Containment

Question 1

What were the origins of the Vietnam War?

Answer 1

1. Vietnam had a long history of resisting Chinese and French Imperialism
2. Before WW2, Vietnam (then Indochina) ruled by France. The region was then conquered by Japanese
3. They treated the Vietnamese savagely, leading to resistance from the Viet Ming, let by the Communist Ho Chih Minh
4. At the end of WW2, the Viet Minh entered Hanoi in 1945 and declared Vietnam independent
   - Vietnam was divided between a communist state in the North, led by Ho Chi Minh and an anti communist state in South Vietnam

Question 2

Who was Ho Chih Minh?

Answer 2

Ho was a remarkable individual, having lived in the USA, Britain and France. In 1920s he studied Communism in the USSR, and in 1930 he had founded the Indochinese Communist Party

Question 3

How did the French react to the Vietnamese wanting independence?

Answer 3

1. The French wanted to keep Vietnam in their empire, and 9 more years of war followed between the Viet Minh in the North and the French in the South
2. From 1949 Ho Chih Minh supported by China, which became communist that year
3. US sent French $500 million into the war effort
4. French unable to hold on-in 1954 pulled out of Vietnam (lost 5% of their Army at Dien Bien Phu)

Question 4

How did the US involvement affect Vietnam elections?

Answer 4

1. Under ceasefire terms, elections were to be held within 2 years to reunite the country
2. USA prevented elections from taking place because it feared that the communists would win by 80%
3. Eisenhower and JF Dulles the Secretary of state worried that China/ The USSR were planning to spread Communism throughout SE Asia - through the ‘Domino Theory’
   - If one nation fell, others would too, so Vietnam had to be held against this
4. In 1955 US supported Ngo Dinh Diem to set up the Republic of South Vietnam, as he was bitterly anti-communist and prepared to crack down on them

Question 5

Why was Diem’s regime unpopular?

Answer 5

1. He belonged to the landlord class, which treated the majority peasant population with contempt
2. As a catholic, he showed little respect to the majority religion Buddhism
3. His regime was extremely corrupt, with family members appointed to positions of power, no elections of any kind allowed

Question 6

How did the USA justify appointing Diem?

Answer 6

1. Although the US were frustrated by his actions Dulles states that ‘we knew of no-one better’
2. In the 1950’s the US gave Diem $1.6 billion
3. In November 1963 Diem was overthrown by his own army leaders
4. The following governments were corrupted too yet still received US support

Question 7

How did the Viet Cong emerge?

Answer 7

1. The actions of the anti-communist government increased support among the ordinary peasants for the Communist-led National Front for the Liberation of South Vietnam, usually referred to as the Viet Cong
   - It included South Vietnamese opponents of the government, but also large numbers of Communist North Vietnamese taking their orders from Ho Chih Minh

Question 8

What were the actions and tactics of the Viet Cong?

Answer 8

1. The Viet Cong started a guerrilla war against the South Vietnamese, targeting government officials and buildings
2. By 1962 the countryside was completely unsafe for government tolls and the Viet Cong had also started attacking American military bases
3. By 1962 President Kennedy was sending military ‘advisers’ to fight the Viet Cong, the number of which rose to 23,000 by the end of 1964
4. However Kennedy said he was determined that the USA would not ‘blunder into war, unclear about aims or how to get out again’

Question 9

Why did the USA get involved more into Vietnam?

Answer 9

1. A major turning point was the assassination of Kennedy in 1963, which made the hawkish Lyndon Johnson President of the USA. He was more prepared to get involved in a full-scale war in Vietnam against Communism to contain it

Question 10

Describe USA actions after 1963 in Vietnam

Answer 10

1. August 1964: North Vietnamese patrol boats opened fire on US ships in the Gulf of Tonkin and in a furious reaction the US Congress passed the Tonkin Gulf Resolution giving Lyndon Johnston the power to ‘take all necessary measures to prevent further aggression and achieve peace and security’
2. February 1965: US started Operation Rolling Thunder which was a massive bombing campaign against North Vietnamese cities, factories, army bases and the Ho Chih Minh Trail which continued for three years
3. 8th March 1965: 3500 US marines, combat troops rather than advisors came ashore at Da Nang
   - This number of troops would increase massively over the coming years and the USA would not leave the country until 1973

Question 11

Describe the Tet Offensive

Answer 11

1. Despite the problems by 1967 there was a belief in America that the war was being won
2. Large numbers of Viet Cong dying, and press reflected these reports properly
3. Early in 1968, during the Tet New Year Holiday, Viet Cong fighters attacked over 100 cities/towns in the Tet Offensive. US embassy in Saigon was temporarily taken by the Viet Cong
4. 4,500 Viet Cong fought US / SV troops in capital for 2 days
5. Tet Offensive was disappointing for the Viet Cong as 10,000 fighters lost so badly, they were weakened and the South did not rise up to support them

Question 12

Why was the Tet Offensive significant?

