Search For World Peace Flashcards

1
Q

Why did Brezhnev want to get involved in Afghanistan?

A

-He was concerned about the growing power and spread of Islamic fundameltalism
-wanted to show the 30 mil Muslims in the USSR that the USSR wouldn’t change

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2
Q

Why did the USSR want to get involved in Afghanistan?

A

They saw fundamentalism as a threat to the soviet system

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3
Q

Why was the USA bothered by USSR invasion of Afghanistan?

A

They believed that soviet occupation of Afghanistan would threaten the Wests oil supplies

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4
Q

Why did Carter feel that he needed to take a firm approach to Afghanistan?

A

-was under pressure following the seizure of US embassy staff as hostages in Iran
-he felt it would improve relations with China as they were also opposed to the invasion

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5
Q

What was the Carter Docrine?

A

-the USA will use military force if necessary to defend its intrests in the Persian Gulf region
-promised military aid to all countries bordering Afghanistan

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6
Q

In what speech did Carter address the Carter Doctrine?

A

The state of union speech

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7
Q

What actions taken by Carter show his firmness with Afghanistan?

A

-USA cancelled shipments of grain to the USSR
-US companies banned from selling tech like drilling equipment to USSR
-he pressured the US Olympic Comitee to boycott the 1980 Moscow Olympics (61 countries followed suit)

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8
Q

When was the US ping pong team invited to China for the ‘friendship games’?

A

1971

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9
Q

Why were people shocked by the Chinese ‘friendship games’?

A

It was the first time that US citizens were permitted to visit China since 1949

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10
Q

What was SALT I?

A

the first agreement about limiting productions of nuclear weapons

The production of short range, lightweight missiles was stopped

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11
Q

When was SALT I agreed?

A

1972

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12
Q

When did Nixon visit China (and become the first US president to do so)?

A

1972

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13
Q

How did Nixons visit to China help the US?

A

reduced tensions over US involvement in Vietnam

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14
Q

When did Nixon visit the USSR?

A

1972 and 1974

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15
Q

What did Nixons visits to the USSR lead to?

A

The signing of the Helsinki agreement

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16
Q

What was the Helsinki agreement?

A

-USA, USSR and 33 other nations
-all recognised current European borders
-all respect human rights
-closer economic and scientific links

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17
Q

When was SALT II signed?

A

1979

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18
Q

What was agreed in SALT II?

A

-further limits on the production of nuclear weapons including banning of land based intercontinental ballistic missile launchers

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19
Q

What happened after the singing of SALT II that reversed all the work towards finishing the Cold War?

A

-the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan
-as a result, congress refused to ratify SALT II

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20
Q

What was Reagan’s approach to the USSR after he defeated Carter?

A

No interest in detanté and in a 1982 speech he referred to the USSR as the ‘Evil Empire’

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21
Q

Who launched the Star Wars scheme?

A

Reagan

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22
Q

What was the real name for Star Wars?

A

The Strategic Defence Initiative

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23
Q

What was the purpose of Star Wars?

A

To create a ‘nuclear umbrella’ by launching an army of satellites with powerful lasers into space

They would intercept any Soviet missiles in space and destroy them before they could hurt USA

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24
Q

Who became the Soviet premier in 1985?

A

Mikhail Gorbachev

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25
Q

When did Mikhail Gorbachev become the Soviet premier?

A

1985

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26
Q

What did Gorbachev recognise when he became premier? What did he do about this?

A

-That communism in the USSR faced many problems
-introduced reforms called Perestroika (restructuring) and Glasnost (openness)
-this involved bringing bring the Soviet economy closer to the west and easing censorship

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27
Q

How did Reagan react to Gorbachev’s reforms?

A

Initially he reacted negatively - he antagonised it by making speeches demanding that Gorbachev ‘tear down this wall’ (Berlin wall)

When arms limitation talks resumed in 1985 however, they got on very well

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28
Q

What did Reagan and Gorbachev sign in 1987?

A

The Intermediate Nuclear Forces Treaty

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29
Q

What was the Intermediate Nuclear Forces Treaty?

A

-It was the first treaty that involved the reduction of missiles
-also allowed both nations to inspect each others military installations

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30
Q

Who was involved in the Conventional Forces in Europe?

A

-led by Gorbachev and Reagan
-NATO
-Warsaw pact representative

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31
Q

When was the Conventional Forces in Europe signed?

