The Cold War is famous not only for the long conflict between the two superpowers, the United States and the Soviet Union, but also for the increased physical tension that Nuclear energy brought it to the global stage. Winning the war at the cost of human annihilation was not an anomalous political conversation, and from the 1940s onwards, the fear of global destruction became an everyday concern (Granieri, 2011). The circumstances of the Cold War made it different from previous international conflicts because it was the first conflict that could potentially lead to massive worldwide destruction. Without the dangers of nuclear energy, the Cold War would not have been much different from previous historical conflicts between powerful states. In this essay I will summarize two specific events that occurred during the Cold War. From there, I will analyze their potential effects if nuclear weapons had not been involved. Finally, I will explain how nuclear energy had a positive effect on warfare through its influence through deterrence. Finally, I will summarize the importance of nuclear energy in the Cold War. A controversial, but positive, role of nuclear energy in the Cold War was the use of the atomic bomb, "Fat Man", on Nagasaki. Although it is impossible to deny the damage done by the atomic bomb and the inhumane massacre of the people who lived there, the atomic bomb in historical terms was a success for two reasons. First, it ended World War II by forcing Japan to surrender (Nuclear News). Furthermore, the dropping of the atomic bomb also sent a powerful message to the Soviet Union about the strength of the United States and its allies (Granieri, 2011). Some argue that the destruction of the atomic bomb was astronomical, although in reality the ...... middle of paper ......and Cuban Missile Crisis – Letter from Khrushchev to Kennedy «UNREDACTED.» UNREDACTED. 2010. Web. April 10, 2011. .Maddox, Robert James. “The Biggest Decision: Why We Had to Drop the Atomic Bomb” The Atlantic Monthly. June 1995. Web. April 10, 2011. .“The Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty has a proud hit record «Nuclear news." Nuclear-news. Web. April 06, 2011. "Why did President Truman drop the atomic bomb?" Assortment articles: free online articles on health, science, education and more... Web 06 April. 2011. .