19) The Second Cold War Flashcards
When did the Soviets invade Afghanistan
December 1979
Situation in Afghanistan prior to Soviet invasion
Very complex political situation since before the 1960s
60s- become a constitutional monarchy
1973- coup to change the monarchy
April 1978- coup where the soviet-backed socialist party win power (Marxist-Leninist party)
Parties are very uncoordinated and it falls back into a civil war after the ‘78 coop, the socialist party faces opposition from US-backed mujahideen groups.
leader of Afghanistan prior to the 1978 coop
General Mohammed Daoud Khan, established Afghanistan as a republic
PDPA
People’s Democratic Party of Afghanistan (socialist party)
was founded in 1965 but by ‘67 they had split into factions
why did the PDPA overthrown Daoud
He failed to implement any of the socialist policies to which he had committed (in order for him to achieve victory in his 1963 coup against the monarchy, he needed the support from all the big political parties, thus he promised these reforms)
details of the 1978 coup
April
Soviet-trained Afghan soldiers
took place without direct Soviet participation
Why was Afghanistan a concern for the USSR (why did they invade)
-shared a 2,5000 metre border, the Soviets have ties with Afghanistan and would like it to be in their sphere
-PDPA regime begins to fragment due to conflict over policies
-Regional ally to the USSR, any alliance with the US would lead to a strengthened US geostrategic power
-Protection of the USSRs own security, needed the Afghanistan as the buffer
-the USSR believed their actions where inline with the Basic Principles of détente (they needed to preserver their power)
-Saw their military intervention as a defensive act to stop Afghanistan from descending into a chaos and being a victim to external forces (bit hypocritical)
Soviet vs US views of the invasion
USSR- it was necessary
US- it was expansionist
why was military intervention the chosen action in Afghanistan?
USSR believed immediate action was needed to preserve the status quo (restore a stable, popular, socialist government) and ensure the USSRs security
Why did the Soviets believe their actions in Afghanistan aligned with the basic principles
-defensive act
-preserve not destroy
-Afghanistan was never part of the US influence
what was the People’s republic of Chinas (PCR) view on the invasion?
-did not agree
-cancelled talks with the USSR and provided weaponry to the mujahideen
when do NATO put missiles in Europe and how does this effect the USSR
December 1978
creates paranoia, a motivator to invade Afghanistan
Coup to overthrow Dauod
April 1978
how many soviet troops were in the initial invasion
50,000 but double to 100,000 in a matter of months
Reasons for social unrest in Afghanistan
many Afghans believed the new Marxist reforms undermined Afghanistan’s traditional Islamic culture
President Amin
took power after coup in 1978 but Soviets did not trust him as he began try and improve relations with the USA and Pakistan
death of Amin
December 1979
soviets storm the presidential building where Amin is executed and Babrak Karmal is installed as leader
Was Babrak Karmal a popular leader
no, he did not have the support of the Afghans, they saw him a puppet to the Soviets (eg the Afghan army was dissolved so the Soviets could control military action)
the war by 1985
no victory, still vicious fighting between the Mujahideen and the Soviets
Soviets in 1985 (Afghanistan)
demoralised
big financial strain on USSR
Afghanistan was becoming ‘the Soviet’s Viet Nam’
Mujahideen by 1985
controlled 1/5th of the country
held inaccessible mountain bases
financed by the USA and PRC
Situation in Iran
1979, the pro-US Shah is overthrown and replaced with anti-American Islamic fundamentalists, left vulnerable the communist influence
What did the US fear in south-west Asia
-the domino theory (similar to the 1950s)
-feared the loss of the Indian ocean and Persian Gulf (thus the loss of oil supplies)
Carter’s response to Afghanistan
-trade embargo with USSR
-Senate refuse to ratify SALT II
-Carter Doctrine
Carter Doctrine
Jan 1980
Expansion of containment policy into middle east
USA was prepared to use force to do this
PRC and USA on afghanistan
both support the Mujahideen
Chinese defence minister Geng Biao goes to the US and approves the export of items (advanced technology) to the Mujahideen
Reagan’s response to Afghanistan
in 1986 Reagan sends the Mujahideen lightweight air-to-ground missiles which diminishes soviet air superiority
end of war in Afghanistan
1989
Reaction of Western Europe to Afghanistan
Thatcher supported the US actions although the FRG and France were hesitant to condemn the USSR
They did not want to destroy the newly found European détente
many argued it was no different to the US invasion of Czechoslovakia
overall impact of the reactions to Afghanistan
strengthened Sino-American relations while ruining Sino-Soviet ones
How was the invasion of Afghanistan the start of the 2nd cold war?
