Cold War Strategies

1
Cold War Strategies

• Intervention, Engagement, Confrontation

2
What Never Changed

• Goals
• 1. Containment of USSR
• 2. Avoiding Nuclear War
• The Dilemma How do you contain the USSR without
  risking a nuclear war?

3
What Did Change

• Strategies
• Intervention (Korea and Vietnam)
• Containment by direct political-military
  involvement
• Engagement (Détente)
• Containment by management of Soviet behavior
• Confrontation (Reagan Doctrine)
• Containment by challenging the Soviets

4
The Dynamic

• Intervention was the logic of containment in
  action
• Was engagement the result of the failures of
  intervention?
• Was confrontation the result of the failures of
  engagement?

5
1. Intervention

• How do you fight communism and avoid nuclear war?

6
Korean War 1950-53

• Limited War
• Goals
• Weapons
• Geography
• Talk and Fight

7
Viet Nam (after 1954)
8
Strategic Logic

• Domino Theory

9
N. Vietnamese Strategy

• Classic Guerrilla Warfare
• Mao Zedong
• a guerrilla wins by not losing
• Insurgency
• Backed by USSR
• Wars of National Liberation

10
Containment and Domestic Politics

• JFK

• LBJ

11
The Dilemma of Viet Nam

• Cant lose South Viet Nam
• Cant do what we need to win
• Korea
• WW III?
• Solution
• Limited War
• Coercive Diplomacy (Bombing)

12
From LBJ to Nixon

• LBJ says Goodbye

• Nixons War

13
Shadow of Viet Nam

• Limits of US Power and Force
• Wisdom of Intervention
• Difficulties of Nation Building
• Nationalism

14
Biggest Changes

• Congressional Power
• Foreign Policy Consensus
• Vietnam Syndrome

15
1. Congress Challenges President in Foreign Policy

• War Powers Resolution 1973 (PL 93-148) (from
  Federation of American Scientists , see Appendix
  3)
• The Use of Force

16
Congress finds its real power

• Clark Amendment
• to Arms Export
• Control Act 1976

17
2. End of US Foreign Policy Consensus?

• Truman Doctrine Consensus
• L R
• Post-Viet Nam Polarization

18
3. Viet Nam Syndrome

• http//www.mbc.edu/faculty/gbowen/PublicOpinionVie
  tWar.htm

19
2. Engagement

• The Post-Vietnam Dilemma
• How do you
• contain and compete with the USSR while
• avoiding nuclear war and
• avoiding another Korea or Vietnam?

20
Cuban Missile Crisis 1962
21
Nixon and Henry Kissinger
22
Why Détente?

• Viet Nam Syndrome
• Strategic parity
• Sino-Soviet Split

23
Viet Nam Syndrome

• Nixon recognizes this
• Nixon Doctrine
• Remarks July 25, 1969 (see Q and A)
• Address to the nation, Nov. 3, 1969

24
Strategic Parity
25
Sino-Soviet Conflict
26
Detente

• Still containment
• New Goal Change USSR behavior
• Old-school Balance of Power

27
Arms Control Policy

• Strategic Arms Limitation Talks, May 1972
• Interim Agreement on Offensive Arms
• Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty

28
2. Triangular Diplomacy

• US
• USSR PRC

29
Kissinger to China, July 1971
30
Nixon-Mao Summit in China, February 1972

• Shanghai Communique

31
China and Taiwan
32
Détente CollapsesFord and Carter
33
Carter Human Rights Focus

• But
• Iran
• South Korea
• China

34
SALT II
35
1979-1981 Crises

• Détente Collapse
• Iran
• Afghanistan

36
Iranian Revolution

• Shah of Iran
• Mohammed Reza Pahlevi

• Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini

37
November 4, 1979
38
December 1979
39
Arc of Crisis
40
Détente Ends

• Carter Gets Tough
• SALT II Dies
• Defense Buildup
• Carter Doctrine
• Rescue Mission
• Vance resigns