Answer 12

1. It was a turning point in the propaganda/political battle, as it raised hard questions for the US:
   - If they had spent 500,000 US/SV troops with $20 billion annually on the war, why had the North not been defeated yet?
   - Although the US/SV forces quickly recovered, huge amounts of artillery and air power was needed and many civilians killed and the ancient city of Hue destroyed?

Question 13

Why was the media significant in the Vietnam War?

Answer 13

1. Most of the press was positive until the Tet Offensive
2. No censorship of the US television and people were horrified by the images
3. Most of the press/people began to reflect the view that Vietnam was increasingly not worth the trouble

Question 14

Describe the peace movement as a result of the Vietnam War

Answer 14

1. Public opinion began to turn against the war, but greatly after the Tet Offensive
2. War draining for money, yet victory not closer
3. Racial inequality of USA exposed by draft - 30% of African Americans drafted to only 19% of whites, 22% of black soldiers casualties despite being only 11% of the force
4. Thousands of TV reports, radio and newspaper representatives sent pictures/footage back to the US and Europe
5. Anti-War protests reached their height in 1968-1970 with over 100 protests involving 40,000 students
6. November 1969, 700,000 anti-war protestors demonstrated in Washington DC Largest political protest in history

Question 15

Describe the My Lai Massacre

Answer 15

1. March 1968, Charlie company were told that there were 200 Viet Cong in Search and destroy
2. Ordered to destroy all livestock and houses
3. 16th March, 300-400 civilians killed
4. No Viet Cong found only 3 weapons
5. At the time the operation was treated as a mistake
6. September 1969, commanding officer formally charged with murder
   - Significant for media coverage as so many people know this

Question 16

How did the War end in Vietnam regarding negotiations?

Answer 16

1. In November 1968 Nixon was elected President from 1969-73, National Security Adviser Kissinger worked to end US involvement in Vietnam
2. They wanted to ensure that this did not look like a defeat and they tried to use divide from 1969 between USSR and China to improve relations with both and used this to try and create a diplomacy with North Vietnam
3. Peace negotiations with North began regularly from early 1969 onwards

Question 17

What was the final end to Vietnam?

Answer 17

1. From April 1969- end of 1971 almost 400,000 US troops left Vietnam
2. Increased bombing campaigns to show that the US was not warm and the US and SV troops invaders Cambodia to the outrage of the world
3. In Paris January 1973, parties singed an agreement and Nixon called it ‘Peace with honour’
4. By 29th March 1973 the last US forces left Vietnam
5. Within two year SV fell to the communists
6. After 30 years of continuous struggle, the Communists had finally won in Vietnam

Question 18

How did the Vietnam War affect Containment as a policy?

Answer 18

1. It failed militarily as the US military strength was not enough to stop the spread of Communism
2. It failed strategically as the US not only failed to stop South Vietnam becoming Communist, but the heaving bombing of Laos and Cambodia encouraged Communist support there and by 1975 both were Communist and so this had only sped up the Domino effect
3. It was a propaganda disaster for the US as the idea of Containment as a moral crusade appeared hollow in the aftermath of the war and demon ratio America was shown to support a government that tyrannised its own people

Question 19

How did the Vietnam War affect US foreign policy?

Answer 19

• Us ended block on China joking the UN, Nixon visited China, and entered better relations with the Soviet Union
• During the 1970s China/USSR got on better with the US than each other
• US became suspicious of any war that appeared difficult/might take an extended period of time to win
• And so US were overall less aggressive towards communism

Question 20

Why did the US send troops into Vietnam?

Answer 20

1. Containment
2. Arguably some powerful groups wanted war as there were huge budgets given to military commanders and this was spent on weapons which were made by America’s biggest companies and so they had a strong armed forces which they could use and businesses gained from conflict

Question 21

How many soldiers did the Viet Cong/North Vietnamese have?

