Cold War: Part 3 Flashcards
1
Q
Conflict in Afghanistan
A
- 1978 = a Marxist party had taken over power in Afghanistan
- Marxist leaders took steps to: implement radical land reforms - liberate women
- problem = this upset conservative Muslims within the country and led to a large opposition movement
- soviet union = intervened with its military
- afraid that this new communist regime in Afghanistan would be overthrown and replaced by Islamic radicals
- Soviet union got caught up in war they could not win that lasted from 1978 until 1989
- Russia’s Vietnam
2
Q
US
A
- U.S. sent aid to the Afghan guerrillas to help them oust Soviet forces and end the communist regime in Afghanistan
- “Operation Cyclone” = code name for the CIA program to arm, train, and finance Afghan insurgents during their war against the Soviets
- soviets withdrew in 1989
- afghan communist regime soon collapsed
3
Q
Cuban missile crisis
A
- 60s
- 1959 = Fidel Castro came to power in Cuba
- revolutionary nationalist
- liked Marxist ideas and led him to establish a communist regime in Cuba in 1960
- Soviet Union = pumped! 1st time a country had set up a communist government without the Red Army
- nationalized American assets in Cuba = brought them under ownership of the Cuban government
- provoked a lot of US hostility
- US stopped all aid to Cuba and all imports of Cuban sugar
4
Q
April 1961
A
- the Bay of Pigs invasion
- CIA funded, trained, armed, and transported 1300 Cuban exiles to invade Cuba
- landed at the Bay of Pigs
- invasion = a disaster; President Kennedy was humiliated
- major result = Castro asked the Soviet Union to provide him with weapons to protect Cuba against America
5
Q
leader of the Soviet Union at this time - Nikita Khrushchev
A
- feared that American aggression against Cuba would lead to the loss of this new communist ally in the Caribbean
- he secretly deployed nuclear-tipped Soviet missiles to Cuba thought this would stop any further US action against Castro
- Soviet Union quickly and secretly built missile bases in Cuba
6
Q
October 1962 - missiles discovered by the US
A
- for 13 days = American forces blockaded Cuba and prepared for an invasion
- agreement struck between President Kennedy and Premier Krushchev
- both pushed each other to limits
- both knew nuclear war would be absolutely devastating
- Soviet Union agreed to remove ALL missiles form Cuba
- US promised to not invade Cuba
7
Q
the Soviet Union’s involvement with Afghanistan is often referred to as the _______
A
- Soviet Union’s vietnam
8
Q
who was the president of the US during the Cuban Missile crisis and the Bay of Pigs invasion
A
- John F. Kennedy
9
Q
Nikita Khrushchev, the leader of the Soviet Union gave _________ to Cuba
A
- nuclear tipped missiles
10
Q
who was the communist leader that took over Cuba in 1959
A
- Fidel Castro
11
Q
“operation cyclone” was the code name for the American CIA program that ______ Afghan soldiers
A
- armed
- trained
- financed
