Causes Detente Flashcards
Cuban missile crisis
• Usa own 95% of Cuban exports and businesses, close ties to Batista who gains 50% of mafias money from casinos. Very corrupt.
• 1st January 1959. Cuba falls to communism by Castro. They nationalize all us businesses.
• Leads to usa brutality, bay of pig’s fiasco 17th April 1961, over 1400 exiles invade, fails, 100 return
• Pushes Cuba to ally with Ussr
• 14th October 1962- U2 spy planes find nuclear weapons
• 16th October – quarantine line established, standoff for 13 days
• Tensions peak 24th oct – soviet submarine hit with depth charge
• Eventually mutually stand down
Partial test ban
• People genuinely fear nuclear war, usa was on defcon 3
• Introduce hotline to communicate
• Partial test ban treaty – limits to underwater testing, August 5th 1963
• Salt 1- 5 year freeze on missile construction – May 23rd 1972
Vietnam
• 1954 French loose war and withdraw influence
• Ho chi min- communist north, ngo dien diem- capitalist south
• By 1961- under 1000 us troops, 1965-82000, 1968-500000
• 1964- pass gulf of Tonkin to send more troops, increases after ngo di deims execution in
• Proxy war- over 150000 Chinese troops, Ussr send sa-2 anti-aircraft missiles
• 58000 us solders die. More protest eg] Kent state massacre 4 students killed in April 1970, 9th may 1970, 100000 protest outside the Whitehouse
• Other counties eg uk prime minister Harold Wilson refuse to provide aid
Vietnam impact
• 1973 usa declare they win – large ideological loss as it falls to communism in 1975
• War unpopular – unfair ad conscription introduced 1965, poor and minority’s more heavily conscripted. USA use biological warfare such as napalm. My lai massacre, over 300 civilians killed – usa left reluctant to enter future proxy war due to cost and press
• Costs over 173 billion dollars
Economic crisis 5th-10th June 1967
• OPEC countries in middle east mostly control oil
• 5th june – isreal launches preemptive airstikes
• 6th June 1967 - isreal invaded by Syria, Egypt, Jordan
• Over 800 Israeli’s killed, 500 refugees
• 20 000 fatal Arab casualties
• 10th -UN call ceasfire, signed 11th
• Supported by USA- Israel wins, gain land in Gaza strip and Egypt
• OPEC retaliate – fuel prices up 400% by 1973, $3 per barrel to 12$
• Cannot economically sustain cold war – Apollo missions cost over 110 billion, counties spend of 4 trillion annually on defense, Ussr spend 7% of its annual income
Sino soviet split
• Jan 14th 1950- sign treaty of friendship. Includes Ussr providing 330 million loan, and china proving land eg] port Arthur
• Begin to fall out post secret speech 25th feb 1956- Maoism is very different to Stalinism, accuses Ussr as failure of Marxism
• Tension further as Mao accuses Cuban missile crisis and an USA victory
• 1966- Mao outlines cultural revolution, with ‘flowers program ‘to expose opposition, followed by anti-right campaign – over 500000 persecuted, including Ussr ambassadors
• Ussr refuses to aid Mao with nuclear weapons
• Border conflicts over zhenbao islands – 1st-3rd may 1969 – between 100-800 killed as Ussr lose land to china
• Significant to cause détente – Ussr left alienated with no real allies, are reluctant to display aggression.
