Cold War Tension Points 1961-1990 Flashcards

1
Q

Who supported Communist North Korea?

A

China and the USSR

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2
Q

What type of country was South Korea?

A

Democratic country

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3
Q

Who was South Korea’s ally?

A

USA

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4
Q

In what year did the Korean War start?

A

1950

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5
Q

Who was the new American President in 1953? And what did he do to China in the Korean War?

A

Eisenhower

He threatened to use the atomic bomb if China didn’t stop fighting

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6
Q

When did the Chinese agree to a truce in the Korean War?

A

27th July 1953

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7
Q

What year did Stalin die?

A

1953

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8
Q

Who became the new Soviet leader after Stalin died?

A

Nikita Khrushchev

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9
Q

When did the USSR develop a nuclear bomb?

What did it result in?

A

1949

An arms race

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10
Q

When did ex-German soldiers erect a barbed wire and soon replace it with a concrete wall known as the Berlin Wall?

A

At 2am on Sunday 13th August 1961

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11
Q

What was the only crossing point of the Berlin Wall called?

A

Checkpoint Charlie

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12
Q

How did people living in East Germany feel?

4

A

Resented lack of freedom

Lived in fear of the Stasi (secret police)

Complained about corruption

Jealous of the prosperity of West Germany

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13
Q

Who was elected at the new American president in January 1961?

A

John F Kennedy

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14
Q

Why didn’t Kennedys new presidency kick off to a great start?

A

He backed a disastrous attempt to invade Cuba and remove its communist president, Fidel Castro

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15
Q

Who met in Vienna in July 1961?

A

Khrushchev and Kennedy

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16
Q

What happened on the 27th October 1961?

A

Soviet tanks pulled up to checkpoint Charlie and faced US tanks in a tense stand off for 18 hours

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17
Q

Explain what ideology has to do with the Berlin Wall.

A

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.

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18
Q

How does nationalism and self interest contribute to the Berlin Wall?

A

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.

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19
Q

What has misunderstanding got to do with the Berlin Wall?

A

The USSR thought America was purposely trying to make east Berlin look bad.

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20
Q

Who ruled Cuba until 1959?

A

General Fulgencio Batista

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21
Q

Who supported General Fulgencio Batista and why?

A

USA because he was strongly anti-communist

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22
Q

When was General Fulgencio Batista overthrown?

A

1959 in a revolution by Communist Fidel Castro

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23
Q

Why did the Cuban Missile Crisis become a crisis?

A

Because Castro feared the US would invade Cuba and so he turned to the USSR for help.

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24
Q

When was the Bays of Pigs invasion?

A

April 1961

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25
Q

What was the Bays of Pigs invasion?

A

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.

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26
Q

When did the USSR publicly announce that it was supplying Cuba with arms?

A

May 1962

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27
Q

What happened on the 14th October 1962?

A

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.

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28
Q

Why did Khrushchev put nuclear missiles on Cuba?

5

A

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

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29
Q

What was signed in 1963?

A

A nuclear test ban treaty

Didn’t stop the development of weapons but did limit tests

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30
Q

Who was the communist ruler of North Vietnam and what did he want?

A

Ho Chi Minh and wanted to unite the North and South under his control

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31
Q

Who did Ho Chi Minh support?

A

The Vietcong in the south of Vietnam

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32
Q

Who supported Ngo Diem Diem?

A

USA

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33
Q

Who were the Vietcong?

A

Communist guerrilla soldiers fighting to overthrow Ngo Diem Diem

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34
Q

Why did the US get involved in the Vietnam war?

3

A

Containment

Domino theory

ARVNs weakness (south Vietnamese army)

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35
Q

When was the Gulf of Tonkin incident?

A

August 1964

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36
Q

What did President Johnson order in 1965 in the Vietnam war?

A

The bombing of north Vietnam, operation rolling thunder

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37
Q

What was guerrilla warfare?

5

A

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

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38
Q

Why did the Vietcong use Guerrilla warfare tactics?

A

Because they were outnumbered and not as well equipped.

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39
Q

What was the aim of the Vietcong?

A

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.

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40
Q

Why did the Americans lose in Vietnam?

4

A

Successful Vietcong tactics

Unsuccessful US tactics

Lack of public support

Popular protest

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41
Q

What was the aim of Strategic Hamlets in 1962?

A

To isolate the Vietcong from the villagers, its base of support.

Failed as they didn’t win over the Vietnamese people.

42
Q

What was operation rolling thunder?

A

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.

43
Q

What was the search and destroy method used by the US in the Vietnam war?

A

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.

44
Q

What was napalm, used in the Vietnam war?

A

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.

45
Q

What was agent orange, used in the Vietnam war?

A

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.

46
Q

Why did America withdraw from the Vietnam War?

4

A

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

47
Q

What policy did president Nixon introduce in 1968?

A

Vietnamization

In which they replaced US troops with South Vietnamese soldiers but failed to hold back the VC.

48
Q

When did Vietnam become communist?

A

1975

49
Q

Did the Domino theory prove to be right or wrong in the Vietnam war, why?

A

Wrong

Because even though Laos and Cambodia became communist, Thailand, Burma and Malaysia did not.

50
Q

Who ordered the CIA to investigate ways to overthrow Castro?

A

President Eisenhower

51
Q

How did the Cuban Missile crisis help improve international relations?