41
Rescue Mission April 1980
42
(No Transcript)
43
Détente collapses

• Debate Begins
• Had détente been over sold?
• Was the world changing?
• Did the US overreact in 1979?
• Did the US under react before 1979, poor
  anticipation of problems?
• Were we too soft on the USSR? (Reagan Answer)

44
3. Confrontation

• The dilemma of
• containing the USSR,
• avoiding nuclear war,
• avoiding direct US intervention,
• but pressuring the USSR

45
Ronald Reagan
46
Reagans View of the USSR

• Evil Empire
• Speech to the National Association of
  Evangelicals
• March 10, 1983

47
Realist Secretaries of State

• Alexander Haig
• 1981-1982

• George Shultz
• 1982-1989

48
The Problems

• Third Wave of Marxism
• Viet Nam Syndrome
• Decade of Neglect

49
1. Third Wave of Marxism

• Ethiopia 1974
• Cambodia 1975
• Vietnam 1975
• Angola 1975
• Mozambique 1975
• Afghanistan 1979
• Nicaragua 1979
• Grenada 1979

50
Solution to Third Wave Reagan Doctrine

• Nicaragua
• Contras

51
Contras
52
Afghanistan

• Mujahadin

53
Angola

• UNITAs Jonas Savimbi

54
1980s Map of the Cold Warhttp//imgur.com/Ah9tS
55
2. Viet Nam Syndrome

• Fall of Saigon, April 29, 1975

56
Solution to Viet Nam Syndrome Use Force

• Libya 1981

57
Grenada 1983
58
Beirut 1983
59
3. Decade of Neglect

• From ARMING AMERICA Attention and Inertia in
  U.S. National Security Spending
  http//dept.lamar.edu/polisci/TRUE/True_art_tlp.ht
  ml

60
Soviet ICBMs 1980s-90s

• From, US Dept of Defense, Soviet Military Power,
  1987 http//www.fas.org/irp/dia/product/smp_87_c
  h2.htm

61
Solution to Decade of Neglect

• Source Center for Defense Information 2004
  Yearbook (http//www.mtholyoke.edu/jephrean/clas
  sweb/United20States.html)

62
Strategic Defense Initiative

• Reagans SDI speech, March 23, 1983

63
Political/Cultural Effects
64
Congress vs. President

• Afghanistan support and funding
• Angola repeal of Clark Amendment (1985)
• Nicaragua Boland Amendment to restrict aid to
  Contras

65
Key Phrase of 2nd Boland Amendment (1984-1986)

• ''No funds available to the Central Intelligence
  Agency, the Department of Defense or any other
  agency or entity of the United States involved in
  intelligence activities may be obligated or
  expended for the purpose or which would have the
  effect of supporting, directly or indirectly,
  military or paramilitary operations in Nicaragua
  by any nation, group, organization, movement or
  individual.
• From NY TIMES on line http//www.nytimes.com/198
  7/07/16/world/iran-contra-hearings-text-of-key-ame
  ndment.html?pagewanted1 For Excerpts and
  explanation, from US Government Accountability
  Office GAO, http//redbook.gao.gov/14/fl0067296.
  php

66
Contra Scandal
Contras

• Private US
• Foreign Govt

Swiss bank accounts controlled by Oliver North
of NSC Staff
67
Some Congressional Restrictions on Arms Sales in
1980s

• Arms Export Control Acts
• No arms sales to nations determined to be
  sponsors of terrorism (US State Dept determines
  which nations fit into this category it included
  Iran)
• No arms sales of over 25 m in value without
  congressional approval (1974) A 1976 bill
  lowered this to 14 m for sophisticated weaponry
  and 50 m for other items
• Both the House and Senate would have to reject
  the arms sales

68
The Iran Contra Scandal
Contras

• Private US
• Foreign Govt

Swiss bank accounts controlled by North
Iran
US
Israel
69
The Fight Over the Contras

• William Adm. John Lt. Col.
• Casey Poindexter Oliver North

70
Big Picture Issue

• Congress has the power to restrict US government
  spending
• Can the President ignore those restrictions?
• Can President ignore aspects of law President
  does not agree with?
• If so, does Congress have any role to shape
  foreign policy?
• If so, do we have checks and balances?