The Cold War PDF

THE COLD WAR 1945-1990 US VS. UNION OF SOVIET SOCIALIST REPUBLICS DEMOCRACY VS. COMMUNISM CAPITALISM VS. SOCIALISM 1 US/USSR Relationship during WWII 1939: Stalin (USSR) makes a deal with Hitler (Germany). 1941: Hitler breaks deal and attacks USSR. Stalin changes sides and ﬁghts with US and other allies. 2 US/USSR Relationship during WWII Before the end of the World War II, Stalin, Churchill and Roosevelt met at Yalta to plan what should happen when the war ended. They agreed on many points: 1. The establishment of the United Nations 2. Division of Germany into four zones 3. Free elections allowed in the states of Eastern Europe Winston Churchill (England), Franklin Roosevelt (US) and Joseph Stalin (USSR) meet in Yalta in 4. Russia’s promise to join the war against 1945 to decide the fate of post-war Europe. Japan No agreement was reached on Poland. 3 After the Axis Powers were defeated, the diﬀerences between the United States and the Soviet Union came to the front. Stalin still feared capitalist West. Western leaders still had a great fear of communism. 4 Suspicious of each other’s motives, the United States and the Soviet Union soon became rivals. 5 Eastern Europe was the ﬁrst area of disagreement. The United States and Great Britain believed that the liberated nations of Eastern Europe should freely determine their own governments. Stalin, however, fearful that these nations would be anti-Soviet if they were permitted to have free elections, opposed the West’s plans. 6 Cold War Characteristics Political, strategic and ideological struggle between the US and the USSR that spread throughout the world Struggle that contained everything short of war Competing social and economic ideologies 7 Key Concept: How did the Cold War aﬀect the domestic and foreign policies of the United States? Domestic Policies: Foreign Policies: 1. McCarthyism 1. Korean War 2. HUAC 2. Arms Race –House Un-American Activities Committee 3. Truman Doctrine 3. Loyalty oaths 4. Eisenhower Doctrine 4. Blacklists 5. Bomb shelters 8 Actors and writers protest the Hollywood Blacklist. A 1950s era bomb shelter Red Scare was Americans response to the fear of Communism Senator Joseph McCarthy accused 205 US Govt. officials of being Communist. McCarthyism to destroy or assassinate one’s character without proof and it ruined the careers of many Americans. Became a witch hunt that led to Americans pledging a “loyalty oath” to the United States……. red scare McCarthyism ⦿ Claimed 205 communists working for State Department ⦿ Attacked wealthy & privileged—popular appeal ⦿ Even Eisenhower wouldn’t challenge him ⦿ Army hearings in 1954 televised ⚫ McCarthy exposed as a bully (“reckless cruelty”) Senator Joe McCarthy (1908-1957) McCarthy, a Republican senator from Wisconsin, did the most to whip up anti-communism during the ‘50s. On February 9, 1950, he gave a speech claiming to have a list of 205 Communists in the State Department. No one in the press actually saw the names on the list. McCarthy continued to repeat his groundless charges, changing the number from speech to speech. During this time, one state required pro wrestlers to take a loyalty oath before stepping into the ring. In Indiana, a group of anti-communists indicted Robin Hood (and its vaguely socialistic message that the book's hero had a right to rob from the rich and give to the poor) and forced librarians to pull the book from the shelves. Baseball's Cincinnati Reds renamed themselves the "Redlegs." Cincinnati Redlegs primary logo in use from 1954-1959 11 McCarthy’s Downfall In the spring of 1954, the tables turned on McCarthy when he charged that the Army had promoted a dentist accused of being a Communist. For the ﬁrst time, a television broadcast allowed the public to see the Senator as a blustering bully and his investigations as little more than a witch hunt. In December 1954, the Senate voted to censure him for his conduct and to strip him of his privileges. McCarthy died three years later from alcoholism. The term "McCarthyism" lives on to describe anti- Communist fervor, reckless accusations, and guilt by association. Movie poster for the 2005 film Good Night and Good Luck about the fall of Joseph McCarthy 12 red scare3 1947 investigation led to prison sentences for contempt known as the Hollywood Ten. Blacklisted: a list of persons who are under suspicion, disfavor, or censure, or who are not to be hired, served, or otherwise accepted. 1947: British help Greek government ﬁght communist guerrillas. Truman Doctrine They appealed to America for aid, and the response was the Truman Doctrine. America promised it would support free countries to help ﬁght communism. Greece received large amounts of arms and supplies and by 1949 had defeated the communists. The Truman Doctrine was signiﬁcant because it showed that America, the most powerful democratic country, was prepared to resist the spread of communism throughout the world. 