8.03 Proxy Wars Flashcards
What is a proxy war?
Instead of nations fighting each other in person, those nations persuade other nations to fight each other, some representing one of the original nations, and some representing the other, or others.
What were some of the proxy wars that took place in East Asia?
{}{}{}{}There were things like the Korean War, where America and the USSR split Korea at the 38th parallel, and forced North and South Korea to fight, with the North being assisted by the USSR, and the South being assisted by America.
{}{}{}{}There was also the Vietnam War, where Vietnam was split along the 17th parallel, and the US assisted South Vietnam, and both the USSR and China assisted the North. In 1975 though, the North took complete control over the south, and this was the only proxy war that America actually lost.
What were some of the proxy wars fought in Africa?
{}{}{}{}In the War in Angola, the Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola was supported by the USSR and Cuba, and the Union for the Total Independence of Angola was supported by America.
What were some of the proxy wars fought in the Middle East?
The Middle East is directly south of Russia, so America tried to create a buffer zone by allying Middle Eastern countries. They formed CENTO, where they allied Turkey, Iraq, Iran, and Pakistan. CENTO really wasn’t that successful though, and it dissolved in 1979.
Egypt refused to join CENTO. In fact, they were in an arms deal with the USSR. Because of this, the US wouldn’t fund Egypt’s dam that they were going to build. Because of this, Nasser, the ruler of Egypt, decided to raise money for the dam himself. The US was angry about this, so in response, they persuaded Israel to invade the dam area, when America and Britain jumped in, looking like peacekeepers, to retake the canal.
{}{}{}{}In Afghanistan, their centrist government was overthrown by a communist group, which was close to the USSR. The new government made some unwanted reforms for anti-communists in the area, so mujahedeen, which were Islamic insurgents, tried to overthrow the government. The Soviets invaded as well, to try and support the government. After a while, the USSR controlled a variety of major towns, and the mujahedeen controlled the countryside, so it was basically a draw. The USSR agreed to leave the area in 1988, and several years and governments later, the Taliban rose to power in the country.
How was immigration used as a weapon during the Cold War?
The US allowed Cubans to be legally let into their borders. So many Cuban citizens sought refuge in America from Cuba. There were a total of 125,000 Cuban immigrants that came to the US before 1980.
