The first effect of the U-2 Spy Plane incident was the Paris Summit on May 16th, 1960, just 15 days after the plane was shot down. "The summit was meant to discuss a possible reduction in nuclear weapons and a general improvement of relations. (ABC-CLIO)" However, those talks did not get very far. Khrushchev represented the Soviet Union, and President Eisenhower represented the U.S. "Khrushchev demanded that the United States admit their fault in the U-2 incident, issue an apology, and punish those guilty. (ABC-CLIO)" Eisenhower refused to take any of those actions. He thought it was good enough that the any further missions had ceased since the incident. "Unsatisfied, Khrushchev left the summit. (ABC-CLIO)" This damaged the relationship between the East and West even more. All in all, the summit did not accomplish much and just made the political tensions worse. Expectations for the summit fell far short due to the overshadowing of the U-2 incident.
Another effect of the U-2 Spy Plane incident was the creation of the Nuclear Test Ban Treaty. The entire world realized the magnitude and severity of nuclear weapons. They realized a nuclear war was an extremely dangerous option that could wipe out life as they knew it. The Nuclear Test Ban Treaty was supposed to be the first step in "total nuclear disarmament. (ABC-CLIO)" The purpose of the treaty was to prohibit, "any of the signatory countries from testing nuclear weapons in outer space, the Earth's atmosphere, or underwater, although underground testing was not banned. (ABC-CLIO)" The treaty was signed on August 5th, 1963 in Moscow. The original three nations that signed the treaty were the U.S., the Soviet Union, and the United Kingdom. "Within a few months of signing by the three original parties in August 1963, the treaty was signed by more than 100 other governments, notable exceptions being France and China. (Britannica)" France and China both "reserved the right to test nuclear weapons as they saw fit. (ABC-CLIO)" Eventually in 1996 the U.N. General Assembly passed "A draft treaty banning all nuclear weapon test explosions and all peaceful nuclear explosions... (Britannica)" This was known as the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty. However, this has not yet come into effect because not all the countries that have nuclear capabilities have ratified it.
The third and final effect of the U-2 Spy Plane Incident is the current situation with Edward Snowden. Edward Snowden worked for the National Security Administration. "After only three months, Snowden began collecting top-secret documents regarding NSA domestic surveillance practices, which he found disturbing. (Biography)" Snowden then left for Hong Kong, China. Snowden leaked this classified information about the NSA collecting and storing data from the internet, cell phones, and social media. Snowden exposed the government because he believed they were engaged in wrongdoing. "Snowden recognizes the value of the NSA in counter-terrorism, but thinks the spy agency has dangerously over-reached itself. (Guardian)" Just to add to the controversy, Chairman of the House committee on homeland security Michael McCaul said, "I believe he [Snowden] was cultivated by a foreign power to do what he did. (Guardian)" This accusation is heightened and makes the situation even more suspicious because Snowden was eventually granted temporary asylum in Russia. This of course raises tensions between the two nations yet again. It escalated so much that, "Barack Obama cancelled a trip to Moscow in protest at Russian president Vladimir Putin's protection of Snowden. (Guardian)" The U.S. charged Snowden with espionage and theft. They are trying to get Snowden back in the United States so they can try him. "Snowden has consistently denied any involvement with foreign spying agencies. (Guardian)" Is the Edward Snowden situation reverse roles of the U-2 Spy Plane incident? Were the Russians trying to spy on the U.S.? Nobody knows for sure. One thing that is for sure however, is the political tension that existed during the Cold War to a different degree, still remains today.
This video (above) explains what the NSA does with information from the public and how it acquires this information.
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This video (above) gives a list of allegations against the NSA that have sprouted from Snowden exposing the U.S. government.
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