Transcript Foreign Policy After the Cold War Powerpoint Notes

FOREIGN POLICY AFTER
THE COLD WAR
MR. WHITE’S US HISTORY 2
MAIN IDEA AND OBJECTIVES
• Main Idea: The end of the Cold War, marked by the
breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991, led to a
redirection of many U.S. goals and policies.
• After this section, we should be able to:
– Identify changes in the communist world that ended the
Cold War
– Summarize U.S. actions taken to influence Central American
and Caribbean affairs
– Describe the events leading up to the Iran-Contra scandal
– Analyze U.S. involvement in the Persian Gulf War
PART I: THE COLD WAR ENDS
THE SOVIET UNION COLLAPSED, AND MANY OTHER
COMMUNIST REGIMES DECLINED.
MIKHAIL GORBACHEV
• In March of 1985, Mikhail Gorbachev became the
general secretary of the Communist Party in the
Soviet Union
• Gorbachev inherited a Soviet economy that was
struggling to keep up with the United States
• Reagan had increased defense spending to put a further
strain that the Soviet’s couldn’t keep up with
• Economy was close to collapse
GLASNOST
• Gorbachev adopted a policy of glasnost (Russian for
openness)
• Allowed open criticisms of the Soviet government, worked to
give freedom of the press
• Gorbachev also introduced perestroika, his plan for
restructuring Soviet society
• Less government control of the economy, more private
enterprise, steps toward democracy
• Gorbachev also realized that better relations with the
U.S. would allow Soviet Union to reduce military expenses
• INF Treaty (Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty) signed
on December 8, 1987 – eliminated two classes of nuclear
weapons and allowed both sides to make on-site inspections
of each other’s nuclear facilities
THE SOVIET UNION COLLAPSES
• The reforms that Gorbachev had introduced
encouraged nationalism and independence
movements in the non-Russian Soviet states
• In December, 1991, 14 non-Russian republics
declared independence from the Soviet Union
• Criticized by reformers who thought he was working
too slowly, Gorbachev resigned as Soviet president
• The Soviet Union dissolved, almost overnight
THE COMMONWEALTH OF
INDEPENDENT STATES
• Many of the nations that had been a part of the
Soviet Union formed the Commonwealth of
Independent States
• This was a loose collection of nations that would share
certain interests like economics, politics, and security
• Russia’s new president, Boris Yeltsin, soon signed the
START II Treaty with President George H. W. Bush
• This treaty was designed to cut both nation’s nuclear
arsenals by two-thirds
THE BERLIN WALL
• Before he resigned, Gorbachev had encouraged
the people of East Germany and Eastern Europe to
go their own ways
• He reduced the number of Soviet troops in Eastern Europe,
and allowed non-communist parties to organize in Soviet
satellite nations, such as Poland and East Germany
• At the Berlin Wall in 1987, President Reagan had
encouraged Gorbachev to, “tear down this wall.”
GERMANY RE-UNIFIED
• In October, 1989, East Germany gave up its
communist government
• November 9, 1989 – East Germany opened the
Berlin Wall, re-uniting the eastern and western parts
of the city
• In early 1990, East Germany held its first free
elections
• October 3, 1990 – East and West Germany reunited
into the nation of Germany
NEW REFORMS, NEW ISSUES
• Other European nations also adopted new reforms
• Latvia, Estonia, and Lithuania declared their independence
from the Soviet Union
• Hungary, Bulgaria, and Romania gave up communism
• Yugoslavia collapsed – four of its republics seceded
• Ethnic rivalries took over in a war between Muslims,
Orthodox Serbs, and Roman Catholic Croats – each
claimed part of Yugoslavia
CHINESE REFORM
• Economic reform had also begun in in China, which
was still communist
• China loosened its grip on business and eliminated
some price controls
• Free-market reforms – when command economies
introduce measures to bring freedom to the market
• Chinese students began to demand more
freedoms with this growing economic freedom
STUDENT PROTESTS
• April, 1989 – Chinese university students led marches
that quickly grew into large demonstrations in
Beijing’s Tiananmen Square and other cities
• In Tiananmen Square, students constructed a
replica of the Statue of Liberty to symbolize their
struggle for democracy
• China’s premier, Li Peng, had the military crush the
protesters
TIANANMEN SQUARE
• China’s army stormed into the square and fired into
the crowds, killing many unarmed students
• Some civilians had earlier had attacked soldiers in
armored-personnel carriers and tanks
• While the protest was ended, some Chinese officials
and civilians believed that this event made many
people lose faith in the government
PART II: CENTRAL AMERICAN
AND CARIBBEAN POLICY
THE UNITED STATES USED ITS ECONOMIC, POLITICAL, AND MILITARY POW ER TO
INTERVENE AND INFLUENCE NATIONS IN CENTRAL AMERICA AND THE
CARIBBEAN.
