A 24 part documentary series which examines the Cold War and its influence on history, culture, technology, economics, and the modern psyche. Episode 19: Freeze. Concern for human rights in the East grows; detente ebbs. The Soviets arm Eastern Europe. The U.S. threatens to site missiles in Western Europe. The Soviet invasion of Afghanistan ends detente. Promising tougher measures against Moscow, Reagan defeats Carter for the presidency. In Poland, martial law is imposed. Episode 20: Soldiers of God. Afghanistan is a war that costs the lives of almost 15,000 Soviet conscripts and an estimated one million Afghans. The U.S. supplies billions of dollars of weapons to unlikely allies--Islamic fundamentalists. The result is a Vietnam-style conflict which takes its toll on the Soviets and hastens the end of the Cold War. Episode 21: Spies. Early CIA attempts to penetrate the Iron Curtain are thwarted. The U.S. reacts with increasingly sophisticated technological intelligence--the U-2 spy-plane, satellite reconnaissance and electronic eavesdropping. Yet human spies remain important. Sometimes betrayers, sometimes betrayed, many spies pay with their lives.
This resource is supported by the Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act as administered by State Library of Iowa.