Introduction : 

Decolonization : 

1. The British didn’t have the money 

2. pressure to decolonize from US, right to self determination based on nationality + from USSR, ideological standpoint → against imperialism (in theory) and cw/geopolitical standpoint : wanted to get Great Britain + France (western influence) out of Africa and Middle East

3. Nationalist movements that emerged especially after the War : WWII broke the image of invincible white powers, + sense of exploitations when soldiers from colonies fought in British/french armies (saw wealth, wanted reward)

I - Creation of Israel and the Arab response

1. Emergence of Zionism and Arab Nationalism

Why a zone of conflict ? :

Holy land x 3 : christians (Jesus), jews (second temple, wailing wall), muslims (Muhammad met Allah there, + Jesus)

Quick context : (maybe not say all that in an essay)

→ During WWI, the Ottoman Empire (covering the Middle-East) was fighting along Germany against the Allied powers. 

• In 1916, sensing they were about to win, two diplomats, British (Sykes) and French (Picot) went to negotiate with the leader of the Empire : they promised the creation of arab states and in exchange got domination (to some degree)

→ Britain and France basically owned the Middle-East ( a line determined which part was French and which was British)

•  was furthered as Nations Society came up with a system of mandates, considering those new nation states couldn’t govern themselves just yet, therefore needing Western domination/counseling.

→ Palestine was originally in the French part but

• Clemenceau gave it away to Britain, which used it to create this “Jewish national homeland” Arthur Balfour had promised to the zionist lobby (created late 19th century, 1897 Switzerland : World Zionist Organization)

• Jewish immigration then increases in the 1930s in response to the growing antisemitism in Europe (but they were still greatly outnumbered by Arabs)

→ In 1947 the UN comes up with a 2 state solution

• greatly favored the Jews (“according to the Arabs”) 

• even though they were outnumbered 2 to 1 → got 57% of the land and 43% for Arabs who obviously rejected

→ Creation of the Arab league in 1945 to coordinate different policies mais moyen

• originally with Egypt (formed in Cairo), Iraq, Transjordan (now called Jordan), Saudi Arabia, and Lebanon 

• policy of non recognition of Israël

2. Arab-Israeli Conflicts/Wars

→ May 1948 British flag comes down : Aran countries declare war to Israel (ig don’t say this in the essay but : arabs didn’t attack first, before May 1948 civil war had started with zionist forces conducting an offensive operation conquering territory for the planned establishment of a Jewish state

• 60k well-trained Jews against 21.5k unorganized Arabs

• UN ended the war, Israël got 70% of Palestine

• Kingdom of Jordan got West Bank

• Egypt got Gaza strip

• HST, 7 mins later, recognizes state even though no boundaries, then USSR did after 20 mins (so GB wouldn’t have an excuse to stay in M-E) ⇒ de facto recognition

→ During the war : campaign of violence + displacement for Palestinian population

• Haifa massacre (15k residents displaced)

→ CSQ 

• Nakba

• 1m Arabs displaced from Palestine

• strength in numbers : David Ben Gurion announces the Law of Return : any Jew can come back to Israël, claim citizenship + help to get new life started. Palestinians wanted the same, return to their stolen land bc had been displaced)

→ 1967 6-day war

3. Intervention of foreign powers

→ 1956 Suez Canal crisis, context : 

• Military coup in Egypt in 1952 (before British domination), Nasser as one of the leaders

• In 1956 Nasser becomes president as a nationalist : believed Egypt had a destiny to lead the Arab world (was the 1st to end the non recognition policy towards Israël)

• had a dream of Pan-Arabism → Nasserism

→ Nasser and non alignment : 

• both US/USSR want him on their side : USSR secretly shipping arms to him (US doesn’t in case they’re used against Israël, the hypocrisy, first arm sellers to Israël rn and they don’t gaf if they are used against palestinian civilians)

• Wanted to create a dam → US loan but canceled bc : NATIONALIZED THE CANAL (king) + had a deal to purchase tanks and aircrafts from communist Czechoslovakia (to help Algerian rebels) + established diplomatic relation w/ 中国 (just flexing at this point) (US couldn’t be seen during presidential year being soft on communism)

