Cold War Tension Points 1961-1990 Flashcards
Who supported Communist North Korea?
China and the USSR
What type of country was South Korea?
Democratic country
Who was South Korea’s ally?
USA
In what year did the Korean War start?
1950
Who was the new American President in 1953? And what did he do to China in the Korean War?
Eisenhower
He threatened to use the atomic bomb if China didn’t stop fighting
When did the Chinese agree to a truce in the Korean War?
27th July 1953
What year did Stalin die?
1953
Who became the new Soviet leader after Stalin died?
Nikita Khrushchev
When did the USSR develop a nuclear bomb?
What did it result in?
1949
An arms race
When did ex-German soldiers erect a barbed wire and soon replace it with a concrete wall known as the Berlin Wall?
At 2am on Sunday 13th August 1961
What was the only crossing point of the Berlin Wall called?
Checkpoint Charlie
How did people living in East Germany feel?
4
Resented lack of freedom
Lived in fear of the Stasi (secret police)
Complained about corruption
Jealous of the prosperity of West Germany
Who was elected at the new American president in January 1961?
John F Kennedy
Why didn’t Kennedys new presidency kick off to a great start?
He backed a disastrous attempt to invade Cuba and remove its communist president, Fidel Castro
Who met in Vienna in July 1961?
Khrushchev and Kennedy
What happened on the 27th October 1961?
Soviet tanks pulled up to checkpoint Charlie and faced US tanks in a tense stand off for 18 hours
Explain what ideology has to do with the Berlin Wall.
The Berlin Wall may not have happened if the USA and the USSR didn’t have such different ideologies and economies and because they’re both superpowers they both wanted to stop the spread of the other.
How does nationalism and self interest contribute to the Berlin Wall?
A part of the Berlin Wall was to show how powerful the USSR was by building a wall however the USA and other countries didn’t see it as a threat.
What has misunderstanding got to do with the Berlin Wall?
The USSR thought America was purposely trying to make east Berlin look bad.
Who ruled Cuba until 1959?
General Fulgencio Batista
Who supported General Fulgencio Batista and why?
USA because he was strongly anti-communist
When was General Fulgencio Batista overthrown?
1959 in a revolution by Communist Fidel Castro
Why did the Cuban Missile Crisis become a crisis?
Because Castro feared the US would invade Cuba and so he turned to the USSR for help.
When was the Bays of Pigs invasion?
April 1961
What was the Bays of Pigs invasion?
When John F Kennedy authorised a plan where the CIA would arm and train 1,400 Cuban exiles to invade Cuba and overthrow Castro.
= A complete disaster for Kennedy as they were easily defeated.
When did the USSR publicly announce that it was supplying Cuba with arms?
May 1962
What happened on the 14th October 1962?
A US U2 spy plane flew over Cuba and took detailed photos showing nuclear missile sites in Cuba and reported 20 Soviet ships carrying missiles on their way too.
Why did Khrushchev put nuclear missiles on Cuba?
5
To bargain with the USA
To test the USA
To close the missile gap
To defend Cuba
To strengthen his own position in the USSR
What was signed in 1963?
A nuclear test ban treaty
Didn’t stop the development of weapons but did limit tests
Who was the communist ruler of North Vietnam and what did he want?
Ho Chi Minh and wanted to unite the North and South under his control
Who did Ho Chi Minh support?
The Vietcong in the south of Vietnam
Who supported Ngo Diem Diem?
USA
Who were the Vietcong?
Communist guerrilla soldiers fighting to overthrow Ngo Diem Diem
Why did the US get involved in the Vietnam war?
3
Containment
Domino theory
ARVNs weakness (south Vietnamese army)
When was the Gulf of Tonkin incident?
August 1964
What did President Johnson order in 1965 in the Vietnam war?
The bombing of north Vietnam, operation rolling thunder
What was guerrilla warfare?
5
You retreat when the enemy attacks
Launch surprise attacks on enemy camps
Pursue when the enemy retreats
Use local terrain to an advantage
Live amongst civilians for protection
Why did the Vietcong use Guerrilla warfare tactics?
