ABSTRACT
The US regarded colonialism as a phase of history when European powers ruled the world. The European colonial powers in 1945 were a ragged bunch clinging to America's coat-tails to survive the coming onslaught from communism. US aid was always based on political and military criteria. Israel was top of the list for US aid—this was a far cry from 1948 when Czechoslovak arms, agreed with the Soviet Union, had been of critical importance in the foundation of the state. The downside of the oil bonanza for the Soviet Union was that it put off the need to launch economic reforms. It was at precisely this moment that the Soviet economy began to decline, but this was only realised later. The increasing economic and military might of the Soviet Union seemed to prove that the Soviet model was the one to choose for rapid economic advancement.
