Background: the 1960s-1970s
¥Under Kennedy, the US policy shifts from Òmassive retaliationÓ to Òflexible response:Ó the ability to respond in kind to any Soviet aggression; conventional arms race with the Soviet Union heats up
¥US involvement in Vietnam
¥Period of dŽtente with the Soviet Union; SALT talks under Nixon
¥DŽtente comes to an end in the late Ô70s during the Carter administration