Answer 21

170,000 soldiers by 1965

Question 22

What were some of the tactics of the Viet Cong/North Vietnamese?

Answer 22

1. They avoided open combat and fought with guerrilla warfare, attacking when the enemy was weak and retreating when the enemy was prepared and strong
2. They did not use uniforms which meant that it was hard to distinguish them from the civilian population
3. They had no known base or headquarters and worked in small groups with limited weaponry
4. They attacked and then disappeared into jungles and tunnels (they knew the terrain very well)
5. They were able to wear down US morale and ambushed them and used booby traps - 11% of US army casualties were caused by this
6. They kept the civilian population of their side and the Viet Cong were ordered to be courteous and respectful of peasants and even help them farm
7. They were willing to accept their high losses as they lost 1 million people but they never gave in and these people were easily replaced

Question 23

What were some of the US tactics?

Answer 23

1. Bombing, from 1965-72 they bombed industrial targets, military ones in the North as well as towns/cities
   - This did damage the North V war effort and supply routed and from 1970-72 it did bring the North to the negotiating table
2. But the air power only really slowed down the communists and even in 1972 the NV were still able to launch major military offensives against the South
   - Civilian casualties here turned the population against the US
3. Search and destroy, developed by General Westmoreland against Guerrilla warfare
4. Use of chemical weapons such as agent orange (82 million litres used) and Napalm helped to destroy jungle where guerrillas hid, but many soldiers and civilians were killed by this material

Question 24

What was the negative effect of Search and Destroy?

Answer 24

• Heavily defeated bases set up at huge cost in SV, from where the US helicopters full of troops would destroy the Viet Cong
• But despite killing the Viet Cong, such raids were often based on poor intelligence and many US soldiers were killed in traps and innocent villagers where punished as Viet Cong and made the US and SV very unpopular with the peasants

Question 25

How did the length of the war hinder the US tactics?

Answer 25

• Most US troops at the start of the war were professionals but as the war drew on conscription introduced for young american coming out of school or college
• Often very young average age of 19 and poorly motivated unlike the vietnamese
• One year of service intended to encourage morale but this meant that the US troops constantly less experienced then their enemies

Question 26

What were the negative effects of the US tactics?

Answer 26

• They USA were used to fighting battles with tanks and massed infantry and chose to use heavy air power
  1. Although chemical weapons did help to Viet Cong Communists to be discovered by destroying the foliage in the jungle, innocent civilian farms and crops were destroyed as well as sticking to them causing serious injuries. This lost the support of the Vietnamese population and the US who could witness this through their television
  2. Air power also was very noisy and so the Viet Cong could become aware and move away from the area of the planes and avoid being found, so tactic not very successful
  3. Search and Destroy lead to Vietnamese villages and citizens being burnt down and killed e.g. My Lai Massacre at least 200 innocent civilians killed
• Showed desperation and how far US were willing to go

Question 27

Why were the Viet Cong tactics so effective?

Answer 27

• Ambushed US troops and set traps, landmines and created a whole underground system in which they could plan attacks and avoid aerial attacks and disappear safely underground after an explosion
  1. Therefore they had more protection and were always able to track US troops without being seen unlike the US airpower
  2. Knew jungle and terrain better
  3. Dress like normal people harder to spot, lead to them being able to attack effectively and humiliate the US snd cause the US to loose support

Question 28

Why was the US strategy unsuccessful?

Answer 28

1. US supported Ngo Dinh Diem in 1955 and he discriminated against buddhists who were more than three quarters of the South Vietnam population were
   - This meant that they lost population support and were humiliated the USA to rest of the world and showed that the USA supported a corrupt government and were unprepared to stop the spread of communism appropriately
2. The US had no clear strategy throughout the Vietnam War, there had been three presidents who all had different plans for fighting the war Kennedy sent military advisors, Johnson more aggressive sent US combat troops and Nixon elected in 1968 wanted to end the war

Question 29

How did the media coverage of the Vietnam War humiliate the US?

Answer 29

1. The US entered the War thinking that they could easily win due to their superior technology and intelligence
2. Major turning point in the US public view was Tet Offensive in January 1968
   - US shown how devoted Viet Cong were and cause them to loose significant morale and confidence in winning the War
   - Broadcasted to America and they thought the US were losing the war
   - Anti-War movement grew after this and American support decreased
   - March 1968 My Lai also televised making them seem unnecessarily violent and harsh

Question 30

What was Vietnamization?