14 In 1947, US Secretary of State Marshall announced the Marshall Plan Marshall Plan. This was a massive economic aid plan for Europe to help it recover from the damage caused by the war. There were two motives for this: Helping Europe to recover economically would provide markets for American goods, so beneﬁting American industry. A prosperous Europe would be better able to resist the spread of communism. This was probably the main motive. Secretary of State George Marshall. 15 A poster promoting the Marshall Plan Eisenhower Doctrine The Eisenhower Doctrine was announced in a speech to Congress on January 5, 1957. It required Congress to yield its war-making power to the president so that the president could take immediate military action. It created a US commitment to defend the Middle East against attack by any communist country. The doctrine was made in response to the possibility of war, threatened as a result of the USSR’s attempt to use the Suez War as a pretext to enter Egypt. The British and French withdrawals from their former colonies created a power vacuum that communists President Eisenhower with his Secretary were trying to ﬁll. of State John Dulles 16 Key Concept: What were the six major strategies of the Cold War? 1. The six major strategies were: 1. Brinkmanship, 3. 2. Espionage, 3. Foreign aid, 4. Alliances, 5. Propaganda, 6. Surrogate wars. 2. 4. 6. 17 5. Post WWII/Cold War Goals for US Promote open markets for US goods to prevent another depression Promote democracy throughout the world, especially in Asia and Africa Stop the spread of communism “Domino Eﬀect” In July 1947, George Kennan, a well-known U.S. diplomat with much knowledge of Soviet affairs, argued for a policy of containment to keep communism within its existing boundaries and to prevent further Soviet aggressive moves. Containment of the Soviet Union became formal U.S. policy. 18 Post WWII/Cold War Goals for USSR Create greater security for itself lost tens of millions of people in WWII and Stalin’s purges feared a strong Germany Establish defensible borders Encourage friendly governments on its borders Spread communism around the world “From Stettin in the Baltic to Trieste in the Adriatic an iron curtain has descended across the Continent. Behind that line lie all the capitals of the ancient states of Central and Eastern Europe. Warsaw, Berlin, Prague, Vienna, Budapest, Belgrade, Bucharest and Sofia, all these famous cities and the populations around them lie in what I must call the Soviet sphere, and all are subject in one form or another, not only to Soviet influence but to a very high and, in some cases, increasing measure of control from Moscow.” Excerpt from Winston Churchill’s “Iron Curtain Speech.” 19 The Berlin Crisis: June 1948-May 1949 1948: three western controlled zones of Germany united; grew in prosperity due to the Marshall Plan The Western zones gradually began to merge their zones economically. By February 1948, Great Britain, France, and the United States were making plans to unify the three Western sections of Germany (and Berlin) and create a West German government. Map of Berlin divided into zones after WWII Map of Germany divided 20 into zones after WWII West wanted East to rejoin; Stalin feared it would hurt Soviet security. June 1948: Stalin decided to gain control of West Berlin, which was deep inside the Eastern Sector Cuts road, rail and canal links with West Berlin, hoping to starve it into submission West responded by airlifting supplies to allow West Berlin to survive May 1949: USSR admitted defeat, lifted blockade 21 Berlin Airlift · President Truman decided to avoid the blockade by flying in food and other supplies to the needy people of West Berlin. · At times, over 5,000 tons of supplies arrived daily. Berlin Blockade & Airlift (1948-49) The blockade of Berlin increased tensions between the United States and the Soviet Union. It also brought the separation of Germany into two states. In September 1949, the Federal Republic of Germany, or West Germany, was formally created, with Bonn as its capital. Less than one month later, a separate East German state, the German Democratic Republic, was set up by the Soviets, with East Berlin as its capital. 24 Germany 1949 – 1990 25 In 1949 the Cold War spread from Europe to the rest of the world. The victory of the Chinese Communists in the Chinese civil war created new Communist regime and strengthened fears in the United States about the spread of communism. The search for security during the Cold War led to the formation of new military alliances. 