Midterm Quiz 2 Flashcards
Bay of Pigs
April 17, 1961
Failed invasion of Cuban mainland that was supported by the Kennedy Administration
Was heavily influenced by needing to take a tough stand against communism
Bert the Turtle
(1951-1952)
Was a animated short film that highlighted the duck and cover policy for civil defense against the atomic bomb
Blockade of Cuba
October 16-18 1962
Was the American response to Soviet positioning of Missiles in Cuba
Created a naval blockade of the Island that would intercept and search any ships headed to Cuba
Fidel Castro
President of Cuba 1961-2011
Was a communist revolutionary that led to the installation of the Communist party in Cuba
Cuban Revolution
(1953-1959)
An armed revolution against the US backed Batista government that led to the communist over throw.
Was led by Fidel Castro and Che Guevara and began socialist policies
Dead Hand Retaliation
Was a Soviet nuclear retaliation policy that allowed for nuclear weapons to fired if nuclear light, seismic activity or radioactivity was recorded.
This policy worked continue the retaliatory policies of nuclear weapons
Duck and Cover
Was a method for protection against Atomic Bombs that was popularized by American propaganda films in the 1950
Hydrogen Bomb
Exploded successfully in 1952
Was a thermonuclear bomb that was stronger than the Atomic bomb and represented an escalation of Cold War weaponry
ICBM
Intercontinental Ballistic Missile
Was a technological advancement to the transportation of nuclear weapons that allowed for warheads to be delivered via missiles as opposed to planes.
Allowed for policies such as massive retaliation to be implemented.
John Kennedy
35th president of the U.S. (1961-1963)
Best known for his involvement with the Cuban Missile Crisis and the failed Bay of Pigs invasion
Nikita Kruschev
1953-1964
First Secretary of the Soviet Union following Stalin’s death and instigated de-stalinization policies
Secret Speech that denounced Stalin’s purges
MAD
Mutually Assured Destruction
Was a Cold War security policy that promised an all out, full scale use of nuclear of weapons that would cause complete destruction of the attacker and the defender
Missile Gap
Term used to describe the U.S.’s perceived superiority of the number and powers of USSRY missiles compared to their own
Highlighted the challenges and discrepancies in reporting/reports of USSR Missiles
New Look policy
1955
Enacted by President Eisenhower was a national security policy that accounted for budgetary limitations in the defense budget
Nuclear Diplomacy
1945-1952
Was the practice of using threats to achieve diplomatic goals between the U.S. and Russia
Nuclear Taboo
A term used to describe a belief in the fact that the Nuclear bomb was no ordinary weapon
Helped lead to the fact that it was not used after WWII
Offtackle
Was a defense plan established by the U.S. against the USSR that focused on restrengthening Europe
Called for defense on the Rhine, naval presence the Med, and possible use of nuclear weapons
Retaliatory Capability
Term used to describe a nation’s ability to respond to a nuclear attack, with nuclear retaliation that would ensure destruction of the aggressor
Single Integrated Operational Plan (SOIP)
Was the U.S. plan for nuclear war.
