Ford and Carter Foreign Policies Flashcards
1
Q
Why did the US withdraw troops from Vietnam?
A
- 1975: communists entered Saigon and Ford ordered for the evacuation of all US personnel and South Vietnamese citizens with connections to the US
- did this as it was clear that Congress and the public didn’t want to support the South (73’ Congress cut financial aid by 50%)
- 6000 Americans evacuated and 32,000 Vietnamese escaped
2
Q
What happened to the Mayaguez?
A
- American cargo ship that had been seized by the Khmer Rouge - the new communist government in Cambodia
- May 1975: Ford ordered US marines to reclaim the ship
- reclaimed despite deaths of 40 Americans and Ford’s approval ratings soared
3
Q
What was the evacuation from Vietnam like?
A
- SV helicopters shot down resulting in 10 deaths
- US marines killed by rocket fire
- chaotic, terrifying, dangerous and humiliating
- marine reinforcements sent in for extra security due to fear of storming of the gates
4
Q
What were the Helsinki Accords?
A
- Ford and Kissinger continued detente with the Soviets
- Aug 1975: Ford, Brezhnev and other European leaders signed the Helsinki Accords
- recognised the existing boundaries of European countries established at the end of WW2
- also included statements in support of human rights
5
Q
What were Ford and Kissinger’s thoughts regarding the accords?
A
- superficial
- Kissinger claimed they simply ‘went along with the Europeans’
- Ford argued the conditions that were agreed were nothing more than the current basis of US foreign policy: respect for sovereign states, a commitment to peaceful settlement of disputes and respect for human rights
6
Q
What were the Vladivostok Accords?
A
- agreed in November 1974
- provided a general outline for a successor treaty to SALT 1
- however, this was the limit to Ford’s success in detente and received criticism from Reagan who believed the US should take a stronger line
7
Q
Why did Americans oppose detente?
A
- it suffered from its association with Nixon
- dissatisfaction with SALT 1 because Soviets attained parity on multiple warheads
- Americans perceived Soviets as having taken advantage of detente to increase their influence in Vietnam and Africa
8
Q
What were Carter’s main foreign policy goals?
A
- had little to no foreign policy experience
- believed in self-determination and that the USA should promote human rights whilst avoiding military intervention
- 1977: declared “our policy is to serve mankind”
- sought to promote peace in areas of tension
- however, wanted to prevent reconciliation between Beijing and Moscow to continue Nixinger’s work on pressuring Soviets
9
Q
Who were Carter’s National Security Advisor and Secretary of State?
A
- National Security Advisor: Brzezinski
- Secretary of State: Cyrus Vance
- they clashed repeatedly over strategies and foreign policy goals
10
Q
What were Brzezinski’s foreign policy views?
A
- Brzezenski a strong anti-communist and therefore a critic of detente
- argued that economic stagnation in the USSR under Brezhnev made the USSR a less dangerous foe than under Stalin and Khrushchev
- wanted Carter to adopt a new approach - willing to dissolve SEATO and CENTO as NATO was the primary fear of the USSR
- unlike Vance, keen for Carter to pursue further arms reduction talks
11
Q
What was SALT II?
A
- signed in June 1979
- proposed limitations on development of future weapons and reduction by both sides to 2250 usable weapons of all categories
- potentially historic, however never ratified due to events in Afghanistan
- Congress refused to ratify as they felt Soviets had taken advantage of detente to become more aggressive
12
Q
What were Carter’s human rights policies?
A
- wanted to support ‘human freedom’ and protect ‘the individual from the arbitray power of the state’
- believed he had to hold America’s allies to the same standards demanded of its enemies
- criticised Soviets after Brezhnev ignored human rights aspect of Helsinki Accords, and also allies like South Korea
13
Q
How did Carter implement his human rights policies?
A
- military and economic aid suspended to Chile, El Salvador, Nicaragua and Uganda
- accused of hypocrisy in not pushing harder on USSR and China (Brezhnev threatened to end arms control talks and Deng refused to discuss it)
- failed to halt military aid to the Shah in Iran who had been accused of carrying out over 300 military executions (condemned by Amnesty International)
14
Q
Was Carter’s human rights policy successful?
A
- Reagan suggested Carter’s failure to understand the nature of diplomatic relations was damaging US allies
- deserves credit for bringing human rights to the centre of his foreign policy, however deviation of realpolitik of Nixinger never paid political dividends he might have hoped for
15
Q
Who was Mao’s replacement in China?