26 NATO: North Atlantic Treaty Organization In 1949 the western nations formed the North Atlantic Treaty Organization to co-ordinate their defense against USSR. It originally consisted of: America Belgium Britain Canada Denmark France Holland Italy Luxembourg Norway Portugal Since the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991,some former Soviet republics have applied for membership to NATO. NATO flag 27 Warsaw Pact Warsaw Pact: organization of communist states in Central and Eastern Europe. Established May 14, 1955 in Warsaw, Poland USSR established in in response to NATO treaty Founding members: Albania (left in 1961 as a result of the Sino-Soviet split) Bulgaria Czechoslovakia Hungary Poland Romania USSR East Germany (1956) Greatest extent of Warsaw Pact 28 Europe was once again divided into hostile alliance systems, just as it had before World War I. 29 Arms Race Cold War tensions increased in the US when the USSR exploded its first atomic bomb in 1949. Cold War tensions increased in the USSR when the US exploded its first hydrogen bomb in 1952. It was 1000 times more powerful than the 30 Hiroshima atomic bomb. In the early 1950s, the Soviet Union and the United States developed the deadlier hydrogen bomb. By the late 1950s, both had intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs), which made them capable of sending bombs anywhere. The United States and the Soviet Union now worked to build up stockpiles of nuclear weapons. The search for security soon too the form of deterrence. This policy held that huge arsenals of nuclear weapons on both sides prevented war, because both knew that the other side would be able to strike back with devastating power. 31 32 33 Space Race Cold War tensions increased in the US when the USSR launched Sputnik I, the first artificial satellite into geocentric orbit on October 4, 1957. – The race to control space was on. April 12, 1961: Yuri Gagarin became first human in space and first to orbit Earth. US felt a loss of prestige and increased funding for space programs and science education. On May 25,1961, Kennedy gave a speech challenging America to land a man on the moon and return him safely by the end of the decade. Apollo 11 landed on the moon on July 16, 1969. 35 The U-2 Incident but USSR was aware of American U-2 spy missions lacked technology to launch countermeasures until 1960. May 1, 1960: CIA agent Francis Gary Powers’ U-2, was shot down by Soviet missile. Powers was unable to activate plane's self- destruct mechanism before he parachuted to the ground, right into the hands of the KGB. When US learned of Powers' disappearance over USSR, it issued a cover statement claiming that a "weather plane" crashed after its pilot had "diﬃculties with his oxygen equipment." US oﬃcials did not realize: Plane crashed intact, Soviets recovered its photography equipment Captured Powers, whom they interrogated extensively for months before he made a "voluntary confession" and public apology for his part in US espionage 36 Berlin Wall In the dark on August 13, 1961, a low, barbed-wire barrier rose between East and West Berlin. Within days, workers cemented concrete blocks into a low wall, dividing neighborhoods and families, workers and employers, the free from the repressed. The USSR called the wall a barrier to Western imperialism, but it also was meant to keep its people going to the West where the standard of living was much higher and freedoms greater. The West Germans called it Schandmaur, the "Wall of Shame." Over the years, it was rebuilt three times. Each version of the wall was more higher, stronger, repressive, and impregnable. Towers and guards with machine guns and dogs stood watch over a barren no man's land. Forbidden zones, miles wide, were created behind the wall. No one was allowed to enter the zones. Anyone trying to escape was shot on sight. 37 Civil War in China At the end of World War II, two Chinese governments existed side by Chiang Kai-shek side. The nationalist government of Chiang Kai-shek, based in southern and central China was supported by the United States. The Communist, led by Mao Zedong, had built a strong base in northern China. Mao Zedong By the end of World War II, 20 to 30 million Chinese were living under Communist rule. The People’s Liberation Army of the communists included nearly 1 million troops. 38 When eﬀorts to form a coalition government in 1946 failed, a full-scale civil war broke out between the Nationalists and the Communists. In the countryside, promises of land attracted millions of peasants to the Communist Party. Many joined Mao’s People’s liberation Army. In cities, middle class Chinese, who were alienated by Chiang’s repressive policies, supported the communists. 39 Mao Tse Tung Mao Tse Tung, defeats Chang Kai Shek in the Chinese Civil War….. China became a communistic country. Chang Kai Shak is exiled to Taiwan. Mao Tse Tung becomes the Communistic leader of China. US believed there was a communistic plot to rule the world Chang Kai Shek NATO On October 1, 1949, Mao Zedong mounted the rostrum of the Gate of Heavenly Peace in Beijing and made a victory statement to the thousands gathered in the square before him. “The Chinese people have stood up,” he said, “nobody will insult us again.” 