And Western Europe needed a U.S. presence against the Soviet Union from the end of World War II to the end of the Cold War.
Of most importance to the global economy, though, will be whether the end of the war also marks an end to the months of uncertainty which have hampered economic recovery.
This year marks the 50th anniversary of the beginning of the Korean War and the 25th anniversary of the end of the Vietnam War.
"The fear of nuclear war has diminished partly because the risk has receded significantly with the end of the Cold War, " says Nick Bostrom, director of Oxford University's Future of Humanity Institute.
Nor should this war mark the beginning of the end of the multilateral system that has been evolving since the end of World War II.
The WLA was not disbanded until 1950, five years after the end of the war.
Mr Cundall said the practice of burying surplus military equipment was common at the end of the war.
It is already apparent that the end of the Cold War was neither the end of history nor the end of danger.
This obviously is a big step, takes it back to the level it was at the end of the war and so on.
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"We're happy about the peace agreement but sorry, because these kids won't get the change to see the end of the war, " said one young girl.
America announced plans for a new, slim Iraqi army, and promised monthly sums to many of the ex-soldiers who have been unpaid since the end of the war.
Maybe a tacit deal is possible: if the Rajapaksas show proper reconciliation efforts and beef up democracy, outsiders may talk less about the horrors at the end of the war.
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