The most serious Cold War confrontation between the United States and the USSR that took place in the Third World, occurred in 1962. In the summer of that year, the U.S. government discovered that the Soviets were in the process of deploying nuclear missiles in Communist Cuba. In October, the United States moved to block Soviet ships carrying missiles to Cuba. The resulting standoff was that the world stood seemingly on the brink of ultimate …showed first 75 words of 1278 total…

…showed last 75 words of 1278 total…had peered over the precipice of nuclear war and wisely decided to retreat. The thaw also led to the signing of the Limited Nuclear Test Ban Treaty in 1963 by Britain, the United States, and the USSR. The treaty outlawed nuclear test explosions in the atmosphere or underwater, but allowed them underground. It was the last time during the Cold War that either side would take the risk of putting the world in such grave danger.