NICARAGUA
• The U.S. had been in Nicaragua since 1912 – helped
the dictator Anastasio Somoza come to power
• The Somozas ruled Nicaragua for 42 years
• Rigged elections
• Assassinated political rivals
• Between 1977 and 1979, Nicaragua underwent a
civil war between the Somoza government and
Sandinista rebels who opposed the government
REAGAN SUPPORTS THE CONTRAS
• The Sandinistas toppled the government
• Jimmy Carter recognized the new government and sent economic
aid
• The Soviet Union and Cuba sent aid, as well
• When Reagan took power, he charged that Nicaragua was a
Soviet satellite, and that it was “exporting revolution” to other
Central American countries
• Threw his support behind guerilla forces opposing the Sandinistas
known as Contras
• Military aid and CIA advisers were sent to the Contras, without
Congressional approval
• Congress responded by banning any military aid to the
Contras, but Reagan’s administration found ways around this
• Free elections in 1990 elected Violeta de Chamorro, a Contra
supporter, but his coalition wasn’t able to solve the problems
of Nicaragua
GRENADA
• In Grenada, an island near Cuba, the government
was developing ties to communist Cuba
• Ronald Reagan sent around 2,000 U.S. troops to the
island in 1983
• The troops overthrew the pro-Cuban government
and replaced it with one friendlier to the U.S.
• Eighteen U.S. soldiers died, but Reagan defended
this as important to the interests of the United States
PANAMA
• In 1989, President Bush sent around 20,000 U.S.
troops into Panama to apprehend General Manuel
Noriega
• Noriega had been receiving money from the CIA, as he
opposed communist governments, but was also involved in
the international drug trade
• Noriega was brought to the United States to stand
trial, and was sentence to 40 years in prison
• Some Latin American governments criticized this
“Yankee imperialism,” but many were happy that
Noriega had been removed from power
PART III: MIDDLE EAST TROUBLE
SPOTS
A S THE COLD WA R ENDED, THE UNI TED STATES BEGAN TO
SHIFT ITS POLITICAL ATTENTION TO THE MIDDLE EAST.
HOSTAGES
• In 1983, terrorist groups loyal to Iran took Americans
hostage in Lebanon
• Reagan denounced Iran and urged U.S. allies not to sell
arms to Iran (which was at war with Iraq)
• 1985 – “America will never make concessions to terrorists.”
IRAN-CONTRA AFFAIR
• Later, however, Americans learned:
• Reagan had approved the sale of weapons to Iran; in
return, Iran promised to get seven American hostages
released in Lebanon
• Members of Reagan’s staff had sent profits from the
weapons sales to the Contras in Nicaragua, which was in
violation of the Boland Amendment, which made this
against the law
• Reagan defended his actions as necessary, and
was shocked at the negative reaction
• Reagan administration staff members went on trial,
and many, such as Lieutenant General Oliver North,
received penalties for their roles
IRAN AND IRAQ
• During the 1980s, Iran and Iraq had fought a long
war
• Iraqi President Saddam Hussein had huge war debts
• Hussein had often claimed that Kuwait was actually
part of Iraq
• August 2, 1990 – Iraqi troops invaded a disputed
area claimed by Kuwait, then turned toward Saudi
Arabia and its oil fields
• If Iraq took Saudi Arabia, it would control one-half of
the world’s known oil reserves
OPERATION DESERT STORM
• For several months, President Bush and Secretary of
State James Baker organized an international
coalition against Iraqi aggression
• With the support of the United Nations and
Congress, Bush launched Operation Desert Storm to
liberate Kuwait from Iraqi occupation
• January 16, 1991 – U.S. launched a massive air assault
against Iraq
• February 23, 1991 – Coalition forces launched a ground
offensive from Saudi Arabia into Kuwait
• February 28, 1991 – Cease-fire was announced
• Kuwait had been liberated from Iraqi occupation
VICTORY
• Americans turned out in large numbers for the
victory parades that followed this successful war
• This war had a different outcome from the U.S.’s last major
war, Vietnam
• Only 400 coalition force casualties
• Iraq suffered an estimated 100,000 military and
civilian deaths
• A trade embargo following the war resulted in the
deaths of many Iraqis from preventable diseases
such as cholera, typhoid, and others
ELECTION OF 1992
• Although Bush was very successful on the
international stage, he was not as successful at
home
• Rising government deficits and a recession starting in 1990
made re-election difficult
• Bush raised taxes, and broke his original campaign pledge
of “no new taxes.”
• The weak economy, plus the tax hike, made Bush’s
re-election very difficult
MAIN IDEA AND OBJECTIVES
• Main Idea: The end of the Cold War, marked by the
breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991, led to a
redirection of many U.S. goals and policies.
• After this section, we should be able to:
– Identify changes in the communist world that ended the
Cold War
– Summarize U.S. actions taken to influence Central American
and Caribbean affairs
– Describe the events leading up to the Iran-Contra scandal
– Analyze U.S. involvement in the Persian Gulf War
WRAP-UP
• So…
• One of the changes that
occurred with the end of the
Cold War was…
• One of the ways that the United
States tried to influence Central
America and the Caribbean was
that…