Why was there good reason to fear a war between the united states and the soviet union

Because both were the most powerful nations in the world and each wanted to spread its power, dominion and influence throughout the world.

Explanation:

Cold War is the name used to speak of the international political scene in the period after World War II, when the United States - capitalist - and Soviet Union - socialist - polarized international relations. The term cold war defines well the situation in that context because the two powers did not come to face directly in an armed conflict. The fact that both powers possessed the atomic bomb was fundamental for a direct conflict not to happen between them, since it was known that once a war began, this would not end without the total destruction of the enemy and, perhaps, of part of the planet.

Although there was no armed conflict between the two countries, the United States and the Soviet Union became embroiled in conflicts through wars in peripheral countries such as the Vietnam War (1959-1975), the Afghan War (1979-1989), and the War of the Koreas (1950-1953), in which each of the powers warily supported a different armed group so that their interests were defended in those regions.

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