Transcript united states foreign policy - Prof Kaminski`s readings Prof

UNITED STATES FOREIGN POLICY
The Cold War and Post-Cold War
Years: 1945 to today
First... Id like to Thank my menotor for
his help
Distinguished Prof. Dr Harry Targ
To Quote Dickens...
• It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of
wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the
epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of
Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had
everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct
to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way – in short, the period
was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities
insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative
degree of comparison only.
– The opening paragraph of the novel. The two cities referred to were London
and Paris during the turmoil of the French Revolution. For the oppressed
citizens of 18th-century France, the revolution’s proclamation of the rights of
man was indeed a “spring of hope.” But for those of the ancien régime, or the
outgoing political system, it was a “winter of despair,” leading to death and
destruction
Where We Are Today
Why the Worst of Times
• -Iraq War: predicted $ 1-$3Trillion price tag
• -Afghanistan War
• -Israeli violence against the Palestinian people
Where We Are Today 2
• -Hostility with Iran, North Korea, Russia
• -Rising mobilization economically and
politically of countries of the Global South
against the United States
• -Declining legitimacy of the United States as a
world power
• -Depression level domestic (and global
economic crisis)
Where We Are Today 3
• Why the Best of Times
• -New Administration representing a substantially (but not
radically) different foreign policy vision and promised practice
• -President Obama promises to use diplomacy as a tool to
achieve US goals (not just military)
• -President Obama has promised to meet with (through
diplomatic channels) Iran, Cuba, Israel and representatives of
the Palestinian peoples
• -Declared opposition to the use of torture
• -elected by a coalition of peace activists who have demanded
a much more multilateral, diplomatic approach to
international relations
The United States Role in the International
System
• The U.S. as a Rising Power: 1890s to 1945
• The U.S. as the Hegemonic Power: 1945 to 1968
• Challenges to U.S. Power and Decline in Relative Power: 1968-1979
• Drive to Recreate U.S. Global Hegemony, Cold War II 1979 to 1991
• The U.S. as “the Last Remaining Superpower” in the Post Cold War Era:
1991 to 2001
• The U.S. in a Post-9/11 International system: 2001 on
Hegemony?
•
Hegemony was a term previously used by Marxists such as Vladimir Lenin to
denote the political leadership of the working-class in a democratic revolution.
Gramsci greatly expanded this concept, developing an acute analysis of how the
ruling capitalist class – the bourgeoisie – establishes and maintains its control
•
Gramsci stated that bourgeois cultural values were tied to folklore, popular culture
and religion, and therefore much of his analysis of hegemonic culture is aimed at
these. He was also impressed by the influence Roman Catholicism had and the
care the Church had taken to prevent an excessive gap developing between the
religion of the learned and that of the less educated. Gramsci saw Marxism as a
marriage of the purely intellectual critique of religion found in Renaissance
humanism and the elements of the Reformation that had appealed to the masses.
•
For Gramsci, Marxism could supersede religion only if it met people's spiritual
needs, and to do so people would have to think of it as an expression of their own
experience
While Europe was in debt and in
ruins...
• At the conclusion of World War II, America
was on a high. In all the world only the United
States had a healthy economy, an intact
physical plant capable of mass production of
goods, and excess capital.
Understanding the Cold War
•
Who is Responsible for the Cold War?
•
Why Did the Cold War Occur?
•
Explanations:
•
---Traditionalists: Soviet Union because of ideology; or Soviet Union because of
pursuit of raw power
•
---Realists: Both the Soviet Union and the U.S. because of misperceptions; or
Both the Soviet Union and the U.S. because each sought more power
•
---Revisionists: United States because of its pursuit of investments, trade, cheap
labor, resources; ie. the needs of capitalism
It Matters Because
•
Whether the past helps us to understand the present is an important question
•
Whether U.S. foreign policy is motivated by virtue, power, or material interest needs to be
determined
•
Whether U.S. policy is determined by security needs or building an empire needs to be
determined
•
Whether concern about “terrorism” is vital to U.S. policy or the new enemy replacing the
demonic force of “communism;” Does the U.S. need demonic enemies to build foreign
policy consensus
•
Whether the American people have been lied to in the past and present by their leaders is
a critical question
•
Whether U.S. foreign policy during the Cold War was/is wise and justified needs to be
assessed
Realism… what is it in IR theory
• Power: the ability to influence others
• Irrelevance of morality and ethics and law
– Mearsheimer, Walt, Waltz, Morgantheau, Carr,
Kissenger
• Irrelevance of domestic political systems
• Why is power the only thing that matters?