Because they were outnumbered and not as well equipped.
What was the aim of the Vietcong?
To wear down US soldiers
To wreck the US morale which worked as the US soldiers lived in constant fear of ambushes and booby traps.
Why did the Americans lose in Vietnam?
4
Successful Vietcong tactics
Unsuccessful US tactics
Lack of public support
Popular protest
What was the aim of Strategic Hamlets in 1962?
To isolate the Vietcong from the villagers, its base of support.
Failed as they didn’t win over the Vietnamese people.
What was operation rolling thunder?
Lasted 3.5 years of bombs being dropped over North Vietnam.
= Hardened people against the USA and found innovative ways of surviving them which meant the USA failed.
What was the search and destroy method used by the US in the Vietnam war?
The US searched Vietnamese villages for Vietcong fighters and if they suspected any they destroyed the village.
In most cases the villagers had no role in supporting the VC but the VC often helped the villagers re-build their homes which allowed them to be seen as heroes.
What was napalm, used in the Vietnam war?
Very flammable liquid the US dropped if they found a VC base, it burnt through anything.
Not a good tactics as innocent civilians were being hurt therefore wouldn’t win them over.
What was agent orange, used in the Vietnam war?
A chemical the US sprayed onto forests to destroy the jungle making it possible to find their enemy.
Caused birth defects and some areas up until today are still inhabitable.
Why did America withdraw from the Vietnam War?
4
They were still seen as a foreign enemy
America was divided and opposition was growing
The cost of the war was too much
Americas international reputation was being damaged
What policy did president Nixon introduce in 1968?
Vietnamization
In which they replaced US troops with South Vietnamese soldiers but failed to hold back the VC.
When did Vietnam become communist?
1975
Did the Domino theory prove to be right or wrong in the Vietnam war, why?
Wrong
Because even though Laos and Cambodia became communist, Thailand, Burma and Malaysia did not.
Who ordered the CIA to investigate ways to overthrow Castro?
President Eisenhower
How did the Cuban Missile crisis help improve international relations?
Test ban treaty was signed, didn’t stop the development of weapons but did limit tests and was an important step forwards.
also showed that the USSR and the USA were becoming civil
How did President Johnson escalate the Vietnam War?
Operation Rolling Thunder.
Then ordered US combat troops to back up the weak ARVN.
= thought this would lead to a quick defeat of the Vietcong.
By 1968 there were well over 500,000 US troops in South Vietnam.
Name the 5 tactics that the US used in the Vietnam war
Strategic Hamlets (1962)
Agent Orange
Napalm
Search and destroy
Operation rolling thunder (1965)
Name the 3 types of lack of public support that the US received in the Vietnam War
The Tet Offensive (1968)
The Role of the Media
The My Lai Massacre
What years was the Soviet War in Afghanistan?
1979-1989
Who were the Mujahidin in the Soviet/Afghan War?
An Islamic group who were determined to fight the Soviets.
How did the Mujahidin fight?
They were heavily armed as they were supplied by China and the USA.
They received training from the CIA.
They employed guerrilla warfare tactics
What year did the People’s Democratic Party of Afghanistan take control of Afghanistan?
1978
They were a communist group and financed by and allies of the USSR.
Why did Soviet leader, Leonid Brezhnev, order an invasion in Afghanistan?
Communist leaders were beginning to lose control and so the USSR was growing concerned about the spread of Islamic ideas and feared that the US would get involved.
What date did the Soviets invade Afghanistan to set up their own pro-Soviet government?
25th December 1979
What was the US reaction to the Soviet invasion into Afghanistan?
(4)
President Carter called Brezhnev and warned him that the invasion was a threat the world peace.
Introduced trade sanctions
Began to give military supplies and economic aid to the Mujahidin.
Abandoned any interest in the Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty and began a rapid increase in spending on weapons.
Why did the USSR fail in Afghanistan? (3)
Soviet tanks were vulnerable to attack
Couldn’t keep captured land because the local people wouldn’t co-operate with them as they were seen as an invading enemy
The Mujahidin had support from Saudi Arabia and the USA.