A
- replaced by Deng Xiaoping - keen to push forward economic reform
- had declared “it doesn’t matter whether a cat is black or white as long as it catches mice”
16
Q
What did recognising China require?
A
- severing ties with Taiwan
- revoked 1955 Mutual Defence Treaty
- challenged in court by Republicans leading to Carter vs Goldwarer (threw out case on a technicality)
- Goldwater called Carter’s decision to normalise relations ‘one of the most cowardly acts ever performed by a President of the United States’
17
Q
What did the recognition of China mean for the US and Taiwan?
A
- tensions in South East Asia reduced and trade relations flourished
- didn’t wish to fully abandon Taiwan - relations continued on an unofficial level through the Taiwan Relations Act and the creation of an American Institute in Taiwan
- annoyed the Chinese, but increasing trade was enough to mollify them
- historian Fardella considered Carter’s normalisation of relations ‘probably his greatest success’
18
Q
What was the situation in the Middle East following the Yom Kippur War?
A
- Israel still occupying Egyptian territory in the Sinai Peninsula
- led to Carter inviting Israel’s Prime Minister Begin and Egypt’s President Sadat to Camp David
19
Q
What did the Camp David Accords stipulate?
A
- signed in Washington in 1979
- Israel would withdraw from the Sinai Peninsula
- US would monitor to ensure neither side attacked each other
- Israel and Egypt would recognise eachother’s governments and sign a peace treaty
- Israel pledged to negotiate with Palestinians for peace
- first time since 1905 a US President had successfully mediated in a major dispute between two other nations
- Begin and Sadat received the 1979 Nobel Peace Prize - Carter received no recognition
20
Q
What was the Shah of Iran like?
A
- widely seen as a puppet of the west following a CIA orchestrated coup d’etat against Mossadegh in 1953
- handed over the rights to 80% of Iran’s oil
- with US support, banned all political parties, created a personality cult, and built up terrifyingly brutal police force known as SAVAK
21
Q
What happened in Iran around the time Carter came to power?
A
- discontent was increasing, led by a radical Islamic group who believed a fundamentalist Muslim government was necessary
- supreme religious leader, Ayatollah Khomeini, returned after a 15yr exile in Paris
- forced the Shah to flee Iran
22
Q
What mistake did Carter make after the Shah fled from Iran?
A
- allowed the Shah to be treated for cancer in the US
- expected his stay to be short but surgery complications led to a six wek stay
- outraged followers of Ayatollah who demanded his return to stand trial in Iran
23
Q
How did the followers of Ayatollah react towards Carter’s treatment of the Shah?
A
- November 1979: Islamic student militants took control of the US embassy in Tehran, taking 66 Americans hostage
- demanded the Shah’s return to stand trial, as well as money and property he stashed outside Iran and an apology from America
24
Q
How did Carter react to the hostage crisis in Iran?
A
- negotiating would make C look weak but attacking could provoke further Islamic fundamentalist resentment and risk hostage deaths
- tried freezing billions of dollars of Iranian assets and secret negotiations but by day 88 his chances in the election were slipping so he approved a secret military incursion
25
What was the result of Carter's secret military incursion into Iran?
- 8 helicopters sent to free hostages but none reached Tehran
- 3 developed mechanical problems and one crashed into a transport aircraft in a remote Iranian desert, killing 8 soldiers
- Ayatollah claimed divine intervention and the hostages were split up around the country to prevent a second attempt
- towards the end of his term, C agreed to unblock Iranian funds and not interfere in their internal affairs in return for the release of all hostages
26
What happened after communists seized power in Afghanistan in 1978?
- guerilla opposition, the 'mujahideen', fought back leading to a civil war
- Soviets invaded on Christmas day 1979 in line with the Brezhnev Doctrine (suggested the USSR would support communist governments when threatened)
- Brzezenski claimed he had predicted invasion six months in advance
27
How did the US react to events in Afghanistan?
- Brzezenski encouraged Carter to retaliate with embargoes on grain sales to the USSR and by boycotting the 1980 Moscow Summer Olympics
- began to channel funds to the mujahideen
28
How did the public react to Carter's reaction to events in Afghanistan?
- considered the Olympic boycott more punitive towards American athletes rather than to Soviet leaders, adding to Carter's weak image
- by 1979, 41% Americans believed their country was 'in deep and serious trouble'
- by 1980 it was 64%
- in some ways, Carter was simply the unlucky victim of his predecessors' support for the Shah's repressive regime
