Abstract
This paper explores the life and many achievements of the head of the Catholic church, Pope John Paul II. Author Tad Szulc argues in his book "Pope John Paul II, The Biography" that despite a seemingly difficult life and an even more unlikely rise to power, Pope John Paul II played a large role in the collapse of European communism. This paper also details many interesting revelations and historical facts of Pope John Paul II's life.

From the Paper
"Pope John Paul II has never deviated form the rigid principle he set forth with the start of his papacy. He will not stand for any public dissent within the church on matters of Catholic morality, ethics, faith and interpretation. He subsequently banned all controversial theological debates, citing the old Roman adage, causa finita est, meaning, when Rome speaks the matter is closed. Although his appointment seemed a harsh reality, John Paul none the less took up an almost opposite stance when it came to the poor and oppressed, becoming a powerful advocate for third world nations."

Tags:biogrpahy, catholicism, catholic, church, communisim

Abstract
The writer of this paper discusses the dirty wars of Latin America that were enabled by the military forces, which were independent units that had no civilian political control in their own country. This paper looks at how various Latin American military conglomerates governed enormous military-industrial complexes which gave them an undue economic strength. This paper also contains relevant historical details and facts on this subject including how Costa Rica avoided a dirty war situation by abolishing its own army in 1948.

From the Paper
"During the 1970s, the country entered a steep recession. Starting in the early 1960s, the gross domestic product expanded at a rate of 6 percent annually. This was a reflection of land reforms that were enacted in 1961, which aimed to legalize existing squatter holdings and prevent future squatting, thus giving more than 12,000 people legal rights to arable land. There was a consequent increase in export crops - bananas, coffee, sugarcane being major items - and by the mid-1970s, agriculture had become the dominant factor in the country's export income. In 1973, inflation rates skyrocketed to 15 percent and then to 31 percent in 1974."

Tags:argentina, chile, costa, rica, military, political, communisim, economy

Abstract
This essay examines the idea that President Lyndon B. Johnson was actually a strong supporter of containment and a hardline anti-communist foreign policy. The author discusses how the failure of his foreign policy is what has made detente his legacy.

From the Paper:

"The issue of whether Johnson weakened containment comes down to the question of what is most important for containment to work. Is it more important to be able to successfully confront your enemy directly or to put up resistance wherever your enemy may attempt to penetrate around the globe? It seems to me that the former is a prerequisite for the latter. Johnson was only able to succeed at resisting communist insurgency in Latin America and elsewhere because the Soviets had not yet caught up to the United States in terms of strategic weapons. In addition, in the areas were Johnson was successful, the Soviets had little direct effect. The one area where the Soviets did become actively involved, Vietnam, was a dismal failure for Johnson and the US."

Tags:america, cold, communisim, containment, detente, latin, vietnam, war