Combined different delivery systems (missile, submarine, bombers) of nuclear weapons in an all out attack on an enemy
Soviet Atomic Test
August 29, 1949
Was the first successful atomic test conducted by the USSR
Greatly shifted the BOP as the U.S. had assumed USSR would not have a bomb for decades
Agent Orange
1961-1972
Was a combination of chemiclas used in the Vietnam war to clear forest cover for the North Vietnamese and Viet Cong Troops
Back Channel
A term used to describe the means of communication between the USSR and the US during the Nixon administration
Due to distrust in the government Nixon/Kissinger favoured back channel communication with Kremlin rather than formal lines through the state department
Detente
1971-1974
Represents the thawing of relations with the USSR and US during the Nixon administration
Detente led to triangular diplomacy, SALT and Trade agreements and the Helsinki accords
Dobrynin, Anatoly
Soviet Amabassador to US 1962-1986
Worked closely with Nixon and Kennedy as he was directly involved in the communication regarding the Cuban Missile Crisis
Part of the Back channel of communication evident in the Nixon Administration
Geneva Accord
1954
Was a treaty that temporarily separated Vietnam into two separate countries: northern communist zone, southern zone governed by the Bao Dai Government
Set a timeline for when free elections would occur in the countries to establish a central government
Gulf of Tonkin incident
August 2, 1964
Was a supposed attack on two U.S. naval vesiles in the Gulf of Tonkin by the North Korean government
This led to America getting involved militarily in the Vietnamese war. Later proved to be false
Gulf of Tonkin Resolution
August 7th, 1964
Gave LBJ congressional approval to precede with any measure he felt necessary to address the Gulf of Tonkin incident
Led to the US war in Vietnam
Ho Chi Minh
Leader from 1951- 1969
Influential communist leader in Vietnam and establishes the
Democratic Republic of Vietnam in the northern section of Vietnam
Henry Kissinger
Secretary of State 1973-1977
Was an advisor to Nixon and a secretary of state for Ford during the rise and fall of Detente
Was instrumental in the back channel communications between the US and USSR
Robert McNamara
Secretary of Defense 1961-1968
Was secretary of Defense for JFK and LBJ from 1961-1968
Played a major role in pushing for further escalation in Vietnam
National Liberation Front
s
Ngo Dinh Diem
s
Richard Nixon
President of the US 1969-1974
Known for his policy of Detente that thawed relations with the USSR
Also known for opening up diplomatic relations China
Known for Watergate scandal that led to him being forced out of office
Paris Peace Agreement 1973
January 27, 1973
Attempted to establish peace in Vietnam and end the Vietnam War
“Attempted to create Peace with Honour”
Peace with Honour
Was a slogan used by Nixon that he would pursue a respectable peace in Vietnam
Attempting to end the unpopular war but save face
Ping Pong Diplomacy
1970s
Was a term used to describe the thaw in Sino-Soviet relations.
Represented through the use of table tennis players as a symbol of the new found companionship
Rolling Thunder
1965-1968
Was an aerial bombardment of the Vietnamese country side that was unprecedented in history
Walt Rostow
National Security Advisor 1966-1969
Was a National Security Advisor for LBJ who promoted US involvement in Vietnam
SALT
May 26 1972
Stands for Strategic Arms Limitation Talks
Held between Brezhnev and Nixon that discussed the removal of nuclear weapons and attempted to make nuclear weapons more manageable
Debates arose over modern technologies (ICBM)
Sino-Soviet Split
1960-1989
Was a period of deteriorated relations between the USSR and China
Due to differences in beliefs of communism and changes in national interests
Tet Offensive
January 30 1968
Was a counter offensive launched by the Viet Cong on the Tet holiday that was extremely successful
Turning point in the Vietnam War
Triangular Diplomacy
Was the diplomacy evident throughout Nixon’s administration that pursued back channels of communication with the Kremlin
Anatoly Dobyrnin as the main soviet channel
Watergate
1972
A political scandal when the Democratic National Committee’s HQ was broken into and linked to Richard Nixon
Led to Nixon’s resignation and Ford taking over.
