8.1.3American Intervention in Global Affairs Flashcards
What was the purpose of the CIA during the Cold War?
Secret agents, no open battles.
Covert ops to stop communism & avoid direct war.
What is a Banana Republic?
Fruits & fragile governments.
A corrupt country dependent on a single cash crop.
Why did the U.S. overthrow Jacobo Árbenz in Guatemala?
Land reform = U.S. panic.
He redistributed land → U.S. feared communism.
Who was Mohammad Mosaddegh, and why did the U.S. remove him?
Oil & ousting a leader.
Iran’s PM; he opposed U.S. oil control.
What was the outcome of the U.S.-backed coup in Iran?
Shah’s return = 25 yrs of trouble.
Shah reinstated → 25 years of dictatorship & corruption.
Why did Fidel Castro turn to communism?
“Rejected? I’ll join the Reds!”
U.S. rejected him, Soviets supported him.
What was the goal of the Bay of Pigs invasion?
Pigs = failed plan to take Cuba.
Overthrow Castro using Cuban exiles.
Why did the Bay of Pigs invasion fail?
No backup = disaster.
U.S. didn’t provide air/naval support → exiles captured.
How did the Cuban Missile Crisis start?
Spy planes saw something scary.
U.S. found Soviet missiles in Cuba.
What were JFK’s options during the Cuban Missile Crisis?
3 choices: Fight, bomb, or block.
Invade, bomb missile sites, or blockade (he chose blockade).
How did the Cuban Missile Crisis end?
Missiles out, secret deal in.
Soviets removed missiles, U.S. secretly removed theirs from Turkey.
What was the Peace Corps?
Volunteers, not soldiers.
Sent young Americans to help poor nations (soft power).
What was the Alliance for Progress?
Marshall Plan for LatAm (flopped).
U.S. economic aid plan for Latin America (failed).
What was MK-ULTRA?
Spies & strange experiments.
CIA’s mind-control experiment w/ drugs & hypnosis.
Who was Nathan Hale?
“One life to lose” hero.
America’s first spy; executed in 1776.