Answer 30

• Nixon tried this and it was a policy of reducing American troops and trying to strengthen the forces of South Vietnam
• However it did not work as without American forces the government of South Vietnam was overthrown by communist forces in 1975

Question 31

Describe Cuba before the revolution

Answer 31

• Cuba large island 160Km off the coast of Florida
• Long-standing US ally, and the US had a huge naval base there fore the revolution
• General Batista, the dictator of Cuba was given economic and military support, despite his rule being corrupt and unpopular
• This was due to his anti-communist stance

Question 32

Describe the Cuban Revolution

Answer 32

1. In 1959 after 3 years a rebel called Fidel Castro overthrew Batista
2. Castro was charming, clever and ruthless and he quickly killed, executed or arrested many of his political opponents
3. He was a clever propagandist and his vision for a better Cuba won over the majority of the Cubans
4. The military victories were largely due to another Cuban revolutionary, Ché Guevara

Question 33

How did the US react to the Cuban Revolution?

Answer 33

• They were taken by surprise and at first recognised Castro as leader
  1. However in June 1960, President Eisenhower authorised the CIA to investigate the possible means of overthrowing Castro. They provided support and funds to Cuban exiles and tried to disrupt the Cuban economy e.g. by damaging sugar plantations
  2. US companies working in Cuba refused to cooperate with Cuban businesses which used oil/materials imported from the USSR
  3. US media broadcast relentless criticism of the Castro regime

Question 34

Why did relations worsen between them quickly?

Answer 34

1. There were thousands of Cuban exiles in the USA who had fled from Castro’s rule and they formed powerful pressure groups demanding action against Castro
2. Castro took over some American-owned businesses in Cuba, particularly the agriculture businesses. He took their land and distributed it to his supporters among Cuba’s peasant farmer population

Question 35

How did Castro respond to the US hostility?

Answer 35

• A mixed approach
  1. He assured US citizens living in Cuba that they were safe
  2. He allowed the US to keep its naval base, claiming he simply wanted to run Cuba without interference
  3. By the summer of 1960 Castro was allied with the USSR
  4. Khrushchev signed $100 million trade deal to give this to Cuba, in economic aid
  5. Castro began receiving arms from the USSR, known to the CIA

Question 36

Describe the Bay of Pigs Incident

Answer 36

1. January 1961, Kennedy broke off diplomatic relations with Cuba and Castro thought the USA was planning to invade Cuba
2. Kennedy did not want to invade directly, but nor could he tolerate a soviet satellite state in the Caribbean
3. Plans begin under Eisenhower to overthrow Castro took shape
4. Kennedy supplied arms, equipment and transport for 1,400 Cuban exiles
5. April 1961 exiled landed at the Bay of Pigs and they were met by 20,000 Cuban troops armed with tanks and modern weapons
6. It was a disastrous effort and Castro killed/captured all of them in days

Question 37

What was the impact of the Bay of Pigs incident?

Answer 37

1. The half-hearted attempt suggested to Cuba/Soviet Union that the USA was unwilling to get directly involved in Cuba, despite its opposition to Communism
2. Soviet leader Khrushchev was scornful of Kennedy’s pathetic attempt to oust Castro, suggesting he was weak, though suspicious of US policy

Question 38

Describe how Khrushchev armed Castro

Answer 38

1. After the Bay of Pigs fiasco, Soviet arms flooded into Cuba
2. May 1962: USSR publicly announced its sale of arms to Cuba
3. July 1962: Cuba had the best-equipped army in Latin America
4. September 1962: thousands of Soviet missiles, patrol boats, tanks, radar vans, missile erectors, jet bombers, jet fighters, and 5,000 soviet technicians were there to maintain the weapons

Question 39

How did the USA respond to Khrushchev’s actions in arming Castro?

Answer 39

1. The US watched this with alarm and they would have tolerated conventional arms but they could not tolerate nuclear missiles on Cuba
2. September 1962: Kennedy received intelligence that the Soviets would not send missiles to Cuba and felt that the USSR would not take the risk, having never done so before
3. 11th September 1962: Kennedy warned the USSR that he would prevent Cuba becoming an offensive military base (a nuclear one) ‘by whatever means necessary’
4. The USSR reassured Kennedy it had not happened and would not

Question 40

What happened in early October 1962?

