MR. WHITE’S US HISTORY 2 FOREIGN POLICY AFTER THE COLD WAR

MAIN IDEA AND OBJECTIVES Main Idea: The end of the Cold War, marked by the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991, led to a redirection of many U.S. goals and policies. After this section, we should be able to: – Identify changes in the communist world that ended the Cold War – Summarize U.S. actions taken to influence Central American and Caribbean affairs – Describe the events leading up to the Iran-Contra scandal – Analyze U.S. involvement in the Persian Gulf War

PART I: THE COLD WAR ENDS THE SOVIET UNION COLLAPSED, AND MANY OTHER COMMUNIST REGIMES DECLINED.

MIKHAIL GORBACHEV In March of 1985, Mikhail Gorbachev became the general secretary of the Communist Party in the Soviet Union Gorbachev inherited a Soviet economy that was struggling to keep up with the United States Reagan had increased defense spending to put a further strain that the Soviet’s couldn’t keep up with Economy was close to collapse

GLASNOST Gorbachev adopted a policy of glasnost (Russian for openness) Allowed open criticisms of the Soviet government, worked to give freedom of the press Gorbachev also introduced perestroika, his plan for restructuring Soviet society Less government control of the economy, more private enterprise, steps toward democracy Gorbachev also realized that better relations with the U.S. would allow Soviet Union to reduce military expenses INF Treaty (Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty) signed on December 8, 1987 – eliminated two classes of nuclear weapons and allowed both sides to make on-site inspections of each other’s nuclear facilities

THE SOVIET UNION COLLAPSES The reforms that Gorbachev had introduced encouraged nationalism and independence movements in the non-Russian Soviet states In December, 1991, 14 non-Russian republics declared independence from the Soviet Union Criticized by reformers who thought he was working too slowly, Gorbachev resigned as Soviet president The Soviet Union dissolved, almost overnight

THE COMMONWEALTH OF INDEPENDENT STATES Many of the nations that had been a part of the Soviet Union formed the Commonwealth of Independent States This was a loose collection of nations that would share certain interests like economics, politics, and security Russia’s new president, Boris Yeltsin, soon signed the START II Treaty with President George H. W. Bush This treaty was designed to cut both nation’s nuclear arsenals by two-thirds

THE BERLIN WALL Before he resigned, Gorbachev had encouraged the people of East Germany and Eastern Europe to go their own ways He reduced the number of Soviet troops in Eastern Europe, and allowed non-communist parties to organize in Soviet satellite nations, such as Poland and East Germany At the Berlin Wall in 1987, President Reagan had encouraged Gorbachev to, “tear down this wall.”

GERMANY RE-UNIFIED In October, 1989, East Germany gave up its communist government November 9, 1989 – East Germany opened the Berlin Wall, re-uniting the eastern and western parts of the city In early 1990, East Germany held its first free elections October 3, 1990 – East and West Germany reunited into the nation of Germany

NEW REFORMS, NEW ISSUES Other European nations also adopted new reforms Latvia, Estonia, and Lithuania declared their independence from the Soviet Union Hungary, Bulgaria, and Romania gave up communism Yugoslavia collapsed – four of its republics seceded Ethnic rivalries took over in a war between Muslims, Orthodox Serbs, and Roman Catholic Croats – each claimed part of Yugoslavia

CHINESE REFORM Economic reform had also begun in in China, which was still communist China loosened its grip on business and eliminated some price controls Free-market reforms – when command economies introduce measures to bring freedom to the market Chinese students began to demand more freedoms with this growing economic freedom

STUDENT PROTESTS April, 1989 – Chinese university students led marches that quickly grew into large demonstrations in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square and other cities In Tiananmen Square, students constructed a replica of the Statue of Liberty to symbolize their struggle for democracy China’s premier, Li Peng, had the military crush the protesters

TIANANMEN SQUARE China’s army stormed into the square and fired into the crowds, killing many unarmed students Some civilians had earlier had attacked soldiers in armored-personnel carriers and tanks While the protest was ended, some Chinese officials and civilians believed that this event made many people lose faith in the government

PART II: CENTRAL AMERICAN AND CARIBBEAN POLICY THE UNITED STATES USED ITS ECONOMIC, POLITICAL, AND MILITARY POWER TO INTERVENE AND INFLUENCE NATIONS IN CENTRAL AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN.

