The Cold War Divides the World

1. The Cold War Divides the World

2. Cold War Strategies • The US, USSR, and even China often used a variety of strategies to gain influence in the Third World • They would back wars of revolution, liberation, or counterrevolution • The US and the USSR both established intelligence agencies – the CIA and the KGB • The US gave military aid, built schools, set up programs to combat poverty, and sent volunteer workers to many developing nations

3. Association of Nonaligned Nations • In 1955, Indonesia hosted many leaders from Asia and Africa at the Bandung Conference • They met to form what they called a “third force” of independent countries, or nonaligned nations • Some nations, like India and Indonesia, managed to remain neutral throughout the Cold War

4. Confrontations in Cuba • In the 1950s, Cuba was ruled by an unpopular dictator, Fulgencio Batista, who had US support • Cuban resent led to a popular revolution, led by Fidel Castro, which overthrew Batista in January 1959 • At first, many praised Castro for bringing about many social reforms, however Castro soon revealed himself to be a harsh dictator • He suspended elections, jailed or executed his opponents, and tightly controlled the press

5. Confrontations in Cuba • When Castro took over, he nationalized the Cuban economy, which included taking over US-owned sugar mils and refineries • In response, President Eisenhower ordered an embargo on all trade with Cuba • Castro then turned to the Soviets for economic and military aid • In 1960, the CIA began to train anti-Castro Cuban exiles • In April 1961, they invaded Cuba, landing at the Bay of Pigs • Without proper US military support, the exiles failed in their invasion and Castro easily defeated the forces, humiliating the United States

6. Cuban Missile Crisis • The failure at the Bay of Pigs convinced Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev that the US would not resist Soviet expansion in Latin America • July 1962  Khrushchev secretly began to build 42 missile sites around Cuba • In October, US spy planes discovered these sites, setting off an international crisis • President JFK demanded the removal of the missiles and announced a blockade of Cuba to prevent the further arrival of more missiles • Eventually, Khrushchev agreed to remove the missiles if the US agreed to never invade Cuba and to remove missiles from Turkey

7. Civil War in Nicaragua • The US supported the anti-communist dictatorship of Anastasio Somoza and his family in Nicaragua from 1933-1979 • In 1979, communist rebels, known as the Sandinistas, overthrew the Somoza reign • Originally, the US and the USSR supported the Sandinistas’ leader Daniel Ortega, but he quickly began to support Marxist rebels in El Salvador • In response, the US gave its support to the anti-communist rebels known as the Contras • The civil war raged on for over a decade, greatly crippling Nicaragua’s economy

8. Conflicts in Iran • Following WWII, Iran’s leader, Pahlavi, embraced western governments and wealthy western oil companies • This clashed with the traditional Islamic beliefs and customs of many of the people • Iranian nationalists united under Prime Minister MuhammedMossadeq and forced the shah to flee • With US support, the shah was restored following fear of Iran turning to the Soviet Union for support

9. Conflicts in Iran • The shah continued to westernize Iran throughout the 1950s and 1960s, including weakening the power of the ayatollahs, or Islamic religious leaders • Ayatollah Ruholla Khomeini, while living in exile, began to encourage revolution in Iran • The shah fled Iran in 1979 and Khomeini returned to establish an Islamic state and to export Iran’s militant form of Islam

10. Khomeini’s Anti-US Policies • In 1979, young Islamic revolutionaries seized the US embassy in Tehran, taking more than 60 people hostage and demanding that the shah face a trial for his actions • They remained prisoners for 444 days before being released in 1981 • Khomeini encouraged Muslim radicals to overthrow their secular governments, however this policy heightened tensions between Iran and Iraq where Saddam Hussein governed in a secular state

11. Face-off in Afghanistan • For several years following WWII, Afghanistan had maintained its independence from both the US and the USSR • However, in the 1950s, the Soviet Union began to increase its influence • In the late 1970s, a Muslim revolt threatened to topple the communist regime, so the Soviets invaded • The Soviets expected to quickly invade, prop up the communist government, and leave but they got stuck • Supplied by American weapons, the mujahideen, were able to hold off the Soviet forces

12. Face-off in Afghanistan • President Jimmy Carter warned the Soviets against any attempt to gain control of the Persian Gulf • To protest against the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, the United States stopped shipments of grain to the Soviet Union and boycotted the 1980 Moscow Summer Olympics • In 1989, Mikhail Gorbachev withdrew all of the Soviet troops from Afghanistan