Chapter 27, Section 3:

Regional Conflicts

Main Idea: Superpower rivalries heightened conflicts in many parts of the world during the Cold War.

A. The Cold War in Africa and Asia • Many European colonies in Africa & Asia gained their independence after

WWII, making these places Cold War “battlegrounds” between US & USSR. – As Asian & African nations gained independence, power struggles emerged

between communist & noncommunist forces within those countries, with support coming from the two superpowers. Soviet expansion vs. American containment

The Philippines • Granted their independence by the US in 1946 (acquired from Spain in 1898) • Plagued by poverty & corruption ever since (Ferdinand Marcos: 1965-1986).

Cold War Rivalries in Africa • 30 African nations gained their independence from Europe in the ‘50s & ‘60s. • The US & USSR got involved in many civil wars & border wars there, on

opposing sides, to gain new allies (Somalia (US) vs. Ethiopia (USSR), Angola). India, Pakistan, and Indochina

• India gained independence from Britain in 1947, and was divided into 2 nations, India & Pakistan. The US & USSR both tried to win their support. – Pakistan sided with the US, while India remained neutral (accepted help from both).

• Southeast Asia - Laos, Cambodia & Vietnam* all won freedom from France after almost 30 years of struggle & conflict to gain their independence. – The US will intervene & send troops to Vietnam in the mid-60s to early-70s.

The De-Colonization of European Empires

The Cold War: 1945-1960 The Cold War: 1960-1991

B. Crisis Over Cuba • Fidel Castro led a communist revolution in Cuba in 1959, forcing thousands of Cuban exiles (mostly wealthy) to flee to the US (Miami: Cuba is only 90 miles from tip of Florida).

Bay of Pigs Invasion

• Bay of Pigs Invasion – As the bond between Castro & the USSR grew stronger, the CIA planned to overthrow Castro by training about 1200 exiles to invade Cuba & lead another revolution. It was poorly planned & became a miserable failure (increased Castro’s popularity in Cuba & embarrassed US).

Cuban Missile Crisis

• Cuban Missile Crisis – In October 1962, President Kennedy ordered the USSR to remove missiles from Cuba (they had secretly built missile bases).

• He threatened to turn back any Soviet ship with missiles on board.

• As Soviet ships headed toward Cuba, the world waited tensely to see how the USSR would react. Luckily, the ships turned back at the last minute. – “We’re eyeball to eyeball, and I think the other fellow just blinked.” – Dean Rusk

• They agreed to remove their missiles from Cuba if we assured them that we wouldn’t invade Cuba (we also removed missiles from Turkey). This marked the closest point of going to full-scale nuclear war during the Cold War years.

Bay of Pigs Debacle (1961)

Cuban Missile Crisis (1962)

We went eyeball-to-eyeball with the Russians, and the

other man blinked!

C. Intervening in Latin America Social and Economic Problems

• Many poor people in Latin American countries saw communism as a solution to the wide gap between the wealthy few and the many who lived in poverty. The US used economic aid ($) to help them & prevent communist revolutions.

Aid Programs

• Alliance for Progress – Kennedy built schools, hospitals, etc. to improve life in Latin American countries (it helped, but it didn’t end the causes of poverty).

• Peace Corps – American volunteers worked in developing countries as teachers, engineers and advisers, living with the local people for two years.

• Organization of American States (OAS) – US invested in transportation & industry, & gave military aid to Latin American armies. Often, we ended up supporting brutal dictators, just because they were against communism.

Intervention

• Between 1950 & 1990, the US intervened in Latin American affairs many times in order to prevent communism from spreading there: Guatemala, the Dominican Republic, Panama, Grenada, El Salvador, & Nicaragua (this led to the Iran-Contra Affair of the 1980s, where President Reagan defied Congress & secretly sent military aid to Nicaraguan rebels (Contras) fighting against the communist Sandinistas.)

Intervening in Latin America

• Many poor Latin Americans

viewed communism as a

solution to their problems. • Therefore, the U.S. created

several programs aimed at

helping Latin America, and

other third world nations.

D. The Arms Race/Space Race • During the Cold War, the US & the USSR competed in an arms race. Each

side built up (stockpiled) missiles & nuclear weapons to outdo the other.

• By 1953, both countries developed hydrogen bombs (USSR shortly after us). – Marked the 1st time both countries could completely destroy each other.

• In 1954, the US announced a “massive retaliation” policy. We would respond to any Soviet nuclear attack with an all-out attack on them (hoped to prevent).

• In 1957, Russia launched Sputnik, the 1st man-made object in space. Americans were stunned, & fearful that Soviet missiles would now be able to reach the US from anywhere. This led to more science in US schools.

– This news increased weapons spending on both sides & started the “space race.” The US started NASA (space program) to compete with the Soviets.

• Many families built bomb “fallout shelters” to protect them from the radiation of an atomic blast. Schools practiced air-raid drills. “Duck & Cover” video.

• By 1970, both side had spent billions on stockpiles of weapons large enough to destroy each other many times over, but neither side actually wanted to use them (could mean the end of the world). Neither was sure of the other.

Castle Bravo H-Bomb shot

at Bikini Attoll. Largest H-

Bomb ever exploded

“Radiation from that

blast would later

bring early death to

many of us on the

island at that time.

Some of us are still

dying of radiation

from Bravo.” - Bob

Markey, Sr., naval

officer, stationed on

the island of

Kwajalein, 150

miles from Bikini

Atoll.

The Race for Space

Nuclear warhead stockpiles of the United States

and the Soviet Union/Russia, 1945-2006.

32,040

warheads,

1966

45,000

warheads,

1986

* USSR

surpassed

the USA

in

warheads

(1978)

• Both sides developed enough weapons

to easily destroy the other.

• In addition,

the Soviet

Union and

the U.S.

competed

with each

other in

weapon

development.