NICARAGUA The U.S. had been in Nicaragua since 1912 – helped the dictator Anastasio Somoza come to power The Somozas ruled Nicaragua for 42 years Rigged elections Assassinated political rivals Between 1977 and 1979, Nicaragua underwent a civil war between the Somoza government and Sandinista rebels who opposed the government

REAGAN SUPPORTS THE CONTRAS The Sandinistas toppled the government Jimmy Carter recognized the new government and sent economic aid The Soviet Union and Cuba sent aid, as well When Reagan took power, he charged that Nicaragua was a Soviet satellite, and that it was “exporting revolution” to other Central American countries Threw his support behind guerilla forces opposing the Sandinistas known as Contras Military aid and CIA advisers were sent to the Contras, without Congressional approval Congress responded by banning any military aid to the Contras, but Reagan’s administration found ways around this Free elections in 1990 elected Violeta de Chamorro, a Contra supporter, but his coalition wasn’t able to solve the problems of Nicaragua

GRENADA In Grenada, an island near Cuba, the government was developing ties to communist Cuba Ronald Reagan sent around 2,000 U.S. troops to the island in 1983 The troops overthrew the pro-Cuban government and replaced it with one friendlier to the U.S. Eighteen U.S. soldiers died, but Reagan defended this as important to the interests of the United States

PANAMA In 1989, President Bush sent around 20,000 U.S. troops into Panama to apprehend General Manuel Noriega Noriega had been receiving money from the CIA, as he opposed communist governments, but was also involved in the international drug trade Noriega was brought to the United States to stand trial, and was sentence to 40 years in prison Some Latin American governments criticized this “Yankee imperialism,” but many were happy that Noriega had been removed from power

PART III: MIDDLE EAST TROUBLE SPOTS AS THE COLD WAR ENDED, THE UNITED STATES BEGAN TO SHIFT ITS POLITICAL ATTENTION TO THE MIDDLE EAST.

HOSTAGES In 1983, terrorist groups loyal to Iran took Americans hostage in Lebanon Reagan denounced Iran and urged U.S. allies not to sell arms to Iran (which was at war with Iraq) 1985 – “America will never make concessions to terrorists.”

IRAN-CONTRA AFFAIR Later, however, Americans learned: Reagan had approved the sale of weapons to Iran; in return, Iran promised to get seven American hostages released in Lebanon Members of Reagan’s staff had sent profits from the weapons sales to the Contras in Nicaragua, which was in violation of the Boland Amendment, which made this against the law Reagan defended his actions as necessary, and was shocked at the negative reaction Reagan administration staff members went on trial, and many, such as Lieutenant General Oliver North, received penalties for their roles

IRAN AND IRAQ During the 1980s, Iran and Iraq had fought a long war Iraqi President Saddam Hussein had huge war debts Hussein had often claimed that Kuwait was actually part of Iraq August 2, 1990 – Iraqi troops invaded a disputed area claimed by Kuwait, then turned toward Saudi Arabia and its oil fields If Iraq took Saudi Arabia, it would control one-half of the world’s known oil reserves

OPERATION DESERT STORM For several months, President Bush and Secretary of State James Baker organized an international coalition against Iraqi aggression With the support of the United Nations and Congress, Bush launched Operation Desert Storm to liberate Kuwait from Iraqi occupation January 16, 1991 – U.S. launched a massive air assault against Iraq February 23, 1991 – Coalition forces launched a ground offensive from Saudi Arabia into Kuwait February 28, 1991 – Cease-fire was announced Kuwait had been liberated from Iraqi occupation

VICTORY Americans turned out in large numbers for the victory parades that followed this successful war This war had a different outcome from the U.S.’s last major war, Vietnam Only 400 coalition force casualties Iraq suffered an estimated 100,000 military and civilian deaths A trade embargo following the war resulted in the deaths of many Iraqis from preventable diseases such as cholera, typhoid, and others

ELECTION OF 1992 Although Bush was very successful on the international stage, he was not as successful at home Rising government deficits and a recession starting in 1990 made re-election difficult Bush raised taxes, and broke his original campaign pledge of “no new taxes.” The weak economy, plus the tax hike, made Bush’s re-election very difficult

MAIN IDEA AND OBJECTIVES Main Idea: The end of the Cold War, marked by the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991, led to a redirection of many U.S. goals and policies. After this section, we should be able to: – Identify changes in the communist world that ended the Cold War – Summarize U.S. actions taken to influence Central American and Caribbean affairs – Describe the events leading up to the Iran-Contra scandal – Analyze U.S. involvement in the Persian Gulf War

WRAP-UP So… One of the changes that occurred with the end of the Cold War was… One of the ways that the United States tried to influence Central America and the Caribbean was that…