Answer 40

1. Sunday 14th October 1962: A U2 spy plane flew over Cuba and military experts realised from photographs that nuclear missiles were being built on Cuba by the soviets
2. Over the next two days, more photos were being taken 3. Some sites were still unfinished and some supplied with missiles and others not
3. Experts said in 7 days, sites could be ready to attack the US
4. US spy planes also reported 20 Soviet ships on the way to Cuba, carrying missiles

Question 41

What were the arguments for and against doing nothing following the October revelation?

Answer 41

• For:
  1. The Americans still had a vastly greater nuclear power than the Soviet Union
  2. The USA could still destroy the Soviet Union, so the ISSR would never use the missiles
  3. The biggest danger to world peace would e to overreact to this discovery
• Against:
  1. The USSR had lied about the Cuban missiles
  2. Kennedy had already issues is solemn warning to the USSR
  3. To do nothing would be another sign of weakness

Question 42

What were the arguments for and against a surgical air attack to destroy the nuclear bases themselves following the October revelation?

Answer 42

• For:
  1. It would destroy the missiles before they were ready to use
• Against:
  1. Destruction to all sites could not be guaranteed, even on left undamaged could launch a counter attack against the USA
  2. The attack would inevitably kill Soviet soldiers, the Soviet Union might retaliate at once
  3. To attack without advance warning was seen as immoral

Question 43

What were the arguments for and against an invasion (an all-out invasion of Cuba by air and sea) following the October revelation?

Answer 43

• For:
  1. An invasion would not only get rid of the missiles but Castro as well
  2. The American forces were already trained and available to do it
• Against:
  1. It would almost certainly guarantee an equivalent Soviet response, either to protect Cuba, or within the Soviet sphere of influence, for example, a take-over of Berlin

Question 44

What were the arguments for and against diplomatic pressures (to get the United Nations or other body to intervene and negotiate) following the October revelation?

Answer 44

• For:
  1. It would avoid conflict
• Against:
  1. If the USA was forced to back down, it would be a sign of weakness

Question 45

What were the arguments for and against a blockade following the October revelation?

Answer 45

• A ban on the Soviet Union bringing in any further military supplies to Cuba, enforced by the US navy who would stop and search Soviet ships. And a call for the Soviet Union to withdraw what was already there
• For:
  1. It would show that the USA was serious, but it would not be a direct act of war
  2. It would put the burden on Khrushchev to decide what to do next
  3. The USA had a strong navy and could still take the other options if this one did not work
• Against:
  1. It would not solve the main problem, the missiles were already on Cuba, they could be used in one week
  2. The Soviet Union might retaliate by blockading Berlin as it had done in 1948

Question 46

What happened between the 16th October 1962 until the 24th October 1962?

Answer 46

1. 16th October: Kennedy informed of the missile build-up. Ex Comm (special team of advisors) was formed
2. Saturday 20th October: Kennedy decided on blockade of Cuba
3. Monday 22nd October: Kennedy announced blocked, called on USSR to withdraw missiles, and addressed US people
4. Tuesday 23rd October: Kennedy received a letter from Khrushchev, saying that Soviet ships would not observe blockade. Khrushchev did not admit presence of nuclear missiles on Cuba
5. Wednesday 24th October: Blockade began, first missile-carrying ships, accompanied by Soviet submarine, approached 500 mile blockade zone. Suddenly at 10:32am, 20 soviet ships closet to the zone stopped or turned around

Question 47

What happened between 26th October 1962 until the 27th October 1962 AM?

Answer 47

1. Friday 26th October: Kennedy received a long, personal letter from Khrushchev and the letter claimed that:
   - The missiles were purely defensive
   - ‘If assurances were given that the USA would not participate in an attack on Cuba and the blockade was lifted, the question of the removal or destruction of the missile sites would be an entirely different question
   - This is the first time Khrushchev had admitted the presence of the missiles
2. Saturday 27th October AM: Khrushchev sends a second letter to Kennedy revising proposals, saying the condition for removing the missiles from Cuba was that the USA withdraw its missiles from Turkey
   - US spy plane shot down over Cuba, pilot was killed and the President was advised to launch immediate reprisal attack on Cuba

Question 48

What happened between 27th October 1962 PM until the 28th October 1962?