Viet Cong
Was the term used to define the military wing of the National Liberation Front in Vietnam
Vietnamese Workers Party
Term for the communist party in Vietnam that was led by Ho Chi Minh
Vietnamization
policy of the Richard Nixon administration to end U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War through a program to “expand, equip, and train South Vietnam’s forces and assign to them an ever-increasing combat role, at the same time steadily reducing the number of U.S. combat troops
Vo Nguyen Giap
Instrumental general in the Viet Cong that led the Tet Offensive
Able Archer
Nov. 2 1983
Was a NATO military exercise that lasted 10 days and practiced response to a nuclear war
Afghanistan
s
Committee on the Present Danger
A committee that was aimed at attacking unamerican like ideologies and strengthening the American resolve and unity
Contras
Right wing Militia group in 1979
Active in Nicaragua and funded by the US government to counteract the Sandinistas
El Salvador
s
Evil Empire
s
Moscow Olympics 1980
Olympic Games held in Moscow. Significant as first olympic games to staged in Eastern Europe
US and 65 countries boycotted due to Soviet intervention in Aghanistan
Nicaragua
s
Pershing II
1983
Was a missile system that was constructed to bolster nuclear transportation
Ronald Reagan
1981-1989
President of the US who was active during the fall of the Soviet Union
Best know for supply sided economics (Reaganomics) and open condemnation of the USSR
SALT II
June 18, 1979
Was the second SALT agreement between Carter and brezhnev that created additional guidelines and limitations for nuclear weapons
Sandinistas
1979-1990
Part of the the Nicaraguan Liberation Front (FSLN) that was responsible for ending the dictactorshp in 1979
SDI
1983
Strategic Defense Initiative was initiated by Reagan to develop anti-ballistic missile system to shoot down enemy missiles
Star Wars
Represents the far-fetched and abstract ideas and notions of SDI
Team B
1976
Was a commission that evaluated the threat the USSR posed to the US
Margaret Thatcher
1979-1990
Was the conservative Prime Minister of the UK
Worked closely with Ronald Reagan with supply sided economics and strong arming the USSR
George Bush
1989-1993
Was President of the US during the period following the Fall of the Berlin Wall
Important foreign policy notes Initiated the Gulf War and the START 1 treaty
Clash of Civilizations
1996
Published by Samuel Huntington was a hypothesis on the future of conflict.
Post Cold War Era that cultural and religoius ideologies would be the cause of war not political ideologies
End of History
1992
Published by Francis Fukuyama
Stated western liberal democracy may signal endpoint of cultural evolution
Fall of the Berlin Wall
November 9, 1989
Represented the breaking of barriers between the USSR and the US
Significant as it signified the ending of the USSR
GATT, Uruguay Round
Began 1986- 1994
Established the World Trade Organization
Symbolized the spreading popularity of liberal economic beliefs
German unification
1990
Was the process that combined the German Democratic Republic joined the Federal Republic of Germany to reunify Germany
Signified the end of a bifurcated Europe between East and West
Glasnost
USSR Policy in the 1980s
That was advocated for open discussion of political and social issues
Initiated by Mikhail Gorbachev
Mikhail Gorbachev
General Secretary of USSR
1985-1991
Initiated liberal social and economic policies
Oversaw the withdrawal of USSR troops from Afghanistan and START 1
Gulf War
1990-1991
Was the name of the conflict between Iraq and US led coalition forces
Began following Iraq invasion of Kuwait
Saddam Hussein
President of Iraq 1979-2003
Leader of the Ba’athist regime in Iraq
Known for his aggression against Kuwait that led to the Gulf War
INF Treaty
1987
Was the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty
Called on the US and the USSr to eliminate and all nuclear and conventional ground-launched ballistic and cruise missiles
NAFTA
1994
Stands for the North Atlantic Free Trade Agreement
Created largest free trade zones comprising of US, Canada and Mexico
NATO expansion
1990-1999
Represented the inclusion of Eastern European nations into NATO
Began with recently reunified Germany and symbolized the end of Kremlin influence
Perestroika
Mid 1980s
Initiated by Gorbachev as part of his liberalizing polices
Pushed for reformation within the Communist Party of the Soviet Union
Ronald Reagan
1981-1989
President of the US who was in office during the fall of the USSR
Best known for reaganomics, SDI/Starwars
REykjavik Summit
s
START 1
Drafted 1982 signed 1991
Was a bilateral agreement between the US and USSR which called for further reduction and limitation of strategic weapons
Signified improved relations between world powers
Unipolarity
Term used to describe the BOP in IR after the fall of the USSR
Uni polarity as being only one world power– the USA
Velvet Revolution
Nov- Dec. 1989
Was a non-violent transition of power in Czchechoslovakia.
Ended 41 years of communist rule