A

1988

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32
Q

What did Conventional Forces in Europe do?

A

Reduced the number of tanks, missiles and aircraft held by member states

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33
Q

Why was Glasnost (openness) a double edged sword for Gorbachev?

A

-the more freedom he allowed people, the more they wanted
-the more money he tried to save by withdrawing troops from Eastern European bases, the less control they had

34
Q

When was the Berlin Wall dismantled?

A

1989

35
Q

Did the USSR and the US still get on when Bush was elected? Evidence?

A

Yes - at a summit in Malta the two announced that the Cold War was over

36
Q

What was START 1 and when was it signed?

A

-involved reducing 25-35% of all their nuclear warheads
-signed the treaty with pens made of scrap metal
-1991

37
Q

When did Gorbachev resign due to a lack of suppourt?

A

1991

38
Q

When the USSR split into several independent states …

A

The USSR fell and the rivalry between communist east and capitalist west ended

39
Q

Afghanistan: what was the Democratic Party called?

A

People’s Democratic Party of Afghanistan

40
Q

When did the Afghanistan communist party overthrow the Afghanistan government?

A

1978

41
Q

Who became the prime minister of the newly established Democratic Republic of Afghanistan?

A

Nur Muhammad Taraki

42
Q

What did the Afghanistan communist party do in the first 18 months of their rule?

A

-imposed a communist-style reform programme
-thousands of members of the traditional elite (Muslim religious establishment and intellectuals) were imprisoned tortured or murdered

43
Q

What did thousands of afghan Muslims join to overthrow the communist government?

A

Mujahideen - a guerrilla movement which proclaimed to be on a holy mission for Allah

44
Q

What did the mujahideen declare?

A

Jihad = holy war

45
Q

What did Brezhnev do to counter the threat of mujahideen and Islamic fundamentalism?

A

Sent 50,000 troops to Afghanistan to restore order and protect the afghan communists from the mujahideen

46
Q

When did Brezhnev send troops to Afghanistan?

A

December 1979 and Jan 1980

47
Q

Why did relations between the USA and China improve in the 70s?

A

-relations between China and the USSR had worsened in the 60s when China denounced the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia
-Nixon saw this as an opportunity to exploit this split between the two leading communist nations
-Nixon hoped that better relations with China might help to end war in Vietnam (as China was a strong ally of North Vietnam)

48
Q

When did the US government lift a 20 year old trade embargo with China?

A

1971

49
Q

Why were the US ping pong team invited to China?

A

-the World Table Tennis Championship was held in Japan in 1971
-when an American player missed his teams bus after practice, he was offered a ride by a Chinese player
-this display of good will was well publicised
-later that day, the American team was formally invited to China

50
Q

Why did Nixon go to China?

A

After the trade embargo was lifted, talks began to facilitate a meeting between gov officials

51
Q

What did glasnost and perestroika do?

A

-glasnost (openness) = censorship relaxed
-perestroika (restructuring) = economic reforms designed to make Soviet economy more efficient

52
Q

When was communism declared to be over (where and by who) but when did did control of communism and the fall of the USSR actually happen?

A

-1989 = Bush Snr, Malta conference
-1991

53
Q

How did Gorbachev inadvertently cause the fall of the USSR?

A

-1988= withdrew Soviet troops from Eastern European bases to save money
-the following year he announced the Sinatra doctrine - members of the Warsaw pact could make changes to their countries without expecting outside interference
-he had hoped to strengthen communism but actually weakened it
-once reform had started in these countries he was unable to contain it

54
Q

When was the fall of the Berlin Wall? When was West and East formally reunited?

A

-1989
-1990

55
Q

When did the United Germany join NATO and dissolve the Warsaw pact?

A

1991

56
Q

What happened when everyone saw how the satellite groups had been able to break away from Moscow?

A

In 1990 the Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania declared themselves independent - this was accepted by Moscow in 1991

57
Q

When was there an attempted coup in the USSR? Describe the event

A

-1991
-defeated by Yeltsin who was president of the Russian Socialist Republic
-Gorbachev was restored as General Secretary but had lost his authority

58
Q

When did Gorbachev resign?

A

December 1991

59
Q

The USA became increasingly involved in the Middle East in the last quarter of the twentieth century - who was their closest ally in the Persian gulf region?

A

Mohammed Reza Pahlavi the shah of Iran

60
Q

What had the shah of Iran tried to do for 25 years? What happened to him?