– Human nature
– Anarchic world: no rules
Realism II
• All nations are self-reliant
• To preserve peace use Balance of Power
– US vs. USSR in Cold War
– US—China—Japan in East Asia
• Unipolarity cannot last
– Nations will balance against US power
The Cold War Balance of Power
1945-1990
Israel
Ethiopia
Taiwan
S. Korea
S. Viet Nam
W. Berlin
W. Germany
Syria/Egypt
Somalia
China
N. Korea
N. Viet Nam
E. Berlin
E. Germany
Britain/France/Japan
US
Poland/Czech
USSR
Unipolar World
EU
Japan
Russia
China
India
US
Constructivism, as an approach to
International Relations
• Nation-states are not all alike
• Political culture shapes foreign policy
– Wendt, Ruggie, Ann Marie Clark, Finnemore,
Sikkink
• Form of government shapes foreign policy
• History shapes foreign policy
• Domestic political trends and debates shape
foreign policy
Constructivism II
• States have identity
• State identity influences the way states
interact with each other
• Examples:
– China sensitivity to any policies of other states
that threaten its unity and sovereignty
– US desire to transform the world
Competing Interpretations of the Cold War
• The Cold War- “A situation of intense hostilities between
two or more nations that would have led to violence except
for “extenuating” circumstances (i.e. the existence of nuclear
weapons)
• Cold War played out via
•
•
•
•
Confrontational diplomacy
Threats and counter-threats
An arms race
Wars, usually on the periphery of territory of two super
powers; in the Global South
The Bipolar World 1945 to 1989
• Two Superpowers, the United States and the former
Soviet Union
• Each the head of an alliance system
• United States and the North Atlantic Treaty
Organization (including Great Britain, France, West
Germany, Italy, Canada and others)
• The Soviet Union in alliance with East Germany,
Poland, Hungary, the former Czechoslovakia,
Rumania, and Bulgaria
Competing Interpretations of the Cold War
• Foreign Policies can be characterized as consolidationist (or defensive),
expansionist (or opportunistic), or destructionist (out to destroy its
enemies)
• Soviet Union
•
•
•
•
•
•
United States
Destructionist Consolidationist
Expansionist
Consolidationist
Consolidationist Consolidationist
Expansionist
Expansionist
Consolidationist Expansionist
Consolidationist Destructionist
• Collapsed categories: Traditionalists, Realists, Revisionists
Economic Foundations of the Cold War 1
*The global economy in 1945
-former Soviet Union devastated-27 million died in
World War II
-Western Europe destroyed-societies rent asunder
-US economy grows dramatically from the
Depression era to post-World War II period
~1945 US has ¾ of world’s invested capital
~1945 US has 2/3 of world’s industrial
capacity
~US trade by 1947 four times 1938
Economic Foundations of the Cold War 2
• *US most influential in establishing the post-war
economic order:
~ the Bretton Woods institutions: the International Monetary
Fund and the World Bank
~the trading system: The General Agreements on Trade and
Tariffs (GATT)-became the World Trade Organization in
1995
~the US established the first large foreign assistance
program, the Marshall Plan to aid non-Communist Europe
for humanitarian AND political reasons (to solve the socalled “dollar gap”)
Economic Foundations of the Cold War 3
*Rise to prominence of Multinational
Corporations (MNCs) and International
Financial Institutions (banks and investment
houses)
~by 2000, among the hundred largest
economic institutions in the world, 50
are MNCs; 50 are countries
20th Century Background to the Cold War:1
•
•
•
•
World War I
Great Britain declining power: US rising power
The Russian Revolution
Western Powers and Japan send troops to
Russia to overthrow new regime
• Rise of fascism in Europe, Japan
• Japan invades China: 1931, 1937
20th Century Background to the Cold War:
2
•
•
•
•
•
•
Munich Agreement: “Peace in Our Time”
German/Soviet Pact 8/39
German invasion of Poland
Germany invades the Soviet Union
US launches oil embargo against Japan, summer 1941
Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor: December 7, 1941-US
declares war
• US, Great Britain, Soviet Union form an “unnatural alliance” to
win World War 2
• Last collaborative conference of “big three” before the war
ends; Yalta Conference, February, 1945
• Cold War hostilities resume: Spring, 1945
Foundations of the Cold War 1945-1946;I
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Last Wartime Cooperation: Yalta Conference-February, 1945
Tensions over Poland April-June, 1945
Post-War Potsdam Conference: July, 1945
Atomic Bombs Dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki
Harry Truman, January, 1946: “I’m tired of babying the Soviets
George Kennan’s “Long Telegram”
Winston Churchill’s “Iron Curtain” speech
Post war strikes over wages, price controls, rights of workersspring, 1946
Foundations of the Cold War: 1946-1948, 2
• Two International Crises: Iran and Greek Civil War
• Truman Speech on International Economics: Baylor University, March 6,
1947 supports “free trade”; “foreign policy and economics “indivisible”
• Truman Doctrine Speech, March 13, 1947 on the “struggle against
international communism”
• George Kennan’s Mr. X article on “containment”
• Marshall Plan proposed
• Taft-Hartley anti-labor legislation passed congress
Memorandum by the Director of the Policy Planning Staff (Kennan)
to the Secretary of State and the Under Secretary of State (Lovett)
[PPS23]
TOP SECRET
[WASHINGTON,] February 24, 1948.
