1. The Cold War – The Middle East

2. Iran
In March 1951, the pro-western Prime Minister Ali Razmara was assassinated
Parliament then voted to nationalize the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company and not allow British technicians not work with the new National Iranian Oil Company
The government of Britain was concerned about its interests in Iran and convinced the U.S. that Iran's nationalist movement was Soviet-backed

3. Iran
Secretary of State John Foster Dulles and President Dwight D. Eisenhower planned the overthrow of the government in Operation Ajax
In 1953, they installed a Shah who was able to rapidly modernize Iranian infrastructure with U.S. aid, but he simultaneously crushed all forms of political opposition and was increasingly autocratic

4. Iran In 1978, strikes and demonstrations paralyzed the country
The Shah fled in January 1979 and was replaced by an anti-Western Islamic Republic
In November 1979, Iranian students seized 52 hostages from the U.S. embassy and held them for 444 days
They wanted the Shah in exchange for the hostages, but he died in 1980
In the Algiers declaration, the hostages were released after the U.S. agreed to not meddle in Iran’s affairs and undo all trade sanctions

5. Lebanon
Egypt’s President Nasser was upset that the Lebanese Christian President didn’t break relations with Western powers during the Suez Crisis
Lebanese Muslims pushed the government to join the newly created United Arab Republic (intended to be a pan-Arab state) with Egypt and Syria

6. Lebanon
In Operation Blue Bat, 14,000 marines landed in Beirut, the capital
They replaced the President with a popular impartial president that both Christians and Muslims liked
Only four U.S. marines were killed, 3 in an accident

7. Afghanistan
Afghanistan was traditionally a buffer zone between the British and Russian empires
They both tried to gain influence over the country

8. Afghanistan In 1953, Mohammoud Daoud became Prime Minister
He wanted to modernize the army and first approached the U.S. to purchase military equipment
When the U.S. rejected his request, he turned to the USSR
Over a period of time, a relationship with the USSR was developed

9. Causes of the War
Eventually Daoud’s non-Marxist, but pro-Soviet government gave rise to discontent:
He failed to carry out much-needed economic and social reforms
He repressed his political opponents
In Spring 1978, he tried to eliminate the PDPA (People’s Democratic Party) by arresting its leaders
Khalq – led by Nur Mohammad Taraki and Hafizullah Amin
Parcham – led by Babrak Karmal

10. Causes of the War
This provoked a coup by army leaders in the PDPA, during which Daoud was killed
PDPA leader Nur Mohammed Taraki tried to introduce Marxism and promoted the establishment of:
Women’s rights
Land reform
This threatened Afghan cultural traditions and the wealth of the landowners

11. Causes of the War
This led to widespread resistance in the summer of 1978
In March 1979, Hafizullah Amin became Prime Minister, while Taraki was demoted
Amin began massacres throughout the countryside

12. The Soviet Invasion Anarchy spread through the country
Alarmed at disorder which might cause the U.S. to intervene, the USSR decided:
To get rid of Amin
To take control of the country
Amin was tricked into inviting Soviet aid. Instead, in Dec. 1979, Soviet forces invaded and executed Amin

13. The Soviet Invasion
Babrak Karmal would be brought back from the Soviet Union, where he had been an ambassador, to become the new Prime Minister, President, and Secretary General
Widespread resistance against Babrak’s regime and his Soviet backers led to the Afghan war

14. U.S. Reaction
The U.S. provided funds, weapons, and support for the mujahiddin (fighters united against the Soviet Union in Afghanistan)
The invasion would be unpopular with the Muslim world. The U.S. saw an opportunity to side with the Arabs
The U.S. saw the Soviet invasion as part of the onward march of Communism and the Soviets attempting to gain power in the oil-rich Middle East

15. U.S. Reaction
It was a distraction from the humiliation of the U.S. in the region (Iran hostage crisis)
U.S. boycotted the summer 1980 Moscow Olympic Games
Banned grain sales to the USSR
Broke off SALT talks

16. Course of the War
The high-technology Soviet troops fought a war of attrition against a low-technology, ill-disciplined, but highly motivated guerrilla force
Considerable Soviet forces (up to 100,000) were tied up for a long time
Soviet troops controlled the cities and had air superiority, but not the countryside

17. Course of the War The U.S. provided:
Funds
Weapons (from rifles to missiles)
Training camps
Satellite reconnaissance of Soviet targets
Plans for Soviet military operations
Intercepts of Soviet communications
This was the largest U.S. aid program since WWII

18. Course of the War
With no serious progress being made, no end in sight, and many deaths, Soviet morale dropped
In 1988, Gorbachev announced gradual withdrawal from Afghanistan. This was completed in 1989
After the Soviet withdrawal, the war continued until 1992, when the pro-Communist troops were defeated

19. Effects of the War Soviet losses were: 1 million Afghanis died
15,000 dead
37,000 wounded
1 million Afghanis died

20. Effects of the War
The Soviet Union was regarded as aggressor by Third World states
The Soviet invasion assisted Western leaders Reagan and Thatcher in creating anti-Soviet propaganda to justify a return to the Cold War and to increase defense spending
The War contributed to the breaking down of the Soviet economy and downfall of communism

21. Effects of the War
The Afghan Mujahiddin consisted of several different groups, with no unified organization
When the Soviets withdrew, the Afghan factions fought each other for power, beginning a long civil war
This led to the rise of the Taliban, a Muslim fundamentalist regime

22. Effects of the War
The Mujahiddin sold U.S. Stinger missiles on the international arms market
In order to try to prevent them falling into the hands of terrorists, the U.S. offered to buy them back at $100,000 each, but the offer was not taken up

23. Effects of the War
The U.S. played a major role in boosting and arming the rise of Islamic fundamentalism
Among the many foreigners drawn to Afghanistan to fight with the Mujahiddin was a young, wealthy Saudi, Osama bin Laden

24. Effects of the War When the USSR left the war, so did the U.S.
The U.S. did nothing to stop the civil war
The U.S. did not help with reconstruction, but turned over interests to Saudi Arabia and Pakistan, who proceeded to tear the country apart
Forged relations with warlords
Cut down forests
All this led to Bin Laden’s resentment of the U.S.
The Mujahiddin victory inspired pro-democratic movements in the Eastern Bloc