41 Setting the Stage Once in Power, Mao tightened control over China and implemented his own Five-Year Plan to increase industrial and agricultural production. Mao became “premier,” or dictator, and the Communist Party was China’s only political party. The Communists Transform China Just as Stalin’s Five-Year Plan had increased production at a very high cost, Mao’s policies were harmful to the people of China. First among these was the collectivization of agriculture that killed over 1 million landlords. Collectivization was a gradual process that began with the creation of 5-15 family “mutual aid teams” and culminated with 100-300 family collectives. Peasants were summoned to meeting places and forbidden to leave for days until they “joined” the collective. The Communists Transform China Once agriculture was collectivized with Mao in control, the government now had a monopoly on agriculture, allowing it to buy low and sell high to ﬁnance industrialization at the people’s expense. Private farming was against the law, and those found guilty were punished severely. In order to satisfy government quotas, food was often rationed, and many peasants nearly starved even in good times. The Great Leap Forward Mao’s second Five-Year Plan is known as the Great Leap Forward, and involved utilizing the massive amounts of human labor to avoid having to import industrial machinery. Who needs a bulldozer when you’ve got a few hundred people with shovels, right? Mao believed that steel and grain would make China great, and these endeavors were complete and total disasters. The Great Leap Forward Funerals, weddings, and religion were replaced with meetings and propaganda. Only work points, not pay, were awarded. Only the state proﬁted from this labor, and peasants had no reason to work hard. Criticism of the commune would label you as dangerous, and escape was next to impossible. The Great Leap Forward Steel production was similarly controlled, and although Mao had no knowledge of metallurgy, he encouraged every village to build small furnaces to produce steel. Trees were eliminated near the communes to fuel the furnaces, and even peasant’s doors and furniture was burned. The very pots and pans that the people cooked their food with were requisitioned as “scrap metal” so that the commune could meet its quota. The Great Leap Forward A great deal of steel was created, but it was of such poor quality that it was useless. Mao learned in 1959 that only traditional large scale steel mills were capable of producing good quality metal, but Mao waited to cancel the steel program quietly later to save face. While focusing on steel, a great deal of Grain was left to rot in the ﬁelds. The Great Leap Forward The Great Leap was made worse by ecological problems, and in 1959 and 1960, drought ravaged China. Those that had embraced Mao’s reforms the most suﬀered worse than others, and in some areas, cannibalism arose. OFFICIAL CHINESE REPORTS STATE THAT 14 MILLION PEOPLE STARVED. Actual ﬁgures may be much higher, in the 20-43 million range. All the while, oﬃcials hid the starvation and failures of steel production from Mao, but even when he found out, nothing was done because he could not admit that even nature had proven him wrong. The Cultural Revolution As the late 1950s moved on, China and the USSR competed to be the dominant Communist country in the world. Combined with the failure of the Great Leap Forward, Mao took a lesser role in China’s politics. Some policies were relaxed, and Chinese farmers could ﬁnally move back into their homes and work their own small farm plots. As his brand of Communism weakened, Mao felt that China had lost its revolutionary spark, and used the young adults of China to start his “Cultural Revolution.” Mao’s little red book In 1966 Mao launched the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution. A collection of Mao’s thoughts, called the Little Red Book, became a sort of bible for the Chinese Communists It was hailed as the most important source of knowledge in all areas. The book was in every hotel, in every school, and in factories, communes, and universities. 