A

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

52
Q

How did President Johnson escalate the Vietnam War?

A

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.

53
Q

Name the 5 tactics that the US used in the Vietnam war

A

Strategic Hamlets (1962)

Agent Orange

Napalm

Search and destroy

Operation rolling thunder (1965)

54
Q

Name the 3 types of lack of public support that the US received in the Vietnam War

A

The Tet Offensive (1968)

The Role of the Media

The My Lai Massacre

55
Q

What years was the Soviet War in Afghanistan?

A

1979-1989

56
Q

Who were the Mujahidin in the Soviet/Afghan War?

A

An Islamic group who were determined to fight the Soviets.

57
Q

How did the Mujahidin fight?

A

They were heavily armed as they were supplied by China and the USA.

They received training from the CIA.

They employed guerrilla warfare tactics

58
Q

What year did the People’s Democratic Party of Afghanistan take control of Afghanistan?

A

1978

They were a communist group and financed by and allies of the USSR.

59
Q

Why did Soviet leader, Leonid Brezhnev, order an invasion in Afghanistan?

A

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.

60
Q

What date did the Soviets invade Afghanistan to set up their own pro-Soviet government?

A

25th December 1979

61
Q

What was the US reaction to the Soviet invasion into Afghanistan?

(4)

A

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.

62
Q

Why did the USSR fail in Afghanistan? (3)

A

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.

63
Q

What were the most important weapon the Soviets had in the Afghan War and what did the Mujahidin do to them?

A

Helicopters

The US supplied the Mujahidin with stinger anti-aircraft which destroyed the helicopters.

64
Q

When did the USSR government begin to receive letters pleading to leave the Afghan War? And what did it do?

A

Early 1978

It withdrew its forces from Afghanistan

65
Q

Who was the new Soviet leader in 1986?

A

Mikhail Gorbachev

66
Q

When did the Cold War come to a halt?

A

1989

67
Q

What did Ronald Reagan give the go-ahead for in 1982?

A

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.

68
Q

What did Reagan’s supporters believe about his aims towards the arms race?

A

They claimed that his main aim was to escalate it in order to end it.

69
Q

What did Reagan’s critics believe about his aims towards the arms race?

A

They suggested that his policies were about money rather than politics.

70
Q

Why did Gorbachev try to change the USSR?

What did the realist in him see?

A

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.

71
Q

Why did Gorbachev try to change the USSR?

What did the Idealist in him see?

A

Believed that communism should make life better for the people.

72
Q

Why did Gorbachev try to change the USSR?

What did the optimism in him see?

A

Believed that communism could work and it could give people pride and belief in their country.

73
Q

What were Gorbachevs 2 key ideas?

A

Glasnost

Perestroika

74
Q

What was glasnost?

A

It reduced state control of the media

75
Q

What was perestroika?

A

Introduced economic reforms that allowed people in the USSR to trade for profit however was a massive challenge to communism.

76
Q

When did Gorbachev and Reagan meet to discuss nuclear disarmament?

A

19th November 1985 in Geneva

77
Q

When was the Berlin Wall torn down?

A

October 1990

78
Q

When did a group of hardline communists try to overthrow Gorbachev and fail?

A

August 1991

79
Q

When did Gorbachev announce his resignation?

A

25th December 1991

80
Q

What happened to Afghanistan after the Soviet army withdrew?

A

Civil war broke out

81
Q

Who was the most powerful group in the mid 1990s in Afghanistan?

A

A Muslim organisation called the Taliban.

82
Q

Who did the Taliban have support from?

A

Pakistan

83
Q

What did the Taliban believe?

A

They believed that US culture was a threat to Islam.

84
Q

Who ruled Iraq from 1976?

A

Saddam Hussain

85
Q

Where did Al-Qaeda come from?

A

Afghanistan and Saudi Arabia

86
Q

Who was Al-Qaeda founder?

A

Osama bin laden

87
Q

Who was Abdullah Assam?

A

A Muslim preacher

88
Q

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)

A

Western democracies

Communism

Jews and the state of Israel

Governments who cooperated in anyway with Al-Qaedas enemies.

89
Q

Bin laden wanted to build up the strength of al-Qaeda and by the mid 1990s it was very …..

A

Powerful

90
Q

The development of al-Qaeda…

6

A

Beliefs

Leaders

Well trained fighters - from Mujahidin trained by the CIA

secure bases

Money

Technologies

91
Q

How many deaths did 9/11 result in?

A

Around 3,000

92
Q

Why did Al-Qaeda do 9/11?

4

A

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

93
Q

What was the USs response to 9/11?

A

Devastation, shock and horror.

94
Q

What was George W. Bushs response to 9/11?

A

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.

95
Q

What did George W. Bush do when the leader of Taliban, Omar, refused to hand over bin Laden?

A

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.

96
Q

When was the Tora Bora Complex taken?

A

17th December 2001

97
Q

Who was Al-Qaeda defeated by?

A

The USA and its allies

98
Q

When was Osama bin Laden discovered and killed, by who?

A

US Forces in 2011

99
Q

Did militant Islamic fundamentalism die with bin Laden?

A

No.

Large numbers of independent groups and individuals around the world continued the campaign.

100
Q

What happened in 2014?

A

A large jihadist group called the Islamic State emerged and took control of significant areas of Syria and Iraq.