When Mr. Acheson first spoke to me about the Planning Staff, he said that he thought its most important
function would be to try to trace the lines of development of our foreign policy as they emerged from our
actions in the past, and to project them into the future, so that we could see where we were going.
During the first months of the operation of the Staff, I hesitated to undertake any such effort, because I did
not feel that any of us had a broad enough view of the problems involved to lend real value to our
estimate.
I have now made an effort toward a general view of the main problems of our foreign policy, and I enclose
it as a Staff paper. It is far from comprehensive and doubtless contains many defects; but it is a first step
toward the unified concept of foreign policy which I hope this Staff can someday help to evolve.
The paper is submitted merely for information, and does not call for approval. I made no effort to clear it
around the Department, since this would have changed its whole character. For this reason, I feel that if
any of the views expressed should be made the basis for action in the Department, the views of the offices
concerned should first be consulted.
This document should properly have included a chapter on Latin America. I have not included such a
chapter because I am not familiar with the problems of the area, and the Staff has not yet studied them.
Butler, who is taking over for me in my absence, has had long experience with these problems and I hope
that while I am away he and the Staff will be able to work up some recommendations for basic policy
objectives with regard to the Latin American countries.
GEORGE F. KENNAN
The Marshall Plan and American
Capitalism
• In Europe, the Marshall plan was a giant boom
for American capitalists.
– According to Chomsky, “The Marshall Plan "set the stage for large
amounts of private U.S. direct investment in Europe," Reagan's
Commerce Department observed in 1984, laying the groundwork for
the Transnational Corporations (TNCs) that increasingly dominate the
world economy. TNCs were "the economic expression" of the
"political framework" established by postwar planners, Business Week
observed in 1975, lamenting the apparent decline of the golden age of
state intervention in which "American business prospered and
expanded on overseas orders,...fueled initially by the dollars of the
Marshall Plan" and protected from "negative developments" by "the
umbrella of American power.”
Noam Chomsky Response in 2013
•
•
•
•
•
PPS 23 was one of a series of policy statements produced under Kennan's direction by his
Policy Planning Staff. The general idea was that the industrial societies should be
reconstructed, but within the framework of world order that the US would administer. Other
parts of the world were assigned particular "functions" within this system.
Thus Africa was to be "exploited" (Kennan's phrase, in PPS 23) for the reconstruction of
Europe,
Southeast Asia would "fulfill its major function as a source of raw materials for Japan and
Western Europe", etc.
Of course the industrial world had to be reconstructed. The primary reason was the "dollar
gap." The US had a huge manufacturing surplus, and the only countries that could serve as
markets and targets for investment were the industrial societies -- that's aside from the
obvious geostrategic concerns about world domination.
Triangular trade relations were therefore established linking the US, Europe, Japan, and their
former colonies -- for Japan, as Kennan put it, the US must provide it with "an empire toward
the South" -- in other words, its "New Order in Asia," but now under US control. That was
the motivating factor for the Indochina wars, from 1950, after the "loss of China".
