7.5c Analyze the impact of the Cold War on national security and individual freedom, including the containment policy and the role of military alliances, the effects of the “Red Scare” and McCarthyism, the conflicts in Korea and the Middle East, the Iron Curtain and the Berlin Wall, the Cuban missile crisis, and the nuclear arms race.

Communism and Cuba ***In 1959 a young revolutionary named Fidel Castro overthrew the Cuban government and assumed control of the nation. ***Because Castro was communist President Eisenhower refused to recognize the Castro government as legitimate and broke off diplomatic relations. ***Lacking U.S. support, Castro allied himself with the Soviet Union. ***Eisenhower then authorized the CIA to begin training and arming Cuban exiles to invade and retake Cuba ***(The Bay of Pigs Invasion) When President Kennedy took office IN 1961, he authorized the operation and promised air support from the U.S. Navy. ***At the last minute, Kennedy withdrew air support and the invasion at the Bay of Pigs turned into a fiasco and greatly embarrassed the Kennedy administration and left the world wondering if the young President was up for the task of defending the world against communism.

Bay of Pigs in Cuba

The Berlin Wall Kennedy knew that the Bay of Pig Invasion had made him look weak in the eyes of Khrushchev. Khrushchev was still determined to stop the flow of refugees out of East Berlin. While Kennedy was concerned for the safety of Europe. After a summit between the two men that went badly Kennedy increased defense spending and the size of the military. He said the U.S. must be prepared to defend Berlin against Soviet aggression. In response the Soviets built a wall that separated the two cities. For more than 25 years the ***Berlin Wall stood as a chilling symbol of the Cold War.

Berlin Wall being torn down in 1989

John F. Kennedy

The Cuban Missile Crisis Although the Bay of Pigs had been a disaster Khrushchev, still feared an invasion of Cuba by the United States. ***Castro knew he needed a strong ally and secretly agreed to allow the USSR to place medium range nuclear missiles in Cuba. ***U.S. spy planes spotted these missiles in October of 1962. These missiles could hit over half the United States in 30 minutes, including the Capital. President Kennedy could not allow this to happen so he ordered a naval blockade to turn back any ships carrying nuclear missiles. ***For the next 13 days, the world watched as the two nations came to the brink of nuclear war. ***Eventually, Khrushchev agreed to remove the missiles from Cuba if the U.S. promised not to invade Cuba and would remove nuclear missiles from Turkey.

The Middle East and Africa The rivalry between the US and USSR was also played out in the Third World countries (TWC) The process of decolonization began after WWI and accelerated at the end of WWII A source of important raw materials, TWCs attracted American investments and became markets for American products. The US had extensive interest in Middle Eastern oil. New nations in Africa and the Middle East became members of the General Assembly of the United Nations.

The US and USSR tried to influence these new states with loans and technical assistance to gain their votes in the UN TWCs played one interest against the other to gain the most assistance as possible Race relations in the US influenced and were influenced by relations with TWCs American foreign policy, supported by the Central Intelligence Agency, often supported unpopular and undemocratic governments because they were our Cold War allies and they protected American business interests in their nations At first, the US supported the apartheid government in South Africa and the white minority government in Rhodesia The CIA helped the Shah of Iran overthrow a rival who had attempted to nationalize foreign oil interests and supported the Shah’s unpopular and repressive government. The CIA also played and active role in the civil war in Angola against the Soviet-Cuban backed faction in the early 1970s

In the Middle East, Arab nationalists challenged American interests. Egypt nationalized the Suez Canal Britain, France and Israel invaded Suez to take back the canal (Suez Crisis) Eisenhower ended the crisis by persuading the British