The costs of the cold war are incalculable. Future generations will still be paying the interest on the debt accumulated by this event. Was it all necessary? The Soviet Union was an ally in World War 2 and expended the most of any country. Yet the United States worked tirelessly to rebuild the aggressors and enemies of that war--Japan and Germany--while alienating and isolating the very ally that was decisive in defeating Germany. The cold war developed from a mutual mistrust between East and West and had its genesis in 1917 when Lenin and the Bolsheviks came to power in Russia. Paranoia in Russia and the Soviet Union is not surprising. Russia has been overrun or attacked by the Swedes, the Mongols, the Poles, and Napoleon. And this is only up until 1812. In the 20th century Russia has fought off devastatingly deadly attacks from Germany in both world wars. Was there something that the US could have done to avoid the cold war and redirected the untold billions of dollars into social programs and infrastructure? Were there opportunities to avoid or prevent the arms build up? Did we miss opportunities to stop it along the way?