11.2Hot wars and the nuclear shadow

Containment repeatedly turned violent. In Korea (1950–1953), American forces fought to a bloody stalemate against communist North Korea and China. In 1962, the Cuban Missile Crisis brought the superpowers to the brink of nuclear war before the Soviets withdrew missiles from Cuba—the closest the world came to atomic catastrophe.

The longest and most divisive struggle was in Vietnam. Fearing communist expansion in Southeast Asia, the United States steadily deepened its involvement through the 1960s, eventually committing over half a million troops. The war proved unwinnable and deeply unpopular, tearing at American society and shaking confidence in the nation's leaders before U.S. forces finally withdrew in the 1970s.