@Cold War: It was called that because of the cold relations between the USSR and the West. While there never was a direct conflict between the US and USSR, they did compete indirctely through proxy wars. The US and Ussr competed against each other for allies and countries to influence. If a communist party rose up in Guatamala for example, the USSR might try to put them in power while the US might try to support a dictatorship to keep the communists from taking power. To fight the dictatorship, the USSR might give the rebels a handsome shipment of weapons. In response the US might give guns to the dictatorship.
A majority of the wars fought from 1949 to 1991 were all part that competing for spheres of influence business.