Foundations of the Cold War: 1948-1950, 3
• Czechoslovakian Communists take power:
Congress passes Marshall Plan legislation
• Berlin Blockade and Airlift: June, 1948-49
• Harry Truman wins reelection: anti-Cold War
3rd party candidate soundly defeated
• NATO formed 1949
• Soviet Union detonates its first atomic bomb,
August, 1949
Foundations of the Cold War:
1949-50, 4
• Chinese Communists victorious in long civil warOctober, 1949
• Paul Nitze and Dean Acheson draft and distribute
National Security Council # 68 (NSC 68) calling for
dramatic increase in military spending-military
spending, they say should be number one priority
• Senator Joseph McCarthy in Lincoln Day speech,
February, 1950 claims 205 “Communists” in the State
Department
• Korean War starts-June 25, 1950
The Cold War in Asia;1
• The Cold War started in Europe
• Democrats more “Europe-oriented”;
Republicans more “Asia-Firsters”
• Three States critical to the rise in the Cold War
in Asia
– China
– Japan
– Korea
The Cold War in Asia: 2
• China
– Controlled by European powers 1890s-1920s
– Rise of Chinese nationalism (KMT); Chiang KaiShek (Jiang Jieshe) its leader
– Emergence of Chinese Communist Party led by
Mao Zedong in the 1920s
– After brief merger of KMT, CP a split in 1927; KMT
try to physically exterminate the Communists
The Cold War in Asia:3
– Chinese civil war begins
– Temporary truces between KMT and Communists in late
1930s after Japanese attack and during World War ll
– KMT represents the wealthy; CP the peasants
– During World War ll US envoys first condemn Chiang than
praise him; “China hands” critical
– After World War ll, civil war resumes
– China “falls” to Communism in October, 1949
– KMT flees to Formosan Islands, create Taiwan regime
– Senator Joseph McCarthy( 1950) accuses Truman of letting
China “fall” to Communism
The Cold War in Asia:4
• Japan
– General Douglas MacArthur occupying dictator of
post-war Japan
– Japanese economy, polity, culture remade
– After Chinese revolution, Japan seen by U.S. as
capitalist bastion in Asia
– Soviet Union and China fear any rebuilding and
remilitarization of Japan
– Kennan warns of threats in Asia if U.S. continues
to support Japanese reconstruction
The Cold War in Asia: 5
• Korea-Colony of Japan 1910-1945
– Split at 38th parallel “temporarily
– U.S. resists autonomous movements in South;
selects anti-Communist wealthy politician to rule
South Korea (Sygman Rhee)
– Soviets establish Communist government in the
North led by Kim-Il-Sung
– Soviets, then U.S. withdraw troops, 1948,1949
The Cold War in Asia:6
– Sygman Rhee threatens to “go North” to “liberate” the
Communist north: Kim-Il-Sung makes similar threats to go
South
– Secretary of State Dean Acheson (January 1950) says
Korean Peninsula not part of U.S. security zone
– Sygman Rhee looses a parliamentary election in May after
visit from Republican leader John Foster Dulles. They meet
with General MacArthur in Toyko
– Shooting across the 38th parallel both ways continue
The Cold War in Asia:7
• The Korean War:
– North Korean troops invade South, June 25, 1950
– UN Security Council condemns breach of peace;
General Assembly creates a UN force to defeat
invaders below 38th parallel
– General MacArthur, head of UN force, attacks
North Korean troops in the South and by
September, 1950 North Koreans defeated in the
South
The Cold War in Asia 8
– Truman decides to invade North Korea
– Chinese enter the war as UN troops approach Yalu River
bordering China
– U.S./South Korean/ UN forces battle Chinese and North
Korean forces to stalemate from the winter 1951 to
armistice in June, 1953
– McArthur fired by Truman in spring, 1951 after he called
for attacking China and using atomic weapons
– Truman chooses “limited war” strategy to avoid direct
U.S./Soviet confrontation
The Cold War in Asia: 9
• Republicans criticize “limited war” strategy;
Eisenhower elected president saying “I will go to
Korea.”
• Criticisms from revisionists
• Impacts of war on long-term U.S foreign policy
–
–
–
–
U.S. economy
U.S. defense spending and NSC 68
making U.S. Cold War policy permanent
Korean War institutionalizes, militarizes, globalizes Cold
War
– The Korean people
Impacts of Korean War: 1
• U.S. Military Budgets
– End of World War ll-$80 b; 84% of federal budget;
37% of GNP
– Late 1940s-$12 B;30% of federal budget; 4.6% of
GNP
– 1950s-about $40 b; 55% of federal budget; about
11% of GNP
Impacts of Korean War: 2
• U.S. Industrial Production Index: 1930s=100
– 1945:203 END OF WAR
– 1946:170 BEFORE TRUMAN DOCTRINE
– 1947:187
– 1948:192 MARSHALL PLAN APPROPRIATED
– 1949:176BEFORE KOREAN WAR
– 1950;200 AFTER KOREAN WAR STARTS
Impacts of the Korean War
•
•
•
•
Three long term consequences:
1)institutionalized the Cold War policy
2)Globalized the Cold War policy
3)Militarized the Cold War policy
• Korea done… Next stop… Iran!