• was willing to remain independent but also take help from both sides

→ US, Brits, Fr are mad bc the canal is nationalized, they don’t get the money and control no more, GB no access to remains of Empire + need the oil flowing through it : 

• October : Brits + Fr decided it was a good time to attack : Israël would attack Egypt, then Tripartite agreement would “secure the canal” (first called a ceasefire they knew Nasser would refuse)

• eyes of the world on Suez, meanwhile Hungarian revolution crushed, creation of Warsaw pact (NATO communist bloc)

→ 1973 Yom Kippur war

Attack carried out by Arabs during the Yom Kippur Jewish holiday

Causes : 

• Dispute over territory : Sinai Peninsula and Golan Heights captured by Israël during 6 day war→ Arab states sought their return after failed peace negotiations

• Egypt + Syria → intense military preparation, weaponry from Russia

• Political climate : Arab states emboldened by oil wealth + sought to assert themselves against Israël which was determined to maintain its positions

• Popular front for the liberation of Palestine (PLO, OLP in french, Yasser Arafat) began to carry out terrorist attacks

• Anwar Sadat president of Egypt saw an attack as a win-win situation (would regain land or would see US/USSR involved to seek a diplomatic solution)

Consequences : 

• reassessment of military strategies + capabilities of both camps

• led to renewed efforts to find a peaceful resolution to the Arab-Israeli conflict → Camp David Accords in 1978 Israël//Egypt mediated by US Jimmy Carter

• shuttle diplomacy, Israel gave back Sinaï and gained back access to Suez

• Egypt moved away from USSR’s influence and closer to US

⇒ US/USSR imposed the Cold War on countries who weren’t interested/involved in it

II - Emergence of Mao’s China (1949-1972)

→ Mao’s foreign policy went through 3 phases 

1. Leaning on one side → working with the USSR until 1960 when nuke scientist got blown up

2. Fighting with two fists : 1st US with Vietnam, 2nd USSR ideologically

3. 1 united front policy→ working with the US to advance China’s goal

→ 1^st of October 1949, communist leader Mao Zedong declares the People's Republic of China after defeating his democratic and right-wing opponent Chiang Kei-shek, supported by the USA, who fled to Taiwan and kept the Chinese seat at the UN Security Council until 1971 due to US pressure. 

The USSR is the first to recognize the PCR. In February of 1950, both agree on a Sino-Soviet Treaty of friendship with Alliance and Mutual Assistance. Mao flew to Moscow to sign the treaty, gaining $300 million dollars of aid and promising to follow the Soviet communist way, mirroring its five-year plans. But Mao was not content to play second field to the Soviets, and as the 1950’s progressed, so did tensions between China and the USSR. After the death of Stalin in 1953, Mao tries to assert China more independently from the soviets. He also strongly dislikes Khrushchev, and considers him as to open to the US.

In 1958, Mao initiates the Great Leap Forward, his second five-year plan, creating the establishment of Peoples Communes of roughly 75 000 people each to challenge the Soviet way of communism. This campaign aimed to reconstruct the country from and agrarian economy to a communist and industrial society. Mao wanted to push the country to industrialize, saying China would walk on two legs: Industry and Agriculture. This plan failed, leading to a huge famine between 1959 and 1962 with 30 to 40 million dead, due to the harsh conditions and the continued shortage of food supplies soled in exports to buy industrial supplies. All who went against the plan were eventually killed in Mao’s purges, pushing commune leaders to continue the Great Leap more enthusiastically and lie on the amounts of crops, leaving no food to the people as they were taxed on materiel they did not have and all supplies were sent out to the cities or other countries.