A

-Modernise Iran by rapid industrialisation and the emancipation of women
-this modernisation and his increasingly tyrannical government led to a forced abdication in 1979

61
Q

The abdication of Pahlavi (the shah) unsettled the whole gulf region - why was this relevant to the US?

A

-they had vital oil intrests in the gulf especially in Iran
-the period of saw the growth of religious fundamentalism which demanded an end to Western imperialism
-Iran was now controlled by the fundamentalist religious leader Khomeini who denounced the USA as the ‘great satan’ and announced an Islamic republic determined to destroy all western influences

62
Q

When were 66 Americans taken hostage in Iran, who were they and where were they?

A

-1979
-diplomats and their guards
-US embassy in Tehran

63
Q

What did Khomeini want in return for the hostages?

A

For the USA to agree to the extradition of the former Shah who was in New York

64
Q

The US government refused to hand over the Shah - what did Carter do?

A

Suspended Iranian oil imports and threatened Iran with military action if they weren’t released

65
Q

Did the Ayatollah release the hostages after Carters threats?

A

No they threatened to try some of the hostages on a charge of spying for the US

66
Q

When was the rescue mission to rescue the hostages in Iran? What happened?

A

-1980
-went wrong - a helicopter and an aircraft collided in a staging area
-8 servicemen killed
-operation called off

67
Q

What happened to Carter as a result of not being able to free the hostages and a botched rescue attempt?

A

Lost popularity

68
Q

When did the Shah die and allow negotiations of the release of the hostages to begin again?

A

1980

69
Q

When were some of the hostages released and how many were released? How many days had they spent in custody?

A

-1981 (20 mins after Reagan was sworn in as president)
-52
-444

70
Q

When was the Gulf War?

A

1990-1991

71
Q

Gulf war: how and when did the country of Kuwait come under Iraqi control?

A

-August 1990
-Iraq leader Saddam Hussein ordered the invasion of Kuwait and within 24 hours it was under Iraqi control

72
Q

Gulf war: Why did Saddam Hussein order the invasion of Kuwait?

A

-burdened with debts from Iraqs war with Iran, Hussein saw Kuwait as a rich prize
-Hussein claimed that Kuwait was once part of Iraq (it had been separate since 1899]
-he didn’t expect America to use its military power to support Kuwait - the USA had supported him all through the war with Iran

73
Q

Who was the president at the time of the Gulf War, what did he say was his reason for taking action but was actually was it?

A

-George Bush Snr
-used the argument that it was an act of blatant aggression against a smaller country
-in reality he wanted to protect the US economic interests in oil

74
Q

Gulf War: What was Operation Desert Shield and who was involved?

A

-the UN imposed tough sanctions on Iraq
-then USA, Britain and other states sent forces to Saudi Arabia
-this was operation desert shield = designed to defend Saudi Arabia and oil resources from Iraq and push Iraq out of Kuwait

75
Q

Gulf War: when did USA and the allies vastly increase their forces in Saudi Arabia?

A

November 1990

76
Q

Who was the US commander of the forces in the Gulf and what was his first military campaign?

A

-General Norman Schwarzkopf
-an air assault called Operation Desert Storm

77
Q

Gulf war: when was the air assault (operation desert storm) launched?

A

January 1991

78
Q

Was Operation Desert Storm successful?

A

Yes - in the first 10 hours, a combination of stealth aircraft, cruise missiles and electronic warfare took apart Iraqs military and wrecked its ground forces

79
Q

What was Operation Desert Saber and when was it launched?

A

-ground offensive to liberate Kuwait
-February 1991

80
Q

Was Operation Desert Saber successful?

A

Within 4 days of launching, Kuwait City had been taken by coalition troops and the following day, the USA ordered a ceasefire

81
Q

Why did Bush call a ceasefire in the Gulf War?

A

-he was afraid that if slaughter continued, the allies would lose support of the other Arab nations
-it was expected that, after this humiliating defeat, Hussein would soon be overthrown

82
Q

What was the outcome of the Gulf war for Bush? What happened in Iraq after it?

A

-Bush’s reputation stood high
-however as time passed, he was criticised for not having pressed home the advantage and allowing the brutal Hussein to remain in power

-Hussein not only survived but also had enough troops,tanks and airforce to brutally suppress rebellions by Shia Muslims and Kurds