The CIA Coup: Iran,
1953
Link Between the Cold War
and the War on Terrorism
US Response to Basic Reforms
• “When Mossadegh [moh-sahdek] and Persia started basic
reforms, we became alarmed,
we united with the British to
destroy him; we succeeded;
and ever since, our name has
not been an honored one in
the Middle East.”
- Supreme Court Justice William O. Douglas
US Intervention
• In 1953, the United
States government
along with the British
government
overthrew a
democratically elected
leader in Iran .
Serious Repercussions
• This overthrow of Iran's
Prime Minister
Mohammad Mossadegh
had serious
repercussions for the
future of Western
relations in the Middle
East.
Self-Serving Motives
• The Western
motivations for the
overthrow of the
Mossadegh
government were
self-serving.
Western Objectives
• Four major objectives led to Western intervention in
the Iranian political system:
• To contain Communism and prevent Iran from
falling to Communism,
• To protect Western interests in Iranian oil,
• To reverse the nationalization of the oil industry
by the Iranian government, and
• To prevent a possible economic collapse in Iran.
Iranian Cast of Characters
• These Iranian characters played a vital role in the coup
d'etat:
• The Shah of Iran,
Mohammad Reza Pahlavi
[pah-la-vee]. came to power
in 1941. According to the
CIA, his cooperation was vital
to the success of the
coup. However, he had
"shown himself to be a man
of indecision."
Iranian Cast of Characters
• Mohammad Mossadegh was
an ardent nationalist elected to
the Majlis (Iranian parliament)
in 1944. When the Majlis
voted to seize control of the
British-owned and operated
Anglo-Iranian Oil Company in
1951, he was named as the
new prime minister.
Iranian Cast of Characters
• General Fazlollah Zahedi,
the son of a wealthy
landowner, was elevated to
the rank of general in the
Iranian army at the age of
25. He led the military coup
in 1953, in cooperation with
the CIA, and succeeded
Mossadegh as prime
minister.
Iranian Cast of Characters
• Asadollah Rashidian and his
two brothers (Seyfollah and
Qodratollah) had important
contacts in Iranian society
(including the armed forces,
the Majlis, and the press).
They helped the CIA during
the coup and were a
communication link to the
Shah after the coup.
Iranian Cast of Characters
• Ayatollah Abd al-Qasem Kashani
was an anti-British religious
leader. His position in Iranian
society can be compared to that
of Ayatollah Khomeini 25 years
later. He accused Mossadegh of
being pro-British and said, "If
Mossadegh yields [to the
British], his blood will flow...."
•
American
Cast
of
Characters
These Americans were key players in the 1953
Iranian coup:
• Kermit Roosevelt, the
grandson of Theodore
Roosevelt, was the CIA
agent in charge of
Operation Ajax (the CIA
name for the coup).
American Cast of Characters
• Averell Harriman served as
ambassador to both
London and Moscow. He
had no special knowledge
of Iran , although he had
visited there during World
War II and had met the
Shah.
American Cast of Characters
• John Foster Dulles was
Eisenhower's Secretary of
State. He was an avid anticommunist, and saw the
Iranian coup as a way to
stop the spread of Soviet
Communism. He was also
one of the pioneers of
brinkmanship.
American Cast of Characters
• Allen Dulles, John Foster's
brother, was the CIA Director
during the coup. He was the
first civilian director of the CIA
and just as intent as his brother
in stopping the spread of
communism and liberating
those behind the Iron Curtain.
•
Iranian
Political
System
The Iranian political system in
1953 was not entirely
democratic. The Majlis
(parliament) had to share
power with the
monarch. While some
members were elected by
the people, others were
appointed by the Shah. In
addition, the Shah held the
right to dismiss the prime
minister.
Movement to Nationalize Oil Industry
• Starting in 1949, the movement to
nationalize Iran 's oil industry
grew. Under the First
Development Plan, Iranian
politicians hoped to accelerate
economic growth by incorporating
the latest technology. The finances
needed to implement the plan
would come from oil revenues.
Anglo-Iranian Oil Company
• In November 1950, a Majlis
committee, headed by
Mossadegh, rejected a draft
agreement from the AngloIranian Oil Company (AIOC). The
company had offered the Iranian
government slightly improved
terms from their previous
contract, but nowhere near the
fifty-fifty profits they anticipated.