By the middle of the 1960’s, Mao feared that China was turning into a bureaucratic police state like the USSR, losing all its revolutionary steam. Thus, he declared a war against his own people to destroy the “four old’s”: old culture, old ideas, old customs and old habits. He used Chinese students as an army, known as the Red Guard, killing 400 000 people for the sake of his revolution ideology, and destroying thousands of historical buildings, artifacts, art and cultures. This period lasted from 1966 to 1969 and is called the Great Proletariat Cultural Revolution. The turmoil and instability created by the movement led to the loss of confidence in Chinese leadership, and many foreign countries were reluctant to engage with China. 

1. Mao’s foreign policies

From 1949 to 1972, Mao’s foreign policies can be split up into three categories: Leaning to One Side strategy, Fighting with two fists, and One United Front Strategy. 

The Leaning to One Side strategy of working with the Soviets, died down rapidly in the 1950’s. Sick of being seen as a junior communist to the USSR and following the soviet way, Mao began distancing himself with the Soviet Union after Stalin’s death in 1953. This eventually led to the Sino-Soviet split in the early 1960’s, a major setback for Mao’s foreign policies as it lost a major ally. China and the USSR had different interpretations of Marxism and communism and regarded the other as fake or weak communism. China denounced the Soviets imperialistic socialism, strongly opposed to the improvement in relations with the western block, and the Soviets called China revisionists, revisiting and reinventing communism. Tensions grew until the complete separation of the two powers due to the conflicts in Taiwan that the Soviet Union refused to back up with nuclear power. Moscow even feared Mao’s nonchalance about the horrors of nuclear warfare.

By the 1970’s, China adopts the One United Front strategy, willing to work with the USA to advance it’s goals internationally and against the USSR. This leads to Ping Pong diplomacy with a normalization of relations and détente as both parties had something to gain from the other: the US wanted a peace treaty in Vietnam and China wanted a seat in the UN.

•  Ping pong diplomacy : term taken from the Chinese ping pong tournament to whom the US was invited, a significant diplomatic success tht led to the normalization of relations between the US and China. 

Overall, Mao’s foreign policies were a mix of success and failures. China’s involvement in the Korean War was a significant strategic success, and the development of the nuclear weapon increased China’s status on the world stage. However, the Sino-Soviet split and the Cultural Revolution had negative impacts on China's relationships with other countries. 

Tibet crisis

The PRC invaded Tibet in 1950, establishing the Tibet Autonomous Region in 1965. The Chinese government claimed that Tibet had always been a part of China, stating that the invasion was necessary to liberate Tibet from feudalism and to integrate it into the Chinese state. However, the Tibetan people saw the invasion as a violation of their sovereignty and their culture. The Chinese government implemented policies to suppress Tibetan culture and religion, which led to tensions and occasional violence. Mao’s government insisted that Tibet was an integral part of China, and any separatist activity was seen as a threat to the country’s unity. To fight back, Tibet try to appeal with the UN, asking to be recognized as an independent state and gain support from other countries. This appeal failed as China proposed trade rights in Tibet that pushed India, and all other states that mostly followed suit behind India, to support Chinese invasion.

2. Taiwan Strait crisis

Mao’s government claimed Taiwan as a part of China and sought to reunify with the mainland. However, Taiwan was under the control of Mao’s right-wing opponent Kai-shek, who had fled China after the Chinese Civil War. Mao’s government saw Kai-shek’s Nationalist Party as a threat to its legitimacy and sovereignty, as well as an island for the US imperialism who backed Kai-shek. In August of 1954, the Nationalists placed 58 000 troops on Kinmen and 15 000 troops on Matsu, building their defensive structures as the PRC began bombing their installations on Kinmen. On the 11^th of August 1954, Prime Minister of the PRC Zhou Enlai, declares war on Taiwan, stating that it must be “liberated” from the Nationalists influence. The People’s Liberation Army was dispatched and began bombing both Kinmen and Matsu. 

