KENNEDY: FOREIGN POLICY Flashcards
1
Q
Cuba
A
- Castro overthrew the pro-American dictator Batista in January 1959
- The following year, Eisenhower put economic sanctions on Cuba and approved the CIA build-up of a Cuban exile military force
- Kennedy inherited increasingly tense US-Cuban relations and a plan for a CIA-supported invasion by Cuban exiles
2
Q
Bay of Pigs invasion and the aftermath
A
- April 1961, 1600 Cuban guerrillas landed at the Bay of Pigs
- Failed and Kennedy suffered worldwide humiliation
- Castro moved closer to the Soviets, and Khrushchev thought he was weak
- Operation Mongoose attempted to eliminate Castro in all sorts of ways, including poisoning his cigars and placing exploding clamshells in an area where he dived - set a precedent that political assassination was acceptable
3
Q
Berlin Wall crisis
A
- Between 1949 and 1958, over 2 million East Germans fled to the west
- Brain drain - those leaving east Germany tended to be the better educated/young – population and workforce decreased, economy suffered
- Khrushchev needed a foreign policy triumph as his power was weakened
- Vienna conference in June 1961 increased tensions
- On 13 August, the border was sealed
4
Q
Significance of the Berlin Wall
A
- Bought a certain stability to Germany
- Increased west German antagonism and anxiety over the Soviet bloc
- Increased Cold War tension - both sides resumed nuclear tesing
- West said it demonstrated thay had to wall their people in; Soviets said they had been unable to stop its construction
- Encouraged Khrushchev’s adventurism in Cuba
- Kennedy had three failures in his first year of presidency; needed a win
5
Q
Cuban Missile Crisis
A
- In August 1962, Soviet nuclear missiles arrived in Cuba because Khrushchev was concerned about the missile gap and resented US missiles in Turkey
- 14 October 1962 - U2 spy plane photograpged missile siols in Cuba
- 16 October - Executive Committee of the Nanonal Security Council (Ex-Comm) established to consider Kennedy’s options
- Chose the blockade Cuba - risky as though it gave Khrushchev time to rethink, it also gave him time to complete installations
6
Q
Aftermath of the Cuban Missile Crisis
A
- The agreement was that Khrushchev would remove the missiles if Kennedy ended the blockade and promised not to invade
- Secretly agreed to remove American missiles from Turkey
- Considered a triumph for Kennedy, but Khrushchev fell from power soon after
- Somewhat a thaw, signed the Partial Nuclear Test Ban Treaty
- Hotline from the Kremlin to White House installed arguably contributed ro American confidence and increased involvement in Vietnam
7
Q
Laos
A
- 1954 Geneva Accords established the sovereignty of Laos - civil war soon broke out Eisenhower committed millions of dollars and military advisors to stop the nationalist Pathet Lao
- Kennedy rejected sending in troops - produced a Declaration of the Neutrality of Laos and a three way coalition government
8
Q
Vietnam
A
- JFK was looking for a clear victory
- Escalated US military involvement in Vietnam
- Increased number of advisors to 17,000 by November 1963, financial aid to Diem, emphasised counter-insurgency
- Diem’s soldiers continued to lose ground
9
Q
Battle of Ap Bac
A
- January 1963, a Vietcong force was located in Ap Bac
- The 2000 ARVN troops refused to attack the 350 VC guerrillas, or to mount a rescue mission
- Failed because Diem did not want to listen to American advice; preferred to use his best soldiers to keep himself in power
- Showed Diem was likely military incapable of winning the war
10
Q
Strategic hamlets
A
- Wanted to isolate peasants from the Vietcong
- Led to Vietcong infiltration and created resentment at paying for and building the hamlets and relocating from homes and ancestral graves
- Diem’s brother Nhu ingnored US advice - within a year the Vietcong captured US weapons set up too far from Saigon
- Increased opposition to the Diem’s regime, ensured continued communist successes
11
Q
Anti-Buddhist policies
A
- Resentment was exacerbated even further when Diem (who was Catholic) banned flags for the celebration of Buddha’s birthday
- 10,000 Buddhists protested - Diem sent in soldiers, seven killed
- In June, a Buddhist priest called Thich Quand Duc self-immolated in protest
- Madame Nhu made things worse: ‘Let them burn and we shall clap our hands’
12
Q
The Coup
A
- Henry Cabot Lodge (Ambassador to South Vietnam) believed victory was impossible if Diem remained in power
- Upon learning of an ARVN plot against Diem, the White House said it would not thwart a coup; the plotters had America’s tacit support
- Occurred on 2 November 63 - Diem and Nhu found dead the next day
- Lodge publicly denied US involvement
- Kennedy was appalled
- US would be more obliged to support subsequent leaders because they approved theur ascension to leadership
13
Q
Military-industrial complex
A
- Large military corporations give funding towards campaigns to Congress
- Congress legislate taxes to fund Depaertment of Defence
- Department of Defence give contracts to large military coroporations
- Eisenhower warned against their influence in foreign policy
- Kennedy wasn’t influnced by them
14
Q
Peace Corps
A
- Established in 1961
- Young volunteers sent to help poorer nations through teaching and technical aid
- Kennedy hopes it would counter Societ propaganda
- Thousands volunteered, sent to 44 developing countries
- 71% of Americans approved of the Peace Corps, both political parities voted to financed it for the next 50 years
- Impressed their host nations and improved American image there
15
Q
Space Race
A
- Series of humiliations in space: Sputnik, US satellite launch failure, and in April 1961, Yuri Gagarin was the first human sent in space
- Needed a success in space to help restore faith in America’s international primacy and in his leadership after the Bay of Pigs
- Considerable oppositions to the moon programmes - It would cost $40 billion
- By 1965, 58% of Americans favourd the project
- 1969 - US landed the first man on the moon