Answer 48

1. Saturday 27th October 1962 PM: Kennedy decided to delay attack and he decided to ignore the 2nd letter and accept the terms of Khrushchev’s first letter
   - He said if the USSR did not withdraw, an attack would follow
2. Sunday 28th October: Khrushchev replied to Kennedy that in order to eliminate as rapidly as possible the conflict which endangers the cause of peace…the Soviet government has given a new order to dismantle the arms which you described as offensive and to crate and return them to the Soviet Union

Question 49

Why did the Soviet Union place missiles on Cuba, regarding the USA?

Answer 49

• It was an incredibly risky strategy and it was the first time nuclear missiles were placed outside of USSR’s territory
• No attempt to camouflage the sites, and missiles were even placed on the deck of the ships
  1. To bargain with the USA: If Khrushchev had missiles on Cuba he could agree to remove them in return for some American concessions
  2. To test the USA: In the strained atmosphere of the Cold War politics the missiles were designed to see how strong the Americans really were, whether they would they back off or face up
  3. To trap the USA: Khrushchev wanted the Americans to find them and be drawn into a nuclear war. He did not even try to hide them

Question 50

Why did the Soviet Union place missiles on Cuba, not regarding the USA?

Answer 50

1. To close the missile gap: Khrushchev was so concerned about the missile gap between the USSR and the USA that he would seize any opportunity he could to close it. With missiles on Cuba it was less likely that the USA would ever launch a ‘first strike’ against the USSR
2. To defend Cuba: Cuba was the only Communist State in the Western hemisphere, and it had willingly become Communist rather than having become Communist as a result of invasion by the USSR. In addition Cuba was in ‘Uncle Sam’s Backyard’ and as Castro himself put it, the imperialist cannot forgive that we have made a socialist revolution under the nose of the United Sates’. Just by existing, Castro’s Cuba was excellent propaganda for the USSR
3. To strengthen his own position in the USSR: The superiority of the USA in nuclear missiles undermined Khrushchev’s credibility inside the USSR. His critics pointed out that he was the one who had urged the USSR to rely on nuclear missiles, now could he that the USSR really was a nuclear power

Question 51

How did Kennedy and the USA benefit from the CMC?

Answer 51

1. Kennedy came out of the crisis with a greatly improved reputation in his own country and throughout the West. He had stood up the Khrushchev and had made him back down
2. Kennedy had also successfully stood up to the hardliners in his own government. Critics of containment had wanted the USA to invade Cuba, to turn back Communism. However the CMC highlighted the weaknesses of their case as such intervention was not worth the high risk

Question 52

How did Kennedy and the USA not benefit from the CMC?

Answer 52

1. He did secretly agree to remove the missiles from Turkey. This was slightly awkward for him as technically the decision to remove them was a decision for NATO
   - His NATO allies were unhappy that Kennedy had traded them during the CMC but clearly this was much better than a nuclear War
   - It seemed that their opinions were not seen as important by the Americans
2. Kennedy also had to accept that Castro’s Cuba would remain a Communist Sate in America’s backyard. The USA still has trade and other economic restrictions in place against Cuba today

Question 53

How did Khrushchev and the USSR benefit from the CMC?

Answer 53

1. In public Khrushchev was able to highlight his role as a responsible peacemaker, willing to make the first move toward compromise
   - However made his look weak?
2. Cuba remained a Communist State and so was a valuable ally and proved a useful base to support Communism in South America, however was always Communist anyway?
3. Khrushchev did get the USA to withdraw its nuclear missiles from Turkey
   - However Khrushchev did have to agree that this withdrawal was to be kept secret so he was unable to use it for propaganda purposes and made him look like he gave up for nothing in return
4. The crisis also exposed the USA to criticism amongst some of its allies. For example newspaper articles in Britain felt that the USA was unreasonable to have missiles in Turkey and then object to Soviet missiles in Cuba

Question 54

How did Khrushchev and the USSR not benefit from the CMC?

Answer 54

1. Khrushchev had been forced to back down and remove the missiles. The Soviet military was particularly upset at the terms of the withdrawal, They were forced to out the missiles on the decks of their ships so the American could count them. They felt this was a humiliation
   - Khrushchev loses support
2. Khrushchev’s actions in Cuba made no impact on the underlying problem of the Missile Gap. The USSR went on to develop its stockpile of ICBMs at a huge financial cost, but it never caught up with the USA
3. In 1964, Khrushchev himself was forced form power by his enemies inside the USSR, and many commentators believe that the CMC contributed to this
4. K looks like a coward and humiliated in eye of Chinese, this had a long term effect of China to follow an independent line of their own in World politics

Question 55

How did the CMC affect the Cold War?