Chiang Kai-shek still believed in his leadership in China and felt that one day he could return to the mainland to reclaim the country through US aid. But the US wasn’t on the same page as the ex-Chinese leader. Truman was reluctant to engage the US in any action with Taiwan as it appeared that Mao had already won leadership on the mainland, no use getting involved in a lost cause. This was coupled with the US government's displeasure at the corruption and overall poor governance of the Nationalist Party. In January of 1950, Truman issued a statement saying the US would refrain from action in the event of conflict between Taipei and Beijing. This was in line the US policy in Asia that was not seen as a potential threat and therefore not a priority. The policy changed radically in June of 1950 with the outburst of the Korean war, showing the looming danger of communism spreading in Asia. Taiwan became a place of strategic importance, providing a shield for US forces based in Japan and in the Philippines, as well as a zone to protect from the influence of communism. Financial supports rose to about $527 million and military support to $940 million. But this wasn’t enough to Kai-shek, he not only wanted to defend Taiwan, he wanted to expand, attacking the mainland with his troops and US troops. 

PRC attacked five days before the signing of the Manila Pact or the Southeast Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO) made to counter the expansion of communism, bombing Kinmen and Matsu. This will be known as the first Taiwan Strait crisis. US refrained from interfering as their defense was strictly restricted to the Island and the Penghu Islands, not the offshore islands. The US also feared intervention would start a war with the Soviet Union. A few months later, in November of 1954, the PRC bombed the Dachen islands. This pushed the two parties to renegotiate their defense agreements as Kai-shek feared he would lose important territories which would demoralize his troops. On the 2^nd of December 1954, the US and Republic of China (ROC) agreed on the Sino-American Mutual Defense Treaty, allowing some protection to Taiwan’s offshore islands without forcing the US to engage in any action it would deem unnecessary. Strongly displeased by this new agreement, the PRC renewed its attacks now on the Yijangshan Islands on the 18^th of January 1955, and continued bombing the Matsu and Kenmen Islands. In response to the ongoing and escalating violence, the US approved the Formosa Resolution on the 29^th of January, authorizing the American President Eisenhower to use US forces to defend the ROC and its possessions in the Taiwan Strait. Nuclear threat was also put on the PRC by Eisenhower’s administration, as it had already been suggested by US Chief of Staff in September of 1954. In the end, nuclear were weapons were not used on either occasion due to NATO pressure on the USA and the fear of sparking a nuclear war with the Soviet Union. With the PRC now occupying the Yijangshand Islands, Beijing turned its attention to the Dachen Island. Under US pressure to secure Taiwan’s mainland, the ROC evacuated its troops from the Island. 

In April of 1955 during the Bandung Conference, PRC Prime Minister Zhou articulates China’s wish for a ceasefire, an appeasement of tensions with the US and the peaceful integration of Taiwan to the PRC. 

• Bandung Conference : a meeting of Asian and African states, most of which were newly independent, which took place on 18–24 April 1955 in Bandung, West Java, Indonesia. The twenty-nine countries that participated represented a total population of 1.5 billion people, 54% of the world's population. 

The conference's aims were to promote African-Asian economic and cultural cooperation and to oppose colonialism or neocolonialism by any nation. The conference was an important step towards the eventual creation of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM). 

The US insisted on a pledge of the PRC to not attack Taiwan which was refused as the mainland didn’t see Taiwan as an independent country and strongly disliked the idea of a foreign country meddling in their affairs. At this point, the PRC had begun its own nuclear weapons program. 

With no common agreement having been reached, it was only a matter of time before conflicts flared up again. On the 23^rd of August 1958, the PRC attacked both the Matsu and Kinmen Islands once again, without the knowledge of their Soviet Allies who refused to back them with nuclear weapons as they feared a nuclear war with the US. The ROC called on the US according to the Mutual Defense Treaty of 1954, to help defend its offshore islands. The US responded by deploying the US 7^th fleet along with air units and artillery, boosting the ROC troops and repelling the PRC attacks. The second Taiwan crisis eventually settled into a stalemate. The PRC Minister of Defense offered a ceasefire on the 6^th of October 1958, ending the second Taiwan crisis.

