(10 Points)

Use the course text and numerous online resources to answer the following questions.

Part 1. Please briefly define, in one to three sentences, define the following concepts

1. Balance of Power System   
2. Anti-Balance of Power System  
3. Bi-Polar Cold War Power System

Please give a brief response (one or two sentences) in answer the following questions.  

Part 2.  World War I          

1.  What happened to the Balance of Power System to cause World War I?
2.  Which four principle countries fought on one side and were called the Central Powers?
3. Which four principle countries fought on the other side and were called the Allied Powers?
4.  When did World War I start and end?
5.  Which side surrendered?  
6.  How many persons were killed in World War I?

Part 3. World War II 

1.   How did the Anti-Balance of Power System, which was created as a result of World War I, cause World War II?
2.   Which four principle countries fought on one side and were called the Allied Powers?
3.  Which three principle countries fought on one side and were called the Axis Powers?
4.  When did World War II start and end?
5.  Which side surrendered?  
6.  How many persons were killed in World War II?

Part 4.  The Cold War 

1. Which two countries opposed each other in the Bi-Polar Cold War Power System?
2.             Approximately when did the Cold War Bi-Polar System start and end?
3.             Why did the Bi-Polar Power System go out of existence?

(10 Points)

Part 5.  The Cuban Missile Crisis  October 14-28, 1962 

View the video, “The Fog of War” then go to  http://microsites.jfklibrary.org/cmc/oct16/ and http://www.archives.gov/publications/prologue/2012/fall/cuban-missiles.html to gain an understanding of the Cuban Missile Crisis.   

"The Fog of War" (Please click on the picture to start the video)

Write an essay of at least 750 words summarizing the Cuban Missile Crisis.  In your essay please include the following information:

1. What caused the Cuban Missile Crises?
2. How close did the United States and the former Soviet Union come to starting  World War III?
3. How was the crisis resolved.
4. If the United States and the Soviet Union had gone to war as a result of the Cuban Missile Crisis, what are is the estimates of the numbers of persons who would have been killed in the: a. United States, b. Soviet Union, c. China; and, d. the rest of the world?
5. Using online resources, please list the nine (9) countries that have nuclear weapons today.
6. Please offer your opinion as to whether a confrontation between countries, of the magnitude of the Cuban Missile Crisis, could occur today.  Opinions will not be graded.