52 The Cultural Revolution At the urging of Mao, millions of high school and college students decided to “learn revolution by making revolution.” These students formed militias called Red Guards and began terrorizing the country in attempts to create a society of peasants and workers in which all were equal. What this amounted to was idolizing the hard working peasant that used his hands. Intellectuals, artists, and others that used their mind were labeled as “dangerous,” attacked, and sometimes sent to hard labor in the ﬁelds to “purify” their minds. Children were encouraged to report negative comments their parents made about the government. The Cultural Revolution Thousands were executed, chaos wracked the country, farm and factory production was in danger, and the country was near another civil war. Even Mao realized that the Cultural Revolution had gone too far and the military was ﬁnally called out to put down the Red Guards. Son of the Revolution 55 From the start of its socialist revolution, the Communist Party had wanted to create a new kind of citizen, one who would give the utmost for the good of all china. In Mao’s words, the people “should be resolute, fear no sacrifice, and surmount every difficulty to win victory.” 56 Mao found during the Cultural Revolution, however, that it is not easy to maintain a permanent revolution, or constant mood of revolutionary enthusiasm. Many people, disgusted by the actions of the Red Guards, began to turn against the movement. In September 1976, Mao Zedong died at the age of 82. A group of practical-minded reformers, led by Deng Xiaoping seized power and soon brought the Cultural Revolution to an end. 57 When Communist China signed a pact of friendship and cooperation with the Soviet Union in 1950, some Americans began to speak of a Communist desire for world domination. When war broke out in Korea, the Cold War had arrived in Asia. In 1972 President Richard Nixon made a state visit to China. The two sides agreed to improve relations. By the 1990s, china emerged as an independent power and began to play an increasingly active role in Asian affairs. 58 Cold War Conﬂicts The United States and the Soviet Union, whose rivalry brought the world to the brink of nuclear war, seemed to hold the survival of the world in their hands. Neither power, however, went to war directly with the other. Instead, the United States and the Soviet Union fought a series of proxy wars, where two powers in conﬂict use substitutes instead of ﬁghting each other directly. Both nations were willing to support opposing sides in local wars in the ongoing struggle between their two worldviews. Two major conﬂicts of the Cold War were the wars that broke out in Korea and Vietnam. The Soviet Union and United States each sent military support to prevent the other side from expanding its inﬂuence. 59 Korean War Japan controlled Korea until 1945, the Soviet Union and the United States agreed to divide Korea into tow zones at the 38th parallel. Communist Korea in the north and anti-Communist in the south. 60 Tensions between the two governments increased. With the apparent approval of Joseph Stalin, Communist North Korean troops invaded South Korea on June 25, 1950. President Harry S. Truman of the United States, gained the approval of the United Nations and sent U.S. troops to repel the invaders. UN forces (mostly Americans) marched across the 38th parallel with the aim of unifying Korea. Greatly alarmed, the Chinese sent hundreds of thousands of troops into North Korea and pushed UN forces back across the 38th parallel. 61 Three more years of ﬁghting led to no ﬁnal victory. Armistice was ﬁnally signed in 1953. The 38th parallel still remains today. 62 The Vietnam War By 1963, the United States had been drawn into a new struggle that had an important impact on the Cold War – the Vietnam War. France refused to give up its colonial holdings in Indochina. Leading a struggle against French colonial rule was the local Communist Party led by Ho Chi Minh. 63 These forces under Communist leadership, seized power throughout most of Vietnam. Ho Chi Minh was elected president of a new republic in Hanoi. Refusing to accept the new government, France seized the southern part of the country. For years France fought Ho Chi Minh’s army for control of Vietnam. Ultimately Vietnam was divided into two parts. 64 The conﬂict continued. The Viet Cong – south Vietnam communist guerrillas – supported by the north were on the verge of seizing control of the entire country by early 1965. In March 1965, President Johnson sent troops to South Vietnam to keep the Communist regime in the north from gaining control of South Vietnam. 65 Vietnam War The United States failed to defeat the North Vietnamese. Anti-war movement in the United States and sentiment against the draft grew. For the ﬁrst time, the destruction of war was able to be seen on television and public opinion supporting the war turned. 66 67 68 69 70 71 In 1973, President Nixon reached an agreement with North Vietnam in the Paris Peace Accords that allowed the United States to withdrawal, communist armies from the North had forcibly reunited Vietnam. 