SS 202 Terms 2

Flexible Response

John F Kennedy

multiple levels of military response, not just threats of nuclear war

John F Kennedy

1961-1963

Flexible Response policy — Peace Corps, Alliance for Progress

Submarine-Launched Ballistic Missiles (SLBMs)

Cuban Missile Crisis

Green Berets

Special forces trained as counterinsurgency forces and conduct unconventional warfare

Nikita Khrushchev

Peaceful coexistence w/ West; Believed in economic might of communism

Bay of Pigs Invasion

1961

US CIA trains exiles to invade Cuba — large failure

Vienna Summit (1961)

Khrushchev embarrasses Kennedy, demanding him to leave West Berlin

Berlin Crisis & Berlin Wall

Soviets build Berlin Wall in August 1961 after refugees flee W. B. Kennedy does nothing

EXCOMM

Executive Committee created by Kennedy to deal with Cuban Missile Crisis

Cuban Missile Crisis 1962

Quarantine of ships (13 days crisis)

Khrushchev removes missiles as long as US promises not to invade Cuba and to remove missiles from Turkey

Vasili Arkhipov

The man who saved the world — prevented WWIII by convincing Soviet crew not to fire their nuclear torpedo

Vietnam War

8 years for US, 25 years for Vietnam

Domestic unrest, decline in morale

Geneva Accords (1954)

Failed agreement to unify Vietnam

Ngo Dinh Diem

South Vietnamese, Anti-Communist Leader

Buddhist Coup —> overthrown and killed

Gulf of Tonkin

August 1964 — authorized President Lyndon B. Johnson to take "all necessary measures to repel any armed attack" against U.S. forces in Vietnam

Robert McNamara

Controlled pressure, Rolling Thunder, failed to deter North Vietnam

Search and Destroy

Force large battles, war of attrition — but enemy chose when and where to fight

Tet Offensive (1968)

Massive coordinated attack against South Vietnam, major surprise for the US — heavy casualties on both sides. Communist defeat.

Vietnamization

Nixon’s policy

Shift fighting to South Vietnam — retract US troops, continue aid by air

Easter Offensive (1972)

Full scale (North, Center, South) invasion by the North —> defeated by the South & US airpower

Paris Peace Accords (1973)

Ceasefire, US troop withdrawal, recognition of South Vietnam

Collapse of South Vietnam

1975, War ends

Khmer Rouge

Radical communist regime genocide in Cambodia

Nixon Doctrine (1969)

US will honor commitments, but allies must defend themselves

Detente

Relaxation of tensions w/ the Soviet Union. Arms control agreements, increased trades

SALT I (Strategic Arms Limitation Talks) 1972

Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty (Established MAD)

Limits on nuclear missiles (caps on ICBMs & SLBMs)

Brezhnev Doctrine

Once a communist, always a communist (inspired by Prague Spring uprising crushed)

Realpolitik

Kissinger — Not all conflicts can be solved. US must act pragmatically, not morally

Balance of Power

Kissinger — maintain global stability through multiple strong powers (US, SovUn, China, W. Europe, Japan)

Linkage

Tie different issues together in negotiations. “Never give Russians something for nothing”

Helsinkki Accords (1975)

Agreement among 35 countries. Soviet Union gains post-WWII European borders. US gains commitments to human rights.

Detente was…

partially successful, but overestimated

Jimmy Carter

Realpolitik —> Human Rights as soul of foreign policy

Establish relations w/ PROC, Panama Canal, withdraw US troops from SK, Expand detente, Camp David Negotiations

SALT II Complications

Proposed expanding negotiations (disrupted progress)

Camp David Negotiations

Maryland 1978. Conference between US, Egypt, Israel. Israel to withdraw from Sinai Peninsula.

SALT II (1979)

Concerning Soviet MIRVed ICBMs, SS-20 missiles. Ratification doomed by later events.

Sovieit Union invades Afghanistan

Support of communist coup of 1978. Justified by Brezhnev Doctrine (once commie, always commie). Threat to US oil?

Iran

Ayatollah Khomeini. Islamic theocracy established.

Iran Hostage Crisis

US embassy seized November 1979, held for 444 days. Iran wants return of Shah and frozen assets. Carter fails to rescue them.

Carter Doctrine 1980

US would use any means necessary to repeal outside attempts to control Persian Gulf region, protecting US oil supplies

Ronald Reagan (1981-1989)

Opposed detente. Dealt with oil crisis. Rebuilt US military. “Zero Option.” START Concept. Seen as aggressive and potential warmonger.

Zero Option (1981)

USSR removes SS-20 missiles, US cancels Pershing II deployment

START Concept (1982)

SALT (limitation) —> START (reduction)

Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI)

Space-based missile defense system, nicknamed Star Wars. Rejects MAD, defend against nuclear attacks.

Reagan Doctrine (1985)

Rollback, not containment.

Evil Empire speech

USSR = Evil Empire. Cold war is a moral struggle good vs. evil.

Able Archer Inciden (1983)

NATO war exercise misinterpreted by USSR. Likely prevented nuclear war.

Soviet Decline

Weakened by economy, Afghanistan War (79-89), Poland rebellion.

Mikhail Gorbachev

1985-1991. Ended cold war, reforms. Perestroika

Perestroika

reform the economy by introducing market-like reforms and decentralizing control

Reykjavik Summit (1986)

Agreement to eliminate nuclear weapons, failed due to disagreement over SDI.

Iran-Contra Scandal

US supported Contras in Nicaragua. Sold arms to Iran, funded contra with profits. Major scandal in 1986 for Reagan.

INF Treaty (1987)

Eliminated IRNMs. Required destruction of weapons.

Collapse of Soviet Control

Gorbachev at UN speech of 1998 withdraws troops from Eastern Europe, no expectation of US reciprocity

Possible end dates of cold war

1989: Fall of Berlin Wall

1990: Formal agreements

1991: Collapse of USSR