What were the most important weapon the Soviets had in the Afghan War and what did the Mujahidin do to them?
Helicopters
The US supplied the Mujahidin with stinger anti-aircraft which destroyed the helicopters.
When did the USSR government begin to receive letters pleading to leave the Afghan War? And what did it do?
Early 1978
It withdrew its forces from Afghanistan
Who was the new Soviet leader in 1986?
Mikhail Gorbachev
When did the Cold War come to a halt?
1989
What did Ronald Reagan give the go-ahead for in 1982?
The strategic defence initiative = a project to create a system using satellites that would destroy missiles before they hit their targets.
This could change the whole nature of a nuclear war.
What did Reagan’s supporters believe about his aims towards the arms race?
They claimed that his main aim was to escalate it in order to end it.
What did Reagan’s critics believe about his aims towards the arms race?
They suggested that his policies were about money rather than politics.
Why did Gorbachev try to change the USSR?
What did the realist in him see?
The realist in him could see that the USSR was in a terrible state, its economy was weak and it was spending too much on the arms race.
Why did Gorbachev try to change the USSR?
What did the Idealist in him see?
Believed that communism should make life better for the people.
Why did Gorbachev try to change the USSR?
What did the optimism in him see?
Believed that communism could work and it could give people pride and belief in their country.
What were Gorbachevs 2 key ideas?
Glasnost
Perestroika
What was glasnost?
It reduced state control of the media
What was perestroika?
Introduced economic reforms that allowed people in the USSR to trade for profit however was a massive challenge to communism.
When did Gorbachev and Reagan meet to discuss nuclear disarmament?
19th November 1985 in Geneva
When was the Berlin Wall torn down?
October 1990
When did a group of hardline communists try to overthrow Gorbachev and fail?
August 1991
When did Gorbachev announce his resignation?
25th December 1991
What happened to Afghanistan after the Soviet army withdrew?
Civil war broke out
Who was the most powerful group in the mid 1990s in Afghanistan?
A Muslim organisation called the Taliban.
Who did the Taliban have support from?
Pakistan
What did the Taliban believe?
They believed that US culture was a threat to Islam.
Who ruled Iraq from 1976?
Saddam Hussain
Where did Al-Qaeda come from?
Afghanistan and Saudi Arabia
Who was Al-Qaeda founder?
Osama bin laden
Who was Abdullah Assam?
A Muslim preacher
Azzams ideas formed the basis of Al-Qaedas actions and that it should carry out jihad (a fight against the enemies of islam) in any form against…
(4)
Western democracies
Communism
Jews and the state of Israel
Governments who cooperated in anyway with Al-Qaedas enemies.
Bin laden wanted to build up the strength of al-Qaeda and by the mid 1990s it was very …..
Powerful
The development of al-Qaeda…
6
Beliefs
Leaders
Well trained fighters - from Mujahidin trained by the CIA
secure bases
Money
Technologies
How many deaths did 9/11 result in?
Around 3,000
Why did Al-Qaeda do 9/11?
4
Wanted to prove how serious their beliefs were
It would create the worlds most high profile attack in history - gives them publicity and power
It would be seen as pure evil but they knew it would get the worlds attention
USA would be inadequately prepared for this - vulnerable to attack
What was the USs response to 9/11?
Devastation, shock and horror.
What was George W. Bushs response to 9/11?
He issued a demand to the Taliban leader Omar on the 20th September 2001 to turn bin Laden over to the US authorities.
He refused.
What did George W. Bush do when the leader of Taliban, Omar, refused to hand over bin Laden?
He gathered US forces and joined with Afghan opponents of the Taliban in a big assault on the country in October 2001.
Began with a bombardment using long range missiles and lots of air power.
When was the Tora Bora Complex taken?
17th December 2001
Who was Al-Qaeda defeated by?
The USA and its allies
When was Osama bin Laden discovered and killed, by who?
US Forces in 2011
Did militant Islamic fundamentalism die with bin Laden?
No.
Large numbers of independent groups and individuals around the world continued the campaign.
What happened in 2014?
A large jihadist group called the Islamic State emerged and took control of significant areas of Syria and Iraq.
