The Cold War to… …The New World Order …to …The Future of the United Nations:
The term, “The Cold War” refers to the period of time between 1945 and 1990. In 1945, World War II came to an end when the British, American and Canadian troops, almost a year after the D-Day landings, arrived in Berlin meeting their allies, The Soviet Union pressing from the East. Like a huge vice-grip, the Allied Powers, squeezed the energy out of the remnants of the Nazi army. Hitler committed suicide in a Berlin bunker. The war was over. Even before the end of the war, Prime Minister of Great Britain, Winston Churchill was meeting with top officials to discuss the possibility of using conquered Nazi soldiers in an attack against the new enemy – The Soviet Union. The Cold War, a war of ideologies began. The capitalist countries favoured free-market economies and open trading systems, looking outward. The Soviets preferred a government controlled economy and a closed system, looking inward. The United States emerged as the “superpower” leading the capitalist countries. The Soviet Union became the “superpower” leading the communist countries. The communist countries were those swallowed up by the advancing Soviet army in 1945. These countries were simply not
permitted to remain independent (Eastern Europe -Soviet Bloc countries). Remember the terms? 1st world = countries aligned with the US 2nd world = countries aligned with the USSR (Soviet Union) 3rd world = non-aligned countries A series of major events would occur from 1945 to 1990 that would define The Cold War. Some were „hot‟ (actual wars) and some of these events were „cold‟ (cold relations), thus the term. These are some of the major events that saw the US (and allies) and the USSR (and allies) facing off directly or indirectly:
The Korean War The Berlin Blockade and The Berlin Airlift Construction of the Berlin Wall Sputnik and The Space Race McCarthyism and the Red Scare The Hydrogen Bomb Nuclear Arms Proliferation The Bay of Pigs Invasion and The Cuban Missile Crisis The Vietnam War (Cambodia and Laos) Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles (ICBM‟s) 1972 Summit Series Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaties Policies of Gorbachev (Glasnost and Perestroika) Destruction of the Berlin Wall
Your job here is to research and to report on three of these Cold War events. Find out all of the details about he three events. Be sure to be ready to report on how the US (or ally) and The USSR are involved in the conflicts.
“The New World Order” refers to the period of time immediately following the fall of communism. Since there was now only one superpower, the USA, international relations would be conducted with tremendous influence exerted by the Americans. The USA, under the leadership of President George Bush and then President Bill Clinton relied on the United Nations (and their allies in the UN General Assembly and on the UN Security Council) to assist them in policing the world. As it turned out, there was a lot of policing to do. After the fall of communism, many global citizens, including prominent political scientists such as Harvard‟s Samuel Huntington, believed that the new threats to world peace would come from a “Clash of Civilizations” (name of Huntington‟s book). That is to say, a clash or geopolitical conflict between members of a few identifiable groups unified by religion or ethnicity such as: the Chinese, The West (USA, Western Europe, and us),The Muslims, The Africans (south of the Sahara) and others. This has not happened. Instead, the cause of the conflicts, according to historian and commentator , Michael Ignatieff, is the “new nationalism”. This refers to the clashes between parts of existing countries (nations) that, since the fall of communism, have wanted to create their own nations or countries. The various ethnic or cultural groups that existed within an existing nation were forced to stay together under communism – often through brutal repression. With a newfound freedom to speak, to
organize, to unite along ethnic lines, the result is nationhood. This would come at severe costs. When the two Germanys (East and West) were coming together, the former Soviet Union and Yugoslavia were tearing apart. Some of the minor and major conflicts through the 90‟s based on the new nationalism were: Croatia Bosnia Serbia Kosovo Rwanda (Hutus and Tutsis) Eritrea Congo
Select two categories or regions. Research and report on how the countries of these selected regions became nations or
Estonia Latvia Lithuania
The Czech Republic Slovakia
Chechnya Ukraine Georgia
Turkmenistan Uzbekistan Tajikistan Kyrgistan Kazakhstan
attempted to become nations through the 90‟s.