Nationalization
• On March 15, 1951, the
Majlis, led by Mossadegh,
voted to nationalize the oil
industry. The Shah
acquiesced to the Majlis'
pressure and
demonstrations in the
streets by naming
Mossadegh prime minister
in April.
Political Chaos
• As Mossadegh's power and
popularity grew, so did
political chaos. The friction
between the Shah and the
prime minister was
heightened by Mossadegh's
unwillingness to change his
position on the oil issue. This
chaos led to intervention by
the United States.
CIA Secret History
• The CIA’s secret history of its
covert operation to
overthrow Iran's
government in 1953 details
how US and British officials
plotted the military coup
that returned the shah of
Iran to power and toppled
Iran's elected prime minister,
an ardent nationalist.
British Plan
• The document shows that
Britain, fearful of Iran's
plans to nationalize its oil
industry, came up with the
idea for the coup in 1952
and pressed the United
States to mount a joint
operation to remove the
prime minister.
Handpicked Successor
• The CIA and SIS, handpicked
General Fazlollah Zahedi to
succeed Prime Minister
Mohammed Mossadegh and
covertly funneled $5 million to
General Zahedi's regime two
days after the coup prevailed.
Iranians Posed as Communists
• Iranians working for the CIA
and posing as Communists
harassed religious leaders
and staged the bombing of
one cleric's home in a
campaign to turn the
country's Islamic religious
community against
Mossadegh's government.
Operation in Jeopardy
• The shah's cowardice
nearly killed the CIA
operation. Fearful of
risking his throne, the
Shah repeatedly
refused to sign CIAwritten royal decrees
to change the
government.
Intermediaries
• The agency arranged for
Princess Ashraf Pahlevi, the
shah's twin sister, and
General H. Norman
Schwarzkopf, the father of
the Desert Storm
commander, to act as
intermediaries.
Nevertheless, he fled the
country just before the
coup.
Mossadegh’s Trial
• After the coup, Mossadegh was
brought before a military tribunal
and charged with treason. He
said “[my]... only crime is that I
nationalized the Iranian oil
industry and removed from this
land the network of colonialism
and political and economic
influence of the greatest empire
on earth."
The Sentence
• However, his defense
was to no avail. He was
sentenced to three years
in prison followed by a
lifetime of house arrest.
When he died in 1967,
no national funeral,
ceremony, or public
expression of mourning
was allowed.
US Motives
• What motivated the United
States to play a hand in the
overthrow of Mossadegh? Why
take, an almost democratic
nation, and turn it over to a
power hungry autocrat, such as
Mohammad Reza Shah?
Fear of Communism
• Iran itself was not an immediate
threat to a superpower like the
United States. But Iran in the hands
of the Soviet Union, America 's Cold
War rival, was an immediate threat.
So the fear of Communism was one
of the motives that drew America to
participate in Operation Ajax.
Control of Oil
• Control of Iranian oil was another
main factor contributing to the
Western overthrow of Mossadegh's
government. Without oil from the
Middle East, the US would have
found it difficult to achieve the
impressive economic growth it
attained in the postwar era. Nor
could it have sustained the military
forces needed for possible
confrontation with the Soviet Union
and its allies.
Economic Stability
• A military blockade, and economic
sanctions and embargos placed
on Iran, brought the fragile
economy to almost total
collapse. This was not something
that the US desired. American
national security depended upon
a politically and economically
stable Iran, so that Iran would not
fall into the hands of the Soviet
Union.
Consequences
• The 1953 overthrow of the democratically-elected
Mossadegh and his government set off a series of
unintended consequences.
It gave the Shah a chance to
become an autocrat. His
oppressive rule led to the 1979
Iranian Revolution, which
overthrew him and placed
Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini in
power.
Carter’s Treatment of Shah
• After the Shah was
overthrown, the Carter
Administration allowed
Mohammad Reza Shah to
come to America for medical
treatment. This led many
Iranians to suspect a
conspiracy to stage another
coup.
Hostage Crisis
• This perceived threat
caused a frenzy among
Iranian radicals who, with
their new leader's
blessing, stormed the
American embassy in
Tehran and took fifty-two
American diplomats
hostage for 444 days.
Support for Saddam Hussein
• The Hostage Crisis
changed the course of
American diplomacy
towards Iran. It led
America to support Iraq
in the Iran-Iraq War, a
move that consolidated
the dictatorship of
Saddam Hussein.
Inspired Terrorism
• In the 1980s, Iran's theocratic
government turned the
country into a center for the
propagation of terrorism
abroad. It sponsored,
financed, and armed such
factions as Hezbollah, Hamas,
and other Middle Eastern
terrorist groups engaged in
political kidnapping and
assassinations.