portrayed the USSR in a very similar, negative light as in the 1950s
the USSR was seen as a dangerous, expansionist force and their invasion forced the USA to change its foreign policy, the the 1940s/50s it changed from isolationism to containment while in the 1970s/80s from detente back to containment
However, the background for this 2nd cold war was different (instead of Europe it was western Asia) moreover, France and FRG were less willing to condemn the soviet actions
New Personalities in the Cold War
Ronald Reagan, Margaret Thatcher and Pope John Paul II
Reagans opinion/impact on the Cold War
-after détente, the presidency of Reagan returned to a more aggressive foreign policy, while Reagan would never pursue a war, he used aggressive policies that were designed to change soviet behaviour
during his time as leader, the fears, tensions and suspicions of the early cold war returned (hence the idea of a 2nd cold war)
-he believed the USA needed to return to utilitarianism in order to return to its military strength
-clever but unpredictable leader, had a big fear of MAD
‘freeze’ movement
developed in the 1980s
wanted a freeze on the deployment on all nuclear weapons (US public supported this)
resulted in Reagan’s administration accepting the need for arms limitation talks (like START)
However these talks stalled and were then abandoned in 1983 when the US deployed its first cruise and Pershing II missile- for the first time in over a decade the USA and USSR were not involved in some level of negotiations
USA and USSR’s views on stopping START talks
USSR took the view that the US were not seriously interested in negotiating a mutually beneficial agreement while Reagan blamed the USSR for the talks breaking down as they were the power that abandoned the talks
Margaret Thatcher’s view opinion/impact on the Cold War
-as an anti-communist and a tory, Thatcher’s opinions aligned with Reagan and she agreed with his aggressive policies
-within the UK she was elected 3 times but became very unpopular as she caused lots of unemployment
-she supported the idea that NATO and the UK should have nuclear weapons and thus opposed disarmament (because the UK was weak in comparison)
-she allowed the US to place missiles in the UK and let the US use UK bases to bomb Libya
-of the view that (like Reagan) Detente wouldn’t end the cold war
Reagan, Pope Paul and Thatcher’s impact on cold war tensions
R and T just increased them while the Pope had some impact in Poland, as an influential leader many people listened to him
Pope John Paul II impact/opinion on the cold war
-elected as pope in 1978
-he was Polish
-main impact on the cold war was on the collapse of communism in Poland, when he visited in 1979, he spoke freely about the right and necessity of peaceful, united Europe
-he spoke freely in an aggressive and controlled state
-campaigned against political oppression in the west
-survived an assassination attempt in May 1981 (of which the soviets were given some blame)
what was solidarity
a popular trade union in Poland, formed in August 1980, became an influential political organisation
Led by Lech Walesa
Causes for Solidarity
-sever economic crisis in the 1980s, in an attempt to reduce Poland’s foreign debts, the government introduced an 100% rise in food prices
-this price rise resulted in a general strike of 300,000
why did the government agree to solidarity?
to appease unrest
accepted the 1st independent trade union, the government argued it was an attempt to reconcile its relationship with its people however membership continued to grow to 10 million (80% of state workers), more strikes took place, pay rises were demanded and a national referendum was called for
when was solidarity legalised
September 1980
General Wojciech Jaruzelski
Made president of Poland in september 1981
Soviet response to solidarty
-brezhnev doctrine was still in place
-began to perform military exercises along the polish border
-aware that any intervention could result in massive western backlash and put the USSR under significant financial strain (Afghanistan/Reagan/weak economy), the Politburo, even though deciding not to intervene, convinced the leaders of Poland that a soviet intervention was possible and should be feared
Crushing of Solidarity
-fearing soviet intervention, Jaruzelski bans solidarity, arrests its leaders and introduces martial law to prevent any backlash, however, solidarity simple went underground and continued to meet in secret
US reaction to the crushing of solidarity
imposed economic sanctions to trade and tourism suffered, even without this, Poland slipped deeper into an economic crisis
What did the crushing of Solidarity signify for the USSR
was the beginning of the end, although they did not know it
if the Politburo were unable to convince Jaruzelski that they would invade, solidarity would of continued to grow and could of resulted in the fall of communism in Poland and thus the rest of Europe
What was KAL 007
a South Korean civic airliner
Who shot down KAL 007
Soviets
why was KAL 007 shot down
the USSR claimed that it was a spy plane sent by the USA, the US denied this and blamed the USSR for the deaths of all the passengers
How many people died due to the shooting down of KAL 007
269 people of which 61 were American
when was KAL 007 shot down
September 1983
How did the shooting down of KAL 007 impact US-Soviet relations
Damaged them a lot, within the same year that START talks were abandoned
USSR continued to believe the US had left détente and were moving towards a policy of military superiority
