Proxy Wars Flashcards
What are proxy wars?
Conflicts in which one superpower might fight in another country or give support to a country that opposes the rival superpower
What are liberation movements?
Instances where a country rebels against the country that colonized or oppressed it
What happened in the Korean and Vietnamese proxy wars?
Both were split into two sides and elections were to take place but didn’t. They each later became battlegrounds for ideological hot wars between the US and Soviets
What happened in the Chilean proxy war?
The CIA had interfered in the 1964 election to bring a Christian democratic leader to power, but Socialist Salvador Allende was elected in the next election. Allende introduced communist policies and a relationship with the USSR, so the US gave the CIA millions to make Chilean political unrest. In 1973 Allende was killed in a coup led by General Augusto Pinochet, who ruled as a dictator and encouraged capitalism
What happened in the Afghanistan proxy war?
The Soviets invaded Afghanistan in 1979 in an effort to gain a friendly neighbour, and the US responded by providing support to Afghan freedom fighters, spending massive amounts of money under the impression they could defeat the Soviets. When the Soviets retreated in 1989, the US left the Afghan army to fight the Mujahedeen forces alone, including commanders Osama Bin Laden and Al Quaeda, who later joined the Taliban
What happened in the Iran-Contra Affair proxy war?
The US saw Nicaragua’s government as communist and sent money and weapons to the Contra rebels. In 1983 congress made it illegal for the government to give the Contras military aid, so the National Security Council began selling weapons in Iran and funnelling proceeds to the Contras. This later became a scandal when it was exposed in a Lebanese magazine. Several participants were charged, but the charges were later overturned by Bush.