III - Vietnam Wars (1949-1972)

1. The war

→ War began in Indo-China, declared independence but France didn’t agree, fought until 1954

• Geneva Conference : intended to settle issues resulting from the Korean War and the First Indochina War, took place in Geneva, Switzerland in 1954 

• Was divided at 70th parallel with the idea of national elections thing 2 year to unite the country

• Also created Cambodia + Laos

• South Vietnam capitalist, North Vietnam communist, Viet congs are communist South Vietnamese

→ For the Vietnamese was an independence war, for France a colonial war, and for the US a cold war (Ho-chi minh was a communist)

• at the end of the war Eisenhauer said the South Vietnamese (SV) could always count on the US → could become part of US policy, hard for future presidents to reverse

→ But no national elections held in the 1959s like in Korea → US blocking them because under-developed country, and communist party was therefore attractive

→ By 1960s formation of the National Liberation Front (NLF) in opposition to Diem’s government

• Viet Congs (VC) were communist fighters against Diem regime, an underground group of SV as opposed to the political party NLF

→ Eisenhauer sent military advisors

• 650 to go and teach strategy to Diem”s army on how to fight a “counter-insurgency”

• cracks door open for US involvement as he’s dealing with Cuba, Kennedy inherited US commitment to Vietnam → his advisors tell him to send more

• Signed a treaty of friendship and economic assistance with SV

• sent 60k advisors → but dangerous path (drink metaphor : take one, effect wears off, take more)

→ Advisors can’t engage in military combat (active)

• counter-insurgency using guerilla warfare

• Advisors send report back to JFK : population helps the VC (they are a popular movement) so have to prevent that from happening → Safe Village Campaign 

  • idea of making a concentration camp, peasant villages burned with live TV coverage

  • was a slap in the face bc ancestral burial grounds + wasn’t effective, only good recruiting device for VCs

→ Diem starting getting harsher towards political extremes

• November 1st 1963 military coup against Diem and his brother, are executed. Kennedy administration knew but didn’t do anything to stop it (later JFK gets shot too)

2. Link to American CW 

→ US got involved because of the Domino theory : if one country falls to communism all the other neighboring countries will too

→ Very quickly, the war becomes a real war by proxy

LBJ takes over after JFK

• pov : if we’re gonna get involved with Vietnam, let’s get it over with

• Domestic program : “The great society”

→ Didn’t just continue policies of the former president

• started ordering US warships to act as bodyguards for SV ships going to bomb North coast line (with industries)

• 1 of the shops claimed it had been fired upon by NVs → LBJ went before Congress and claimed being attacked by NV warships when innocently sailing in international waters

→ Consequence in summer 1964 : Gulf of Tonkin resolution

• ability to fight a war without a declaration of war and without Congress involvement (passed almost unanimously)

→ January 1965 : US marine base in SV attacked by suicide bombers → 100 killed

• status of soldiers went from advisors to troops on the ground

• LBJ began policy of slowly increasing the troops there → escalation on the ground + air

• Air campaign for the next 3 years : Operation Rolling Thunder → carpet bombing  ⇒ divided Vietnam into sectors and dropped dumb bombs

  • Operation menu : bombed sectors breakfast, lunch, dinner

→ Robert Mcnamara : Johnson’s Defense secretary 

• said all they are doing is “clearing up pockets of resistance” , enemy outgunned + outmoraled

• By 1968 there were 800k troops on the ground and 2 million Americans in the area

→ Lunar New Year 1968 : Têt offensive

• wasn’t a military but a moral victory

→ Nixon got elected promise a “peace with honor”

• Vietnamization : start bringing the boys home + training SVs instead ,(very popular)

• Realized he need the help of China + USSR (helping the North Vietnamese) → wanted to show them they were on their own, policy of improving CW relations ⇒ detente

3. Detente and end of the war

→ Nixon began with improving relations with China : ping pong diplomacy

• US state department dropped interdiction of ARms traveling to China

• China invited American ping pong team to beijing → friendly match

• led to 1971 US dropping veto in the UN security council, allowing Mao to take a permanent seat, Taiwan nationalists OUT

• Nixon shocked the world by traveling to China in 1972 → de facto (before de jure) recognition for Communist China

