Cold War

Introduction Following WWII the world was divided into 3 worlds The first was industrialized – the US and its allies The second was the Communist Nations and the Soviet Union The third was consisted of developing nations This provided another arena for competition

Third World Located in Latin America, Asia, and Africa Economically poor and politically unstable Largely due to colonialism Ethnic conflicts Lack of technology and education They needed a political and economic system 2 choices: US style free market OR Soviet style communism

What stated it? US and the Soviet Union and in some cases China Each of these nations backed wars of revolution, liberation and counterrevolution Intelligence agencies like the CIA and the KGB engaged in covert operations ranging from spying to assassination attempts The US gave military aid to struggling nations The soviets provided assistance to India and Egypt

Nations take sides… Other nations needed assistance They fueled the competition between the US and the Soviets Not all 3rd world countries wanted to be involved – especially India and Indonesia 1955 – leaders from Asia and Africa met in the Bandung Conference They formed “non-aligned nations”

Latin America gets involved… Rapid industrialization, population growth and a widening gap between rich and poor forced Latin American nations to seek aid They alternated between democracy and military rule The US provided aid to non-communist leaders The Soviets did the opposite

Fidel Castro and Cuba In the 0150’s Cuba was ruled by Fulgencia Batista who had US support He was overthrown by Fidel Castro At first he was praised Then he nationalized Cuba and took over American owned sugar mills and refineries In response, Eisenhower issued an embargo – NO TRADE WITH CUBA Castro then turned to the Soviets

In 1960, the CIA began training Cuban exiles In April 1961 anti-Cuban exiles invaded Cuba at the Bay of Pigs The US did not provide them enough air support and Castro defeated them This humiliated the US…