Answer 55

1. CMC helped to thaw Cold War relations between the USA and USSR
2. Both leaders were aware how close to a nuclear war they had gotten and so now they were more prepared to take steps to reduce the risk of nuclear war
3. A permanent ‘hot line’ phone link direct from the White House to the Kremlin was set up
4. The following year in 1963 they signed a Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, it did not stop the development of weapons, but it limited tests and was an important step forward
5. Although it was clear the USSR could not match US nuclear technology or number of weapons, it was also clear that this was no necessary. The Soviet nuclear arsenal was enough of a threat to make the USA respect the USSR
   - It is noticeable that for the rest of the Cold War the Superpowers avoided direct confrontation and fought through their allies where possible

Question 56

How did the CMC affect Castro’s Cuba?

Answer 56

1. Castro was very upset by the deal which Khrushchev made with America but he had little choice. He needed the support of the USSR (and after he still had it?)
2. Cuba stayed Communist and highly armed. The nuclear missiles were removed but Cuba remained an important base for Communist supporters in South America. Cuban forces also intervened to help the Communist side in the civil war in Angola (in South-West Africa) in the 1970s
3. Castro also kept control of the American companies and other economic resources he nationalised during his revolution. This remains a source of dispute between Cuba and the USA today but Castro has never back down

Question 57

Describe the arms race between USSR and USA

Answer 57

1. The USA developed the first atomic bomb in 1945
2. The Soviets took the lead in technology in the 1950s, building on the achievements of their successful space programme
3. Cold War propaganda war
4. Arms Race about quality and quantity

Question 58

What was the impact of the arms race?

Answer 58

1. US public alarmed the find out that USSR had more nuclear missiles (missile gap) during 1950s but was myth by media as USA always ad more missiles than the USSR
2. Khrushchev would not admit this because he would look foolish and it would aid his critics inside the USSR
3. The American military commanders were happy to go along with the claims that there was a missile gap because it helped them to get funding from the government to pay for the development of new weapons systems
4. Eisenhower also knew it was a myth by early 1960s because he has an important source in the USSR who had a defected to the CIA
5. Nuclear Fear and MAD

Question 59

What was MAD?

Answer 59

1. By 1961 both of the superpowers had hundreds of missiles pointed at each other (mutually assured destruction)

Question 60

When did the détente end? What was SALT 2?

Answer 60

1. The US president from 1978-1980 Jimmy Carter attempted to achieve more arms reductions through the SALT 2 talks but Brezhnev and Carter did not get along
2. Finally Salt 2 signed in 1979, which set further limits on the number of nuclear weapons that each side could hold
3. Never ratified by US congress as SU invaded Afghan in December 1979 and the sending of troops into Afghanistan market the end of the period of détente

Question 61

What was Salt 1?

Answer 61

1. Strategic Arms Limitation Talks began in 1969 and led to the signing of an agreement on Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles in 1972
2. USA no longer wanted more than USSR just wanted enough to defend
3. Détente increase trade between the two superpowers
4. In Europe Détente meant a reduction of tensions over the divisions of Germany snd allowed the two German stated to establish better relations with each other

Question 62

What did Nixon do in the aftermath of Vietnam?

Answer 62

1. Post-Vietnam War was known as ‘détente’ and involved striving for agreement and peace with the communist world (foreign policy and Nixon), Nixon president 1969-1973
2. Tried to get better relations with Communist China and visited in 1972 and this led to much better relations between the two countries, after fall out of China and USSR in 1969
   - DURING VW:
3. Vietnamisation of the war effort and so began handing the responsibility of the war to South Vietnamese and withdrawing US troops and between April 1969 and the end of 1971, almost 400,000 troops left Vietnam
4. Peace negotiations with Vietnam as from early as 1969, Kissinger (N national security advisor) had regular meetings with the chief Vietnamese peace negotiator, Le Duc Tho
5. Increased Bombing, at the same time Nixon increased bombing campaigns against North Vietnam to show he was not weak. US and South Vietnamese troops also invaded Viet Con bases in Cambodia, causing outrage across the world and even in the USA