• Beijing commuiniqué → try to find common grounds despite differences

→ Then with Russia

• Goes to Moscow : 1st time POTUS visits the USSR

• prior to going, US + USSR were working on agreement to limit nuclear weapons, when he went he signed → SALT 1 (Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty)

• Was the beginning of limiting armament for later disarmament, was supposed to continue with SALT 2 but USSR invaded Afghanistan

→ By the end of 1972, China and USSR support the idea of a Treaty to end the war in Vietnam

• US carried out the heaviest bombing of the war : Christmas (more bombs dropped on Vietnam than on the Axis Powers during WWII

• USSR + China in the security council : silence → NV realize time to negotiate

• Treaty signed in 1973

→ However hostilities resumed in 1975, north invaded South

• Congressman FOrd became vice president then president, tried carrying out policy to have SV’s back but Congress said nuh-uh not again 

• Vietnam syndrome : afraid of getting into another war

4. Consequences in the US

1960s as a period of protest : 

→ At the start of the war protests were minorities : difference between being against the war and actually protesting

→ To keep Americans from opposing the war, LBJ painted a victorious picture of it, but became America’s first televised war → Credibility gap : an apparent difference between what is said or promised and what happens or is true.

→ American troops were dying by the thousands without truly understanding what they were fighting for.

Emblematic leaders of protests : 

• Mario Savio led a protest in UC Berkeley to fight for political assemblies in school.

• Abbie Hoffman led a protest against the Pentagon and created the Yippies – Youth International Party – on the 31^st of December 1967.

Methods of protesting : 

→  music : Woodstock festival July 1969, protest music Jimmy Hendrix

→ convergence of protests : environmentalism becoming a big thing, anti-nuke, women’s rights protests, civil rights (black ppl weren’t in college so sent to war)

→ others : 

• marches

• occupations of buildings

• bumper stickers (pro war or against it “draft beer not boys”)

• 10k flex to Canada, Carter said he would forgive them

• Prison like Mohammed Ali

→ Turning point : Têt offensive 

• Cronkite denounced US involvement in Vietnam

• Têt emphasized the credibility gap between reality // What the White House says 

→ War was now called Jonhson’s war

• In March LBJ refused his party nomination for elections

→ In 1968, MLK and B.Kennedy are assassinated, race riots

→ Nixon got elected promise a “peace with honor”

→ Apparition of the "New Left" ⇒ liberal, radical, Marxist political movements that took place primarily among college students

• counter-cultural movement

• No longer just voting for white men hoping they’ll reform things : get out in the streets, protest, run for office → take action

→ By 1970 discontent within the armed forces was enormous, Vietnam veterans were participating in the protests

• Things got worse in 1971 when the New York Times published the Pentagon Papers, classified documents that showed that the government had been misleading the public. 

• Congress eventually responded by passing the War Powers Act in 1973 to limit the President's power in waging war without Congress approval and to prevent another Tonkin Gulf Resolution. 

5. France

→ May 68 : students protest going on

• Begins at Nanterre, spreads to Sorbonne, Beaux-Arts produced posters

→ Protested against : 

• lack of social mixing, what the government wants them to learn, unemployment after kong studies

→ Becomes a general strike

• joined by the workers

• animosity against forces of order (CRS)

• There is talk of Revolution → May 10th Stock Market burnt

• De Gaulle end of May went to military headquarters to make sure of their support, doesn’t resign, win the election

→ Rise of peripheral media

• Belgium station

→ In the end, the fundamental misunderstanding of Vietnam and its people along with the American government’s dishonesty, changed Americans' relationship with their leaders who didn’t trust them blindly as before. 

