behalf of threatened clients, especially in the third world.

Changing Cold War Dynamics

Also, as the Cold War winds down, the crusading spirit that has driven superpower competition since the end of World War II appears increasingly anachronistic. Expenditures by the superpowers in pursuit of military superiority, or even to ensure parity, are now criticized for the security they do not provide or for detracting from economic growth.

Economic Challenges and Criticisms

The latter criticism has grown in importance as the U.S. economy has confronted new challenges from Japan and Germany and as the Soviet economies struggle to avoid collapse.

Response to the Invasion of Kuwait

Thus when Saddam Hussein's August 1990 invasion of Kuwait challenged the political and economic status quo in the oil-rich Middle East, neither the United States nor the Soviet Union responded unilaterally. Cooperatively they crafted an international consensus to confront the challenge.