„The Future of the United Nations‟ is a topic of discussion in schools, on university campuses and in diplomatic circles around the world. The reason that this has become a hot topic is that recently (2003), the President of the United States, George W. Bush, and his ally, Prime Minister Tony Blair of Great Britain, moved their militaries into Iraq to “find and destroy weapons of mass destruction and to remove President Saddam Hussein from power.” The decision to do this went against the wishes of the United Nations. The UN Security Council did not provide permission for this. The Security Council wanted to give UN weapons inspectors a chance to find these weapons. It had passed a resolution that would permit the US and a “coalition force” to invade Iraq if Iraq was in breach of the guidelines set down. President Bush attempted to link the Al-Qaeda (Osama bin Laden) September 11, 2001terrorist attacks in New York, Washington and Pennsylvania to Iraq and Saddam Hussein. In other words the US was not willing to wait for UN permission to widen its “war on terrorism.” It is for this reason that many are wondering what the future role of the UN will be. Has the American decision to enter Iraq against the wishes of the UN undermined the authority of this international institution? Has the move weakened the UN? Will the US or other Security Council countries simply act unilaterally in the future? The US is in a difficult spot. Saddam Hussein has been removed from power but, may of his supporters remain. These supporters have killed many American soldiers in Iraq. The US Congress has just granted
President Bush an additional $87 billion dollars for reconstruction after this war. The Bush administration is also seeking international assistance in rebuilding Iraq. Through the 90‟s, up until the present conflict in Iraq, the US has sought international assistance and the approval of the UN in resolving geopolitical conflict. Some of these conflicts are: In point form (5-10 points 1991 Persian Gulf War Somalia 1993 Kosovo 1998/99 for each conflict), explain 1) the cause of each, 2) what happened during each, and 3) the (s) of each.
Major Events of The Cold War The United Nations – The UN was established immediately following the war. Its main goals are to maintain peace throughout he world. The two main branches are: The General Assembly (each member state has a representative on the Assembly) and The Security Council (made up of 15 representatives, 5 of which are permanent (P-5 with „veto power‟), decides on matters of international security, military operations). NATO – The North Atlantic Treaty Organization was established by the countries aligned with the USA after WW II (1949). The Warsaw Pact – was established in 1955 by the countries aligned with the Soviet Union. It was set up to counter NATO. Berlin Blockade and Airlift – The Soviets (Stalin) blockaded the city of Berlin. Stalin shut off all land routes into the city. The Americans and the Brits flew provisions into Berlin for one year (13,000 tons of provisions per day). The Iron Curtain – Prime Minister Winston Churchill claimed that an “Iron Curtain” had descended across Europe. This was an imaginary line that divided the Communist Bloc countries from the Democratic Western European countries. The Truman Doctrine (containment) – To contain the spread of communism, President Harry Trueman promised American money and military power to any country that requested it. The Doctrine was implemented for the first time in Greece in 1947.
The Marshall Plan – This was Secretary of State George Marshall‟s plan to offer American cash to countries of Europe to rebuild after WW II. The Korean War (1950) – After WW II the USSR left a communist government in the north of Korea. The Americans had left a democratic government in the south. In 1950, the north (supported by China, also communist) invaded the south. A three year war ensued in which Canadians were involved. 2,500 Canadians were killed during the war. An armistice was signed at the 38th parallel in 1953. The Hydrogen Bomb (1952) – The Americans blew up an entire island in the Pacific with the new bomb, many times more powerful than the ABomb. Nuclear proliferation begins. The Hungarian Uprising and Polish Uprisings (1956) – The Poles had some success in reforming their government (farmers could keep their land, etc.). The new leader of the USSR, Nikita Krushchev, was a little less severe than Stalin who died in 1953. The Hungarians were encouraged by the reforms in Poland. The new leader of Hungary, Imre Nagy, said that the Hungarians would no longer take orders from the USSR. The USSR responded by sending in their tanks and killing thousands of Hungarians. Sputnik (1957) – The USSR launched the first satellite into space. The Americans were very concerned about the rocket used. If it had the power to send a satellite into space, it could send a nuclear bomb towards them.
