Talk:Détente

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	Détente is part of the Cold War WikiProject, an effort to build a comprehensive and detailed guide to the Cold War on the Wikipedia. This includes but is not limited to the people, places, things, and events, and anything else associated with the Cold War. If you would like to participate, you can edit the article attached to this page, or visit the project page, where you can join the project and/or contribute to the discussion.
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I just added a bunch bull shit to this document just to see if it gets fixed of stuff from my HIST 100 notes, so I do not claim that any of it is encylopedia worthy, but I felt as if it would be better than if all of it was left unsaid for longer. This is more of a plea for someone else to bulk up this page a bit, and encourage more link-up of all the pages involved with the "cooling off" era. I enfact enncourage someone to disagree with everything I typed, if it will encourage a nice edit.

Contents 1 A better definition 2 Hostages 3 POV? 4 Afghanistan 5 Thawing the cold war 6 Criticism? 7 Kissinger 8 Clever

[edit] A better definition

Detente (Can we get a pronounciation here?) was the Nixon-era policy of attempting a negotiated accommodation with the Soviet Union. [1]

I think detente was a policy rather than a result. Some advocates may have predicted it would (or claimed that it did) "lessen tensions" - but that is only advocacy, i.e., reasons given for pursuing the policy.

The article should say that some people thought the US should NOT try to "win" the Cold War but negotiate some sort of accommodation, and explain why they advocated this -- to "lessen tensions", for example. --Uncle Ed (El Dunce) 19:04, 19 Oct 2004 (UTC)

Many historians believe Détente was just as much, if not more, an action by the Soviet leaders than Nixon. So calling it a "Nixon-era policy" isn't quite correct. - SimonP 20:36, Oct 19, 2004 (UTC)

Sounds like Nixon and the Soviets each had their own agenda. Perhaps the article could delve into these agendas. --Uncle Ed (El Dunce) 14:59, 20 Oct 2004 (UTC)

I don't know how to edit wikipedia pages, but the soviet "definition" of detente should have a link to the Soviet language! - Can anyone tell me how to do this? --Brilong87 (talk) 15:45, 15 February 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Hostages

I added that the hostages were taken by Lebanon, because it sounded as if they were taken by Iran. Iran had no control over Hezbollah, only influence.

What do you mean? The sentence is referring to the Iranian hostage crisis, which had nothing to do with Lebanon. - SimonP 13:38, Nov 15, 2004 (UTC)

[edit] POV?

I am concerned about the last statement of the article that effectively writes off the peace between the two super powers as being all but impossible to sustain due to inherent differences in their governments. That's not really why Détente ended, and without some serious research detailing those differences, this statement is little more than a broad stroke. Unless we can agree to support that final statement, and steer the article toward outlining the differences between the two sides, I think we are better off omitting it.Chamb 20:48, 7 November 2005 (UTC)

I like the last sentence. The superpowers were in fact ideologically opposed. Moreover, as the article mentioned, the Cold War continued in spite of detente; without a more fundamental shift in relations, detente could objectively be called almost inevitably temporary. With the U.S. and U.S.S.R. actively promoting their own and thwarting each others' influences abroad, there was no real peace and nothing to sustain.

[edit] Afghanistan

"American President Jimmy Carter boosted the U.S. defense budget and began to heavily subsidize the anti-Soviet fighters in Afghanistan, a decision that would come back to haunt the U.S. on 11 September 2001."

This sentence should be erased or cleaned up. Moral imperatives have no place in encyclopedic writing.

[edit] Thawing the cold war

I know it's a commonly used phrase, but I think thawing the cold war is a bit of a mixed metaphor. Jarvik 18:59, 7 January 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Criticism?

I see that deterrence has a heavy criticism section where detente does not even have one. I'm not complaining, i'm just noting the lack of it. Well that's wikipedia for you.--64.75.187.195 06:05, 12 February 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Kissinger

Was Kissinger the person who invented the term? I mean, he was the person who extended the said policy. He should also get a notable mention in the article since this was his policy. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.183.33.59 (talk) 22:34, 18 May 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Clever

The "Thawing" of the cold war. Clever, I like it :D 67.86.108.27 (talk) 00:16, 4 June 2008 (UTC)