Provided Base for 9/11 Attacks
• Iranian leaders, with their
devotion to radical Islam, allowed
these revolutionary leaders to
become heroes to fanatics all
over the world and inspired the
founders of the Afghan Taliban,
which would eventually give
Osama bin-Laden a base from
which to launch the September
11 terrorist attacks.
War on Terrorism
• This gave George W. Bush an
excuse to invade Afghanistan
and Iraq, resulting in wars
that killed thousands of Iraqi
and Afghani civilians and
military personal and
Western soldiers.
Cycle of Violence
• They continue to kill,
injure, and disrupt
the lives of innocent
people and fuel hatred for
Americans in younger
generations of Middle
Eastern populations,
continuing the cycle.
Man’s Eternal Desire to Be Free
• "..the most powerful single force in the world
today is neither communism nor capitalism,
neither H-bomb nor the guided missile. It is
man's eternal desire to be free and
independent.“
-- Senator John F. Kennedy, July 2,1957
A Democratic Middle East
• “Had Mossadegh been left in power, he
would have built a democratic Iran, thus
paving the way for other democracies to
take root in the Middle East. America's
shortsightedness reverberates today in the
disastrous state of the region.”
--Nosratollah Amini, former mayor of Tehran and attorney to Prime Minister Mossadegh
The Guatemalan Coup of 1954:
How Did the Cold War Influence
American Foreign Policy Decisions?
What motivated the United States Government to authorize
the CIA-sponsored Guatemalan Coup of 1954: Containment or
Bananas (protecting American business interests)?
Making Connections
Guatemala had been ruled since 1930 by the dictator General
Jorge Ubico, supported by the United States government. His
regime was one of the most brutally repressive military juntas
in the history of Central America.
In 1944, Ubico's repressive policies resulted in a large popular
revolt against him, led by students, intellectuals, and a
progressive faction of the military. In what was later called the
"October Revolution", Ubico was overthrown, resulting in
Guatemala's first democratic election
• In return for US support he gave hundreds of
thousands of hectares of highly fertile land to
the American United Fruit Company (UFCO),
as well as allowing the US military to establish
bases in Guatemala.[
• In 1944, Ubico's repressive policies resulted in
a large popular revolt against him, led by
students, intellectuals, and a progressive
faction of the military. In what was later called
the "October Revolution", Ubico was
overthrown, resulting in Guatemala's first
democratic election.
Jacob Arbenz wins in 1950
• Elections were held in 1950. Arévalo did not
contest, and Árbenz won in a landslide,
receiving three times as many votes as Miguel
Ydígoras Fuentes, his nearest challenger, in
elections that were generally fair
Jacobo Arbenz
President of
Guatemala
President Dwight D.
Eisenhower
Arbenz as a threat to US Regional
Interests
• the progress of the Árbenz Government
towards eliminating feudalism with agrarian
reform rendered the Guatemala of President
Árbenz a dangerously liberal threat to the
economic status quo in Central America, and
thus to the political and economic interests of
the U.S
Motivations of the Major Players
Contain Communism AND protect American business
interests.– US Government
Keep cheap land and banana empire in Guatemala.
Continue making large profits in Guatemala by
growing and selling bananas.– United Fruit Company
Overthrow Arbenz, with the help of the United States
and become the (U.S. appointed) President of
Guatemala– General Armas
Remain the elected President of Guatemala.
Redistribute land to poor farmers.– President Arbenz
A Banana
Republic
A politically unstable country that
depends economically upon the
export of a limited resource (fruits,
minerals), and usually features a
class-based society, with a large,
impoverished working class and
wealthy élites in business, politics,
and the military.
Timeline to Coup
1944
Free Elections in Guatemala Dr. Arevalo Elected (Liberal
Politician)
New Constitution, Corrupt
Dictator Gone
1950
Col. Arbenz Elected (extends
political freedoms to all citizens)
1952
225,000 Acres of Land
Confiscated; Compensation to
Owners is Based on Amount
Declared on Taxes
• 1952
United Fruit Company Enraged;
Eisenhower Elected on Platform of
Reducing Military Spending
Government and United Fruit
Company begin Anti-Communist
Propaganda Campaign in Guatemala;
Investigate Arbenz
1954
CIA orchestrates and carries out an
overthrow of Guatemalan
Government using only 150 men;
Armas Invades with Support of the
United States; Arbenz Resigns due to
Pressure; Armas Appointed
Leader/Liberator
Invasion of
Guatemala
June 1954
Why did the United States
Government overthrow
the Government of
Jacobo Arbenz in Guatemala:
Bananas or Containment?
