The USA lost the Vietnam War because they left. Americans back home stopped supporting the war, and even started to protest it. Because of this, America was forced to leave and hope that Vietnamization worked. Vietnamization eventually did not work, and communism took over. This was the domino theory in play, and soon enough, surrounding countries were turned communist. If the USA had stayed in Vietnam, they would have one, but they were politically forced out, which decided the fate of the war.
The USA figured that outspending the Soviets would allow them to win the war. For this reason Ronald Reagan introduced Reaganomics. He proposed that outspending the soviets would scare them, and make them think that the USA was way ahead of them. This did work, and it gave the USA the upper hand on the production of their weapons. Although it was essentially a bluff, they were able to succeed. This victory transferred itself to all other aspects of the war, giving the USA a complete upper hand.
The first Detente event was the nuclear non-proliferation treaty, then Ostpolitik, then the Helsinki Accords, then Strategic Arms Limitation Talks. I think the most important event was the SALT talks. These talks allowed the USSR and the USA to form a bond, thus lessening tensions. It was the first talk between just the two of these countries. That being said, it was a much more personal agreement, which would have a better chance a forming a bond. Before, they had talked in groups, not between the two powers of the Cold War. Because they were able to talk together "alone" they succeeded in lessening the tensions of the Cold War.
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