The Soviet War in Afghanistan 1979-1989

Why did Afghanistan become a Cold Local background War confrontation?  Important country strategically:  USA also funding mujahidin trade routes. via Pakistan—funds and arms  Taraki takes power in 1978, es-  March 1979 Afghanistan tablishes communist government and introduces reforms appeal to Soviets for help. Originally they send advisers  Mujahidin, backed by Khomei- and equipment. Concerns ni in Iran, form to fight back. about a pro-USA state means they send tanks by December 1979.

 USA reacts furiously—seen as communist expansion. Abandon SALT II & tensions rise.

What were the consequences of the Why did the Soviets fail in war in Afghanistan? Afghanistan?  Gorbachev withdraws troops  Few major routes, rail links from 1987 —> made it difficult to support a  Cost USSR $20 billion and large army negatively affected Soviet  No public support : local economy and living people hated idea of conditions communism as it was atheist  1 million Afghans killed and 5  Saudi , Pakistani and US million displaced support for mujahidin made  Humiliating defeat for the So- them very powerful (Reagan: viets (like Vietnam for USA). fiercely anti-communist ) Led people to question for-  USA refuse to back down or eign policy. negotiate: it’s clear they will  Demonstrated strength of do anything to defeat Soviets. USA. Al-Qaeda and 9/11

Background The roots & development of Al-Qaeda

 American and Soviet Roots: The Afghan War involvement in the region Funding of mujahidin by powerful sparked resentment countries —> branch off into Al Qaeda Roots: Bin Laden and Abdullah Azzam  Osama Bin Laden, an affluent and influential figure Charismatic leaders, strong anti- founded the group out of Western beliefs which gained support. mujahidin fighters. Development due to:

 Beliefs

 Leaders

 Money

 Secure bases

 Well trained fighters & technology

Actions of AL-Qaeda & 9/11 US response and the War on Terror  Following 9/11 George W Bush  US Embassy attacks: demands the Taliban hand over Nairobi (Kenya) bin Laden. They refuse.

Dar Es Salaam (Tanzania)  US build a coalition of allied  USS Cole attack in the Yemen countries and launch an attack

 Difficult to combat because: on Afghanistan in October 2001.

 Other groups shared views and  Land campaign begins in helped to finance (e.g. Taliban) November 2001– Kabul falls within two weeks. Military defeat  Hard-core militant organisation with deeply loyal fighters: rallying point follows, but with no sign of bin- for modern militant Islam Laden.

 Financial support allows  Bin Laden is finally found and technological advancement of killed in 2011. Militant Islamic attacks. fundamentalism did not die with  9/11 attack in NYC kills 2998 peo- him; in 2014 the Islamic State ple: most significant Al-Qaeda group take control of large attacks areas of Syria and Iraq. The Cuban Missile Crisis 1962

Background Why did Cuba become a Cold War crisis?

 Cuba is 99 miles from the USA. Con-  Khrushchev’s support of Castro sidered to be USA’s ‘backyard’: USSR send $100 million in aid + mili- ruled by US backed, corrupt dicta- tary and technical advisers to Cuba tor Batista.  The Bay of Pigs invasion  Castro overthrows Batista in 1959 & In April 1961, 1400 Cuban exiles are imprisons/kills Batista’s followers. backed by USA to invade: a humiliat-  Exiled Cubans pressure US to oust ing disaster for new president JFK Castro  Khrushchev arms Castro May 1962: USSR publicly announce they are supplying Cuba with arms: tanks, radar, aircraft, 5000 technicians. Would they send nuclear weapons?

 The October crisis 14th October 1962: US U2 spy plane flies over Cuba and takes photos showing missile sites being built.

What happened in the ‘13 Days’? What was the impact of the Cuban Missile  16th - 28th October 1962 Crisis?  JFK forms a panel of advisers called the Ex Comm. (Hawks and Doves)  Khrushchev manages to keep Cuba communist (important to them)  JFK decides to blockade Cuba

 Khrushchev tells troops to expect and  USSR forced to back down about resist a US invasion missiles—missile gap between them and USA never nar-  JFK receives a letter from Khrushchev rowed saying Soviet ships would pass the blockade—blockade begins anyway.  Cuba stayed communist and highly  JFK receives a letter claiming missiles armed. on Cuba were purely defensive, and  Kennedy came out of the crisis well, said they might be withdrawn if JFK but did not manage to oust Cuba. promised not to invade Cuba. Removed US missiles from Turkey  Khrushchev sends a 2nd letter chang-  Hotline is created between Moscow ing his proposals, which JFK ignores. and Washington.  JFK accepts terms in 1st letter, saying if Cuba did not withdraw missiles, an at-  Nuclear Test Ban Treaty signed in tack would follow. Khrushchev agrees. 1963. The Vietnam War 1954-75

Background Why did Vietnam become a Cold War conflict?  Before WWII, Vietnam (Indochina) was  From 1949, Ho was supported by money, ruled by France. The Japanese ran it weapons and equipment from com- during the war, very harshly. munist China.  Strong anti-Japanese resistance move-  Eisenhower poured $500 million a year ment– the Vietminh- emerged under into supporting the French in the south. the leadership of Ho Chi Minh. Despite this the French pulled out in 1954.  After WWII, the Vietminh declare  A peace conference in 1954 divides Vi- Vietnam as independent. etnam into north and south (communist  9 years of fighting followed with the & capitalist). French claiming he south again.  USA help Diem take power in the south instead of Ho, They prop up regimes with $1.6 billion dollars due to: √ Containment and Domino Theory √ Military-industrial complex

 USA enter the Vietnam War after the Gulf of Tonkin incident in 1964.