→ The entire world condemned US Vietnam involvement

IV - Castro’s Cuba (1959-1962)

The US had always thought of the West hemisphere as “our backyard”

see “first 9/11”  1973 in Chile after Salvador Allende, marxist, got elected

CIA guided + supported military to siege the presidential palace

US backed violent coup : 3k dead, 4k tortured, jets crash into buildings

Augusto Pinochet : military dictatorship

Or Nicaragua : funding + training the contras, group dedicated to overthrowing the socialist government + CIA distributed book Psychological operation sin guerilla warfare

1. US intervention

→ In 1823 Monroe issued a unilateral statement → Monroe doctrine

• The US would oppose any EU interference in the Americas

• an instability there the US reserved the right to intervene

• the idea of a sphere of influence goes back to race to colonies, not only CW

→ Batista right-wing dictator → had US support (bc not a communist)

• support became + difficult to continue when US publix got to know about Batista’s death squad against pro-democracy activists (spanish speaking newspapers)

→ Castro was anti-Batista : led guerilla warfare

• by studying fish ; against an overwhelming force, hit and run to wear down the enemy physically + mentally

• Declared a new gov. in Cuba Jan 1st 1959 → didn’t declare a Marxist/Socialist revolution yet

→ Nixon (key figure in McArthy era) received Castro then wrote a memo to Eisenhaueur “he doesn’t say he”s a red but he’s a red” → want to get rid of him

• By 1960 he did a full embargo on Castro regime (+ boycott)

• Khrushchev responded by saying they were gonna buy everything

→ Eisenhauer told the CIA to come up with a plan to get rid of Castro

• April 15th 1961 (Kennedy inherited this plan but was misled about chances of success) → Bay of pigs invasion

• US mock invasion of a Caribbean Island as a warning

→ April 16th Castro declared his revolution was marxist 

• US policy pushed hum into the Soviet camp

• Him + guevara said they wanted to export marxist revolutions to latin-am

2. Missile Crisis

→ The Bay of Pigs changed the geopolitical landscape of central + latin america

• lend to geostrategic change : USSR send nuke to Cuba

• CIA was able to identify the special nuke container but US was caught off card → + now could hit any city in the US

• solution for CIA : blockade, then diplomacy

• JFK speech : any missile strike from Cuba would lead to a full attack against USSR  +  warned that U.S. forces would seize “offensive weapons and associated matériel” that Soviet vessels might attempt to deliver → brink of nuke war

→ 25th : soviet ships stopped and turned around

• next day US ambassador at UN  →  Walter Cronkite

→ White house correspondent : Soviet ambassador, meet for coffee → coffee shop diplomacy

• if gives a public statement not to invade Cuba, USSR will withdraw missiles

• Next day Khruzchev want withdrawal of missiles from Greece + Turkey too

• Planes were shot down over Cuba. US said they were going to send another one, if they shoot it down : war (to test if local order or not)

  • didn’t shoot it, US said remove missiles within 6 months but not public announcement → USSR had to do it under a promise (kinda humiliating)

→ Castro learned it through radio unexpected

→ Soviets tried to change geostrategic balance by putting missiles in Cuba 

3. CSQ : 

→ USSR withdraw, failed but US guaranteed not to invade Cuba + to withdraw missiles from Greece and Turkey (secretly)

• Also alienated Khrushchev from his army, by 9164 was out of power

→ Both sides realized how close they were to nuclear war

• Nuke test ban treaty signed, only nuclear testing underground

1963 → direct communication Washington - Kremlin on paper

• important step to try to limit the threat of nuclear war

→ Castro + Guevara tried exporting idea of socialist revolution CIA put a price on his hands for ppl to alienate him

Key Questions : 

What were the international consequences of the emergence of the newly independent countries in the two decades following the end of WWII ?

To what extent did newly independent countries challenge the bipolar world ?

Analyze the impact of the Bandung Conference of 1955, with the appearance of the decolonizing Afro-Asian bloc

IN what ways was the process of decolonization linked to the Cold War ?

Why did the conflict in ALgeria lead to the 5th French Republic ?

Analyze the responses of the USA to each of the following : creating of the state of Israel, the appearance of MAo’s China, the French defeat in Indochina, Castro’s seizure of power in Cuba

Terminology

• Decolonization

• Bandung Generation

• Non-Alignment

• Third World

• Pan-Arabism

• Zionism

• Nasserism

• Vietminh

• Geneva Agreements 1954

• Maoism

• Sino-Soviet Split

• French 5th Republic

• Communauté Française