The U-2 Incident (1960) – Kruschev had begun to talk about “peaceful co-existence”. President Dwight Eisenhower and Kruschev had decided to meet in Paris to discuss warmer relations. Before the meeting, a U-2 spy plane had crashed in Russia (Pilot Gary Power). Kruschev called off the meeting. The Berlin Wall (1961) – The wall was constructed to stop Germans from freely leaving communist Germany. Fidel Castro, Che Guevera and Cuba – Castro and Guevera were communist revolutionaries. They wanted to take control back from the American corporations, American mafia and Cuban elites controlling the country. They succeeded. Cuba is still communist today and Castro is still its leader. The Bay of Pigs Invasion (1961) –John F. Kennedy, the new US President, and the CIA organized a small army of anti-Castro Cubans to take the country back from Castro. The plan was a disaster for the Americans. Castro easily defeated the army. The Cuban Missile Crisis (1962) – In October, a U-2 spy plane took photos of nuclear missile sites on the island of Cuba. From this distance Kruschev could launch missiles at the major cities on the east coast. Instead of attacking right away, Kennedy decided to “blockade” or “quarantine” Cuba. He ordered 156 missiles to be directed at the USSR. Al l Soviet ships on their way to Cuba were to be stopped. The Soviets and the Americans were “eyeball to eyeball” for 10 days. The Soviets (Kruschev) blinked.
The Prague Spring (1968) – Alexander Dubcek became the leader of Czechoslovakia. He reformed the government (more democratic). The USSR sent in it‟s military killing Czechs and putting Dubcek in prison. ICBM‟s – Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles The Vietnam War and the Domino Theory – Before WWII France controlled Vietnam (colony). During the war, Japan took Vietnam and occupied it. After WW II, France tried to retake it however, the Vietnamese had a new sense of nationalism. The USA assisted France with big bucks $$$ because the Vietnamese leader, Ho Chi Minh, was a communist. In 1954, the French left the country. The Americans continued to assist the south. The north was communist. Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson and Nixon all continued to try and defeat the communists. Thousands of American casualties and public opinion against the war finally convinced the Americans to pull out in 1973. The war ended in 1975. Vietnam is communist today. Détente (1963 and on ….) – A series of treaties began to thaw relations ( get it? thaw relations….Cold War…?). 1. The Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (1963) – “Hot line” established between Moscow and Washington) 2. SALT (1972) – Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty 3. The Helsinki Agreement (1975) – Western leaders officially recognized communist borders in Europe. The Soviets became signatories to The UN Declaration of Human Rights (John P. Humphrey), Hampton, 1905-1995). 4. American-Chinese Détente (1970) – Mao Zedong and Nixon cooled off by staging table tennis tournaments between their countries (Forest Gump?)
The Soviets in Afghanistan (1979) – The USSR invaded Afghanistan to exploit its resources. Historians refer to this period as the Soviets‟ “Vietnam”. START (1982) – Strategic Arms Reduction Talks – between the Soviets and the Americans. STAR WARS (1983) – This was President Ronald Regan‟s idea to create a missile defense system that would be controlled by satellites in space and would have missiles fired from space. Mikhail Gorbachev (1985) – When he became leader of he USSR, his reforms (moving toward more democracy, freedoms) little by little deconstructed the communist regime. His policies were Glastnost (economic reforms) and Perestroika (openness to the west). The Berlin Wall is Taken Down (1989) – There was a new sense that protests for democratic reform in the communist countries would not be met with brutal repression under Gorbachev. More and more protests occurred in the communist countries. A momentum built up that could not be stopped. Eventually this led to the tearing down of the wall and to the fall of communism in Russia. 1990 – A New World Order ( one superpower!)