Transcript The End of the Cold War

Brian Mulroney
• Eighteenth Prime Minister
of Canada from
September 17, 1984, to
June 25, 1993.
• Leader of the
Progressive Conservative
Party of Canada from
1983 to 1993.
• After retiring from politics,
Mulroney resumed his
earlier career as a lawyer
and business consultant.
The Mulroney Era: Closer
Ties with the United States
• opposite approach from Trudeau– he worked to
make closer bonds with the US, became friendly
with Reagan and opened up Canada for foreign
investment
• Canada, as a NORAD partner, was also asked to
be part of the American Star Wars defence plan
that would put military defence satellites into
space.
• It would be very costly and it promoted militarism,
so after much controversy Mulroney said no, but
left the door open for Canadian companies to bid
on contracts in the project.
The Mulroney Era: Closer Ties with
the United States
• Mulroney dismantled Trudeau’s FIRA, the
Foreign Investment Review Agency,
designed to monitor unsuitable investment
in Canada by foreign companies.
• Mulroney replaced FIRA with Investment
Canada, an agency designed to encourage
suitable investment in Canada.
• Mulroney and the Conservatives initiated
NAFTA, the North American Free Trade
Agreement, with the U.S.A. to remove
tariffs on goods crossing the CanadianU.S. border.
Possible PROS and CONS of NAFTA
• It was hoped that Canada would attract
more business from south of the border
and have access to the larger American
market.
• Canadian businesses feared the potential
competition from bigger, more multinational American businesses.
• Some feared that Canadian businesses
would move farther south into Mexico
where labour was cheaper and antipollution laws are less stringent.
The End of the Cold
War and the New
World Order
Ch. 6
The End of the Cold War
• 1980s: major changes in USSR
– New leader Mikhail Gorbachev
– Proposes reduction in the militaries of
superpowers – too expensive
– Perestroika (reconstruction)
• Political and economic changes
– Glasnost (openness)
• Governmental transparency, greater
freedom of speech
• Censorship was loosened and greater freedom of speech
was allowed.
• East Germans, Czechs, Poles, Hungarians, and Romanians
demanded similar reforms.
Mikhail Gorbachev
• Was the last General Secretary
of the Communist Party of the
Soviet Union and the last head
of state of the USSR, serving
from 1985 until its collapse in
1991.
• His attempts at reform —
perestroika and glasnost — as
well as summit conferences
with United States President
Ronald Reagan, contributed to
the end of the Cold War.
Mikhail Gorbachev
Mikhail Gorbachev
The End of the Cold War
• Other communist countries demand
similar changes
– Fall of the Berlin Wall
• Divided democratic west and communist
east Berlin
• Symbolized the separation of capitalist and
communist countries – “Iron Curtain”
• Torn down by citizens of Berlin in 1989
– China
• Allowed some economic reforms
• People wanted political reforms too, but
government quashed this in the Tiananmen
Square Massacre of 1989
– Several hundred protesters killed by Chinese
military
The Fall of the Berlin Wall
Tiananmen Square Protests
The Massacre
The Tank Man
The End of the Cold War
• Fall of the Soviet Union
– 1991: Communist Party unable to hold
onto power
– Soviet Union (USSR) splits up into 15
different countries
– Russia and other former Soviet
Republics become democracies, hold
elections
– Cold War is over
The End of the Cold War
New World Order
• USA :The United Nations would take a
much more active role as a global police –
where necessary, it would use force to
punish aggression. (Under the guidance of
the U.S.)
• High hopes that an era of peace
would follow
– Wars continue (Yugoslavia, Middle East,
Africa…)
• Canada’s role as peacekeeper or
peacemaker continues
The Gulf War - “Operation
Desert Storm”
• In 1990, Iraqi troops invaded the oilrich country of Kuwait. How did the
U.N. react?
• Demanded withdrawal
• Threatened sanction
• Under U.S. lead, threatened force
then began bombing targets.
Somalia
• Country in East Africa
• 1991-1992: Somali Civil War leads to
chaos and starvation
• 1992: United Nations send in troops
to make Somalia safe for
humanitarian aid missions
– Canada contributes forces, including
Canadian Airborne Regiment (CAR)
Somalia
• 16 March 1993: Somali teenager,
possible thief, found by CAR soldiers
– Teen tortured and beaten to death by
several soldiers
• Took “trophy” photos
– Other soldiers and officers knew assault
was occurring, did nothing to stop it
• One officer reportedly said, "I don't care
what you do, just don't kill the guy“.
• Screams heard around the area
Somalia
• Aftermath
– 9 soldiers and officers charged
• 4 found guilty of charges ranging from
negligence to 2nd degree murder
• Main attacker attempted suicide, suffered
brain damage, unable to stand trial
– Politicians and high-ranking members of
the military attempted a cover-up
• Led to investigation, resignations
– Canadian Airborne Regiment disbanded
• Culture of racism in regiment
• Disturbing videos of hazing rituals surfaced
Rwanda
• Country in central Africa
• 1990-1993: Rwandan Civil War
– Conflict between two main ethnicities:
Hutu and Tutsi
• 1993: United Nations peacekeepers
sent in after ceasefire reached
– Led by Canadian General Roméo Dallaire
– Canadian troops also part of the mission
• 1994: Civil war resumes, genocide
begins
Gen. Roméo Dallaire
Rwanda
• Gen. Dallaire appeals to UN to send
more troops to stop growing genocide
– UN and USA refuse
– Dallaire had fewer than 300 UN soldiers,
unable to stop genocide
• In just 100 days, approx. 800,000
Rwandans killed, mostly Tutsis
• UN and USA eventually agree to send
more troops, but it was already too
late