Lecture 8 Flashcards
Hungary 1956
Series of uprisings in the East brought to an end by Soviet tanks – Hungarian Revolution 1956;
popular uprising in Hungary in 1956, following a speech by Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev in which he attacked the period of Joseph Stalin’s rule. Encouraged by the new freedom of debate and criticism, a rising tide of unrest and discontent in Hungary broke out into active fighting in October 1956.
In November 4 the Soviet Union invaded Hungary to stop the revolution, and Nagy was executed for treason in 1958. Nevertheless, Stalinist-type domination and exploitation did not return, and Hungary thereafter experienced a slow evolution toward some internal autonomy.
NSC 68
Given to Truman April 1950. Prevent Soviet expansion (not just contain, but check future expansion). More military, more money approach: defence spending triples. Date is significant KW started June 1950.
“the issues that face us are momentous, involving…”
NSC= National security council.
By 1950 containment has taken a more expansive approach in NSC 68: “the issues that face us are momentous, involving the fulfilment or destruction not only of this Republic but of civilization itself”. NSC 68 sought to prevent the growth of Soviet expansion – not just contain it. Required a big leap in defence spending.
From feedback
* Don’t get too bogged in the detail!
* April 1950 policy document that argued that containment should expand both financially and
militarily: support allies, consider ‘rolling back’ USSR expansion rather than merely containing
it; and military spending should increase.
* Implications
* Why did it occur? Need to shore up allies – economic crisis in Europe in 1949, USSR nuclear bomb, Communists win in China.
* Shift away from Kennan’s view of containment
* Increased rhetoric (deliberately) about ideological differences to justify increase in US
military spending (it tripled) (Acheson: ‘bludgeon the mind of top government”
* Underlines transition in the Cold War to a global, military conflict rather than a regionally
contained one focused on economic aid – background for US interventions in Asia
* Connected to misperceptions/perceptions: what were the Soviets actually doing? Were they
as expansionist as feared?
* Connection to perceived failures/debate over US policy towards China (‘losing China’)
Berlin Wall
in the early 1960s clear that E Germany is experiencing a brain drain – thousands of E Germans escaping to the West. (recall the curious geography of Berlin – divided city as an island in the middle of E Berlin). Therefore E Germany decides to build a wall to block off this escape route in 1961. Has Khruschev’s support: Khruschev thinks JFK is weak, and after the Bay of Pigs disaster, assumes the US will be unwilling to respond in a serious way. Khruschev is correct: very little US response. Wall stands until 1989.
From feedback
- Post-war East Germany faced a significant loss of population through migration
and Berlin, divided into four zones of occupation, was the easiest route out.
Worries about the problem throughout 1961 and on August 12 wall erected - Implications
- Germany was the most feared flashpoint between East and West – both superpowers saw it
as crucial linchpin; essential to military planning on both sides (ground war in Europe was the
predicted/feared type of war) - Unresolved issues of occupation – can connect back to the post-war occupation and 1948
crisis; and forward to the fall of the wall. USSR wanted a peace treaty for Germany. - Failure in the Bay of Pigs does nothing to convince Khruschev that Kennedy is serious; they
meet at Vienna in June 1960, where Kennedy again fails to impress (and indicates he would
not oppose a wall – which he recognized was an error) . All this encourages bold action in
Cuba - Symbolic significance – centrality of Berlin emphasized by the fact that we date the end of
the Cold War to 1989 rather than 1991 (collapse of USSR)
Bay of Pigs
On April 17, 1961, 1,400 Cuban exiles launched what became a botched invasion at the Bay of Pigs on the south coast of Cuba.
Before his inauguration, John F. Kennedy was briefed on a plan by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) developed during the Eisenhower administration to train Cuban exiles for an invasion of their homeland. The plan anticipated that the Cuban people and elements of the Cuban military would support the invasion. The ultimate goal was the overthrow of Castro and the establishment of a non-communist government friendly to the United States.
The disaster at the Bay of Pigs had a lasting impact on the Kennedy administration. Determined to make up for the failed invasion, the administration initiated Operation Mongoose—a plan to sabotage and destabilize the Cuban government and economy, which included the possibility of assassinating Castro.
Any leader (even the President of the US) must make a decision in conference with a group of senior advisors, and different groups will have a different impact. People will listen to different advisors depending on who they are. JFK didn’t trust the CIA because of the Bay of Pigs and the CIA wanted invasion. He ended up trusting his brother, the attorney general.
From feedback
- US planned military operation to topple the Castro government in April 1961. CIA
funded a group of Cuban exiles to invade with air and naval support from the US.
Initial failure compounded by Kennedy’s decision to withdraw air support after
international discovery. - Implications
- Focal point in 1960 election: who is tougher on Communism – demonstrates connections
between international and domestic politics. - If you are going to mention Cuban Missile Crisis explain how it connects – and remember that
the definition here is about BoP not CMC! - Connection between Khruschev’s actions in Berlin and Kennedy’s failure in BoP – BoP April 1961, Berlin crisis and erection of the wall June-Nov 1961
- Encouraged other South American countries to resist US interference
- Western Hemisphere is a core focus for US policy – isolationism/non-interventionism never
applied here
Jupiter missiles
The PGM-19 Jupiter was the first nuclear armed, medium-range ballistic missile (MRBM) of the United States Air Force.
In April 1959, the secretary of the Air Force issued implementing instructions to USAF to deploy two Jupiter squadrons to Italy. The two squadrons, totaling 30 missiles, were deployed at 10 sites in Italy from 1961 to 1963. In October 1959, the location of the third and final Jupiter MRBM squadron was settled when a government-to-government agreement was signed with Turkey. The U.S. and Turkey concluded an agreement to deploy one Jupiter squadron on NATO’s southern flank.
In July 1962, Khruschev and Castro agreed to place nuclear missiles in Cuba. Officially this was to even up the missile gap with the US, who had missiles in Turkey and Italy capable of reaching the Soviet Union. In October 1962 a US spy plane provided clear evidence of the missiles, prompting a huge crisis; the US created a naval blockade of Cuba to prevent further deliveries. Solution was that Khruschev moved the missiles out, and the US would remove missiles from Turkey.