Why did attitudes to the war change in the USA?

What went wrong for the USA in Vietnam?  Tet Offensive January 1968: Vietcong took US by USA problems: surprise during the Tet festival. The US destroyed  Very unpopular tactics which Hue, an ancient city, and 116,000 civilians lost their killed over 1 million homes. Americans started to question why $29 billion dollars a year was being wasted. Vietnamese people:  The media coverage turned negative at this point,  Operation Rolling Thunder questioning the motives of the war  Napalm and Agent Orange  The My Lai massacre (March 1968– reported on in  Search and Destroy missions Life magazine in 1969) US forces had gunned down  They were propping up a 400 civilians and had been praised. Americans no longer believed the war was ‘fighting for a good brutal, unpopular regime. cause’ Vietcong advantages:  Guerrilla warfare:  Booby traps What was the impact of the Vietnam War?

 Supplies transported along the  The USA had failed militarily (unable to prevent spread of Ho Chi Minh trail communism), ideologically (chemical weapons and cru-  No uniforms—hard to detect sades against civilians damaged USA’s moral reputation) and politically (Laos and Cambodia also became com-  Civilian support munist by 1975).  Commitment: fighters simply re-  Soon after, the USA attempted to improve relations with fused to give in. China.  Leads to new Cold War period of détente. Interpretations of Appeasement

Popular Majority: 1937-1938 Orthodox: 1948-1960s

Key message: Chamberlain had done Key message: Appeasement was a well, and avoided war with Germany. terrible misjudgement despite good Context: Memory of WWI meant no pub- motives. lic appetite for war– this was short lived. Context: Churchill’s self promotion: Historians: Popular view of the public. keen to be remembered as the one who spoke against a failed policy. The Cold War: Churchill wanted to suggest Britain should stand up to Popular Political: 1939-1948 (not appease) Stalin Key message: Appeasers caused war. Historians: Churchill’s message in Context: During the war: appeasement The Gathering Storm became the had clearly failed by this stage. accepted Orthodox view due to his Historians: Journalists CATO wrote The status as a war leader. Guilty Men which directly blames 15 politicians and public figures.

Revisionist: 1960s-1990s Counter-revisionist: 1990s-2000s

Key message: Chamberlain was in an Key message: Chamberlain’s impossible position and did the best job personality meant he couldn’t deal he could in the with the situation properly. circumstances. Context: Historical debate: The Context: Radical thinking: 1960s– nature of historical debate means traditional views were being historians challenge most recent questioned. work; many disagreed with Vietnam War: USA’s dislike of revisionist view as it let Chamberlain appeasement drew them into off the hook. Vietnam; revaluating merits of appeasement. New Soviet sources: German sources taken by the Soviets New British sources: Public Records Act 1958 gave more detail about problems revealed more about the dealings and concerns Chamberlain faced. between Hitler and Chamberlain Historians: Cameron Watt; Kennedy; Historians: Parker; Cameron Watt Dilks; Taylor (changes his mind to include Chamber- lain’s personality as a problem!) Interpretations of the Cold War

Orthodox: Late 1940s-early 1960s Revisionist: Mid 1960s-mid 1970s Key message: Key message: The USSR were to blame. The USA were to blame. Aggressive, expansionist actions by Sta- US foreign policy e.g. Marshall Aid lin provoked USA to respond. provoked Stalin into consolidating Context: The Red Scare and power in Eastern Europe. personal experience: many Context: Aggressive anti-Communist commentators in this period worked tactics in Cuba & Vietnam War closely with the Truman government and were influenced by anti- made historians re-consider Communist sentiment in the USA. America’s Cold War foreign policy. Idea of USA being aggressive and Lack of sources: Everything in public attempting to build an empire. domain was influenced by propaganda Historians: William Appleman Historians: Bailey; Kennan Williams; Joyce & Gabriel Kolko; Paterson.

Post-Revisionist: Early 1970s-1989 New Cold War historians: 1989->

Key message: Key message: Neither side understood the other: We still don’t know: polarised views caused by each side’s reactions back to orthodox/revisionist. based on mistrust. Context: Context: New Soviet sources released after col- lapse of USSR offered historians more Historical debate: A time of intense evidence for both orthodox and revi- debate; Gaddis and others saw the sionist perspectives. orthodox and revisionist views as too The Reagan factor: Reagan’s fierce an- simplistic. ti-communism encouraged those who Détente: ‘thawing’ of the Cold War agreed and disagreed with him to find allowed historians to stand back evidence to support their claims. and consider from both perspec- Historians: Cox & Kennedy-Pipe; tives. Gaddis changes his view towards Historians: John Lewis Gaddis orthodox view.