A Modern Cold War?

I know that this post is not about the normal video gaming or weight training that this blog is supposed to be about, but come with me as I take a tangent to the normal content. 

First off a little about what I do for a living.  I work in a school with special needs kids during the day which means I get to sit in and help out with classes of all different topics.  I mostly sit in on Math and Science classes because that is my college background but this year I have had the opportunity to sit in on an American History class, which has been a lot of fun.  Currently the kids are learning about the Cold War and the build up to the US involvement in Vietnam. 

As I was sitting in class this week and hearing about the policy of contain the spread of Communism instead of fight it straight on, I started to think about the middle east and the spread of a radicalized version of Islam.  I could not help but think of the similarities of these two seemingly different conflicts.   In the 40s through the 60s many things occurred that mirror what has been happening.  So lets look at these in order.

At the end of World War 2 Eisenhower  sought to stop the spread of communism in its tracks and invaded Korea to keep democracy and capitalism functional in that country.  He sent many men and women to a relatively unknown peninsula in the middle of Asia to potentially lose their lives to protect "the American way."  

Shortly after the attacks of September 11th Bush committed troops to Iraq and Afghanistan to destroy the radicalized Islamic sect stationed in these countries.  A conflict emerged and what seemed like peace prevailed.

In the 1940s and through the 1960s there was a power play of a building up of a nuclear arsenal in the USSR that left many worried about a possible attack on our way of life. 

After the US withdrew from Iraq there was a void left in parts of the country allowing for the build up of a militaristic islamic society to come to power.  This society has already carried out attacks all across Europe and possible attacks here in the United States.  Like the stockpiling of nuclear weapons many Americans are worried of the possibility of attacks as they are developing a strong nation with radical beliefs.

During the Cold War the United States and NATO were working to stop the spread of communism through all means possible except the use of military force. 

That brings us to now, what are we doing?  We do not want another war so we are trying to talk to the neighboring countries.  We are trying to develop an alliance of other countries worried about the spread of this virus in the Middle East to try and stop its spread and contain it.  As I see it we are in the middle of a second Cold War, where the stakes though not nuclear are just as scary to all that are living during this time.

This could also be why those that are old enough to have experienced the fear and anxiety that our posturing with the USSR had produced in the way of fear and uncertainty are just as scared as they were back in the days of the Cold War, and why the younger generation chooses to ignore the issues with things other than paying attention.

I want to know your thoughts.  Am I just being doom and gloom?  Is there a true similarity or am I just spouting more fear than the media?   Join the conversation in the comments below.