CIA (Central Intelligence Agency)
• Created during WW2 to spy on Axis powers
• Collects information about foreign
governments and individuals
• Conducts emergency tactical operations and
carries out covert operations
Allen Dulles
Director of CIA; Owns Shares of UFCO;
Serves on Board of the Company
John Foster Dulles
U.S. Secretary of State; Brother of Allen
Dulles; Law Firm Represents the
United Fruit Company
John E. Peurifoy
U.S. Ambassador to Guatemala;
State Department's Ace Troubleshooter
in Communist Hotspots
How are they ALL Connected?
Why did the United States Government Overthrow Arbenz in
Guatemala: Bananas ($$) or Containment?
John F. Dulles
Sec. of State
Law Firm Sullivan
and Cromwell
Brothers
Allen Dulles
Head of the CIA
Board of Directors
for the UFCO
Shareholder of the
UFCO
United Fruit
Company
Public Relations Officer for
UFCO -- Ed Whitman
President
Eisenhower
Personal Secretary
Ann Whitman
Anti-Communism in American Life
• Definition of Anti-Communism
– Alien-foreign ideology
– Subversive-infiltrates institutions (unions, parties,
schools etc.)
– Seeks to destroy basic rights-property, speech,
religion
– Uses humanitarianism as a trick-civil rights, antiwar
Anti-Communism in American Life 2
•
•
•
•
Precursors to Modern Anti-Communism
19th century fears of foreigners
Anti-immigrant sentiment throughout history
Anti-worker movements used it in 1880s, 1910s,
1920s, 1930s, 1940s
• Red scare after World War l-hundreds deported,
Palmer raids
• State legislative investigatory committees in 1920s
• House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC)
Anti-Communism in American Life 3
•
•
•
•
Cold War Anti-Communism
Congressional committees-HUAC, McCarthy
Courts-Smith Act, Hiss Case, Rosenberg spy trials
Executive branch-loyalty oaths, attorney generals list,
FBI
• Attacks on labor-Taft-Hartley Act, purges in labor
movement
• Attacks on popular culture-Hollywood, TV,
universities (black lists, firings)
• Mass media anti-communist “frame”
Eisenhower/Dulles Years
1952-1960
• American Society at election time 1952
• U.S. Image around the world: Eisenhower for
peace; Dulles the Cold War
– Eisenhower’s “Peace” Speech; 1953
– Secret CIA recommendations: NSC 5412
• CIA Document calling for covert operations to comabt
communism in Indochina
– “Liberation” and “Massive Retaliation”
NSC 5412
• NSC 5412 defined "covert operations" as "...all activities conducted
pursuant to this directive which are so planned and executed that any U.S.
Government responsibility for them is not evident to unauthorized
persons and that if uncovered the U.S. Government can plausibly disclaim
any responsibility for them. Specifically, such operations shall include any
covert activities related to: propaganda, political action; economic
warfare; preventive direct action, including sabotage, anti-sabotage,
demolition; escape and evasion and evacuation measures; subversion
against hostile states or groups including assistance to underground
resistance movements, guerrillas and refugee liberation groups; support
of indigenous and anti-communist elements in threatened countries of the
free world; deceptive plans and operations; and all activities compatible
with this directive necessary to accomplish the foregoing. Such operations
shall not include: armed conflict by recognized military forces, espionage
and counterespionage, nor cover and deception for military operations."
Eisenhower/Dulles Years
1952-1960: 2
• U.S./Soviet relations in Europe: the German problem
• Kennan’s call for “disengagement”
• U.S./Soviet conflict in Eastern Europe: the Hungarian
revolution
• Sputnik, Gaither and Rockefeller Reports and
pressure on Eisenhower to increase military spending
• U-2 incident: “Spirit of Camp David” destroyed
Eisenhower/Dulles Years
1952-1960:3
• U.S. escalates role in Indochina (Vietnam)
• U.S. overthrows popular nationalist leader in Iran
• (Mohammed Mossadegh) and installs a dictator (Reza Pahlavi,
Shah of Iran)-1953
• U.S. policy in the Middle East: Eisenhower Doctrine
• U.S. overthrows the elected government of Guatemala (Jacob
Arbenz)
• Fidel Castro and Cuban revolutionaries come to power
• Assessing the Eisenhower years-Eisenhower warns of a
“military-industrial complex”