3 - End Of The Cold War 1970-91 Flashcards
(164 cards)
What does détente mean
A French word that refers to a reduction in tensions between superpowers
Reasons for Détente
- fear of nuclear war due to Cuban missile crisis
Early examples of detente
- hotline between Washington + Kremlin
- test ban treaty - 1963
When was the six day war
1967
What was the six day war
Israeli vs other Arab states
Consequences of the six day war
- Arab states more closely drawn it Soviet Union because USA had supplied so much military hardware to Israel
Why did USA get involved in the Vietnam war
- to try + stop the spread communism
USAs involvement in Vietnam war
- sent military advisors to south Vietnam in 1950s
- sent troops in 1965
Consequences of the Vietnam war
- USA couldn’t defeat north Vietnamese + the Viet Cong
- High US casualties - up to 10,000 killed a year
1969 - 9400 killed + 53,000 injured + 112 missing in action
When did Nixon become president
1969
When did the US begin seeking an end to the war
1968
- peace talks began spring of 1968
Why were the US hopeful there would be an end to the Vietnamese war
- after Nixon became president - hoped that if USA could improve trade + Technology links + made an offer of arms reduction - then Brezhnev might persuade his north Vietnamese ally to end war
- idea of concessions called ‘linkage’ by Nixon’s advisors
When did Nixon visit Moscow
1972
What did Nixon clarify in Moscow
That he did not see Vietnam as an obstacle to the process of detente , even though Soviet Union was supplying arms to north Vietnam
Why did Brezhnev want to improve relations with Nixon
- Nixon visited china three months before - didn’t want to see a US- China Alliance
- keen to gain access to US technology
- increase grain sales
- reduce spending on arms
Why did Nixon want to improve relations with Brezhnev
- help end Vietnamese war
+ High cost and casualties
What was agreed at the Moscow meeting - 1972
- Nixon agreed to take part in European security conference from which emerged the Helsinki agreements
When was peace signed between US and north Vietnam
1973
When was SALT 1
May 1972
What does SALT stand for
Strategic Arms Limitation Talks
Why were SALT talks held
- previous talks at Vienna +Helsinki for three years
- move to detente + idea of linkage + economic problems in Soviet Union
Agreements of SALT 1
- Anti - ballistic missile Systems allowed at only two sites - each containing 100 missiles
+ these were systems designed to detect, track and destroy attacking ICBMs - Interim agreement on Offensive Arms - imposed a 5 year freeze on total number of ICBM + SLBM
Limitations of SALT 1
- agreements did not limit number of strategic bombers eg. Planes designed to bomb distant enemy targets
- did not limit types of bombs each side could have
- no restriction on MIRVs (multiple independently targetable re-entry vehicle)
- each side could use satellites to check the other side was not breaking arms limits - spying
When was the Yom Kippur war
1973