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result of Korean war → US intensified military power → to enforce policy of containment by military means if necessary
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Before 1950 → US → had been scaling down its forces.
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It had been fighting cold war primarily thru political activity + media → but by 1951 → US armed forces had doubled in size compared to the previous year.
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US’s NATO → allies → took a similar approach.
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European military power grew dramatically
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When korean war began → NATO countries had only 14 army decisions + spent approx. 5.5% of their Gross Domestic Product (GDP) on the military.
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By the time war ended → NATO → had 15 divisions → stationed in West Germany alone + NATO countries were spending more than 12% of their GDP on defence.