72 The Bay of Pigs Invasion The Bay of Pigs Invasion was an unsuccessful attempt by US-backed Cuban exiles to overthrow the government of the Cuban dictator Fidel Castro. Increasing friction between the US and Castro's communist regime led President Eisenhower to break oﬀ diplomatic relations with Cuba in January 1961. Even before that, however, the CIA had been training anti-revolutionary Cuban exiles for a possible invasion of the island. The invasion plan was approved by Eisenhower's successor, John F. Kennedy. 73 The Bay of Pigs and The Cuban Missile Crisis During the administration of John F. Kennedy, the Cold War confrontation between the United States and the Soviet Union reached frightening levels. In 1959, a left wing revolutionary named Fidel Castro overthrew the Cuban dictator Fulgencio Batista and set up a Soviet-supported totalitarian regime in Cuba. 74 t ? u t tha a b o a r e d wec h y di W 75 93 miles 76 After weighing options, Kennedy approved a plan that the CIA had proposed. Exiled Cuban fighters would invade Cuba at the Bay of Pigs. The purpose of the invasion was to cause a revolt against Castro. It was a disaster. After the Bay of Pigs, the Soviet Union sent advisers to Cuba. In 1962 Khrushchev began to place nuclear missiles in Cuba, which were meant to counteract U.S. nuclear weapons placed in Turkey. “You are worried over Cuba…..because it lies at a distance of 90 miles across the sea from the shores of the United States. However, Turkey lies next to us.” -Khrushchev 77 The Bay of Pigs Invasion… On April 17, 1961 about 1300 exiles, armed with US weapons, landed at the Bahía de Cochinos (Bay of Pigs) on the southern coast of Cuba hoping for support from locals. From the start, the exiles were likely to lose. Kennedy had the option of using the Air Force against the Cubans but decided against it. Consequently, the invasion was stopped by Castro's army. The failure of the invasion seriously embarrassed the Kennedy administration. Some critics blamed Kennedy for not giving it adequate support Others blamed Kennedy for allowing it to take place at all. Additionally, the invasion made Castro wary of the US He was convinced that the Americans would try to take over the Cuba again. Cuban leader Fidel Castro watches events during 78 the Bay of Pigs Invasion. Cuban Missile Crisis This was the closest the world ever came to nuclear war. The US armed forces were at their highest state of readiness ever, and Soviets in Cuba were prepared to launch nuclear weapons to defend the island if it were invaded. In 1962, the USSR lagged far behind the US in the arms race. Soviet missiles were only powerful enough to be launched against Europe but US missiles were capable of striking the entire Soviet Union. In April 1962, Soviet Premier Khrushchev deployed missiles in Cuba to provide a deterrent to a potential US attack against the USSR. Meanwhile, Fidel Castro was looking for a way to defend his island nation from an attack by the US. Ever since the failed Bay of Pigs invasion in 1961, Castro felt a second attack was inevitable. Consequently, he approved of Khrushchev's plan to place missiles on the island. In the summer of 1962 the USSR secretly installed the missiles. CIA map showing range of Soviet supplied intermediate and medium range missiles if launched from Cuba 79 The crisis began on October 15, 1962 when Cuban Missile Crisis… reconnaissance revealed Soviet missiles under construction in Cuba. After seven days of intense debate within the White House, Kennedy imposed a blockade around Cuba to stop the arrival of more Soviet missiles. On October 22, Kennedy announced the discovery of the missiles and his decision to blockade Cuba and that any attack launched from Cuba would be regarded as an attack on the US by the USSR and demanded that the Soviets remove all of their oﬀensive weapons from Cuba. October 27 was the worst day of the crisis. A U-2 spy plane was shot down over Cuba. Tensions ﬁnally began to ease on October 28 when Khrushchev announced that he would dismantle the installations and remove the missiles, expressing his trust that the US would not invade Cuba. Further negotiations were held to implement the October 28 agreement, including a US demand that Soviet bombers be removed from Cuba, and specifying the exact form and conditions of US assurances not to invade Cuba. From top: Castro, Kennedy, Khrushchev, and poster for a movie about the crisis called Thirteen Days 80 The Slow Thaw End of WWII through Truman, Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon, Ford, Carter, Reagan, and Bush, Cold War = central foreign policy concern Most ﬁlm/TV villains were Soviets or communists; Indiana Jones and the Temple of the Crystal Skull, which is set in the 1950s, pays homage to the use of Soviets as villains. Better relations between communists countries and the US began with one of the most hard-lined anti-communist presidents, Richard Nixon. In his “only Nixon could go to China” trip, Nixon was the ﬁrst US president to visit that communist country. Cate Blanchette