Coursework 6 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Coursework 6 - Essay Example For instance, the physicist Hans Bethe was briefed on SDI in 1983 and his reaction was doubtful that it would work to defend the U.S. (â€Å"Strategic...†). Apparently Soviet scientists had the same reaction. Compared to the U.S., which still spends 4 billion dollars a year on Star Wars, the Soviet Union spent very little on it. The largest cause of the end of the Cold War was Gorbachev, and his dedication to reform. Gorbachev was not afraid to make economic reforms such as glasnost (liberalization), perestroika (reconstruction) and uskoreniye (acceleration of economic reform), even though these reforms were considered radical by apparatchiks (bureaucrats of the Communist Party) in the Soviet government(â€Å"Mikhail...†). Gorbachev democratized much of the Soviet Union and went so far with reforms and freedoms that an unintended wave of nationalism and call for independence was created within the Soviet republics. Eventually Gorbachev was put under house arrest by hard-line apparatchiks and the Soviet Union collapsed, effectively ending the Cold War. The Colombian government has been involved in a civil conflict for four decades with the left-wing rebel group Farc, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia. Farc rebels recently killed several police with a roadside bomb (â€Å"Colombian Rebels...†). The police were attempting to destroy coca bushes, which are the source of cocaine that finances Farc. Another left-wing rebel group active in Colombia is the ELN, or National Liberation Army. The left-wing groups are blamed for kidnappings, assassinations and extortion. The rebel groups are fought by right-wing paramilitaries such as the AUC, or United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia. Paramilitaries were supported by rich landowners who descend from the Spanish settlers. These right-wing groups are involved in drug-trafficking as well. They are blamed for massacres and torture. The Colombian conflict