as Col. Dr. Irina Spalko in Indiana Jones and the Temple of the Crystal Skull A magazine cover about ping pong diplomacy, so called because better relations between the Richard and Pat Nixon US and China came (in an appropriately after the two red coat) at the countries’ ping pong Great Wall of China teams played each 81 other. The Slow Thaw… In 1969 Nixon began negotiations with USSR on SALT I, common name for the Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty Agreement. SALT I froze the number of ballistic missile launchers at existing levels, and provided for the addition of submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) launchers only after the same number of intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) and SLBM launchers had been dismantled. It was the ﬁrst eﬀort between US/USSR to stop increase nuclear weapons. SALT II was a second round of US/USSR talks (1972-1979), which sought to reduce manufacture of nuclear weapons. SALT II was the ﬁrst nuclear treaty seeking real reductions in strategic forces to 2,250 of all categories on both sides. 82 Nixon and Brezhnev toast the SALT I treaty. Carter and Brezhnev sign the SALT II treaty. Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan Interrupts Thaw In 1978, the USSR invaded Afghanistan and tried to set up a friendly government. It became the USSR’s Vietnam, a long war with no clear victory possible and many casualties and high costs. The US supported the Afghani rebels known as the mujahideen. In 1989 the Soviets ﬁnally withdrew. Islamic extremists used the opportunity to take over the country. The defeat weakened the Soviet’s economy and morale. Movie poster for Charlie Wilson’s War about US efforts to support the mujahideen Muhahideen celebrate the downing of a Soviet helicopter 83 Reagan’s Star Wars Interrupts Thaw The Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI) was a proposal by President Reagan on in 1983 to use ground and space-based systems to protect the US from attack by nuclear ballistic missiles. It focused on strategic defense rather than doctrine of mutual assured destruction (MAD). It was quickly nicknamed “Star Wars.” Criticism of SDI: It would require the US to change, withdraw from, or break earlier treaties. The Outer Space Treaty of 1967, which requires "States Parties to the Treaty undertake not to place in orbit around the Earth any objects carrying nuclear weapons or any other kinds of weapons of mass destruction, install such weapons on celestial bodies, or station such weapons in outer space in any other manner" and would forbid the US from pre-positioning in Earth orbit any devices powered by nuclear weapons and any devices capable of "mass destruction.“ The program proposed to use unproven technology. The program would cost many billions of dollars. It would start a new arms race with the Soviets. Artist rendering of satellites and lasers to be used in SDI 84 Cold War Thaw Continues Gorbachev becomes Soviet premier and understands that the Soviet economy cannot compete with the West, partly because of Afghanistan and partly because of the costs of keeping up militarily. Gorbachev recognizes there is increasing unrest in the country. He tries to reform the USSR with glasnost (= openness: think “glass” because you can see through it) and perestroika (=restructuring: think “structure/stroika”). Gorbachev is further pressured to reform the USSR when Reagan gives his speech in Germany challenging Gorbachev to “tear down this wall.” Soviet Premier Mikhail Gorbachev President Reagan delivers his speech in Berlin. 85 The Wall Falls, 1989 A wave of rebellion against Soviet inﬂuence occurs throughout its European allies. Poland’s Solidarity movement breaks the Soviet hold on that country Hungary removed its border restrictions with Austria. Riots and protests break out in East Germany. East Germans storm the wall. Confused and outnumbered, border guards do not ﬁght back. The wall is breached. Eventually East and West Germany are reunited in 1990. 86 The USSR Dissolves On December 21, 1991, the presidents of Russia, Ukraine and Belarus signed the Belavezha Accords declaring the USSR dissolved and established the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) in its place. On December 25, 1991, Gorbachev yielded as the president of the USSR, declaring the oﬃce extinct. He turned the powers that until then were vested in Boris Yeltsin (far left) stands on a tank him over to Boris Yeltsin, president of to defy the 1991 coup Russia. The following day, the Supreme Soviet, the highest governmental body of the Soviet Union, recognized the collapse of the Soviet Union and dissolved itself. This is generally recognized as the oﬃcial, ﬁnal dissolution of the Soviet Union as a functioning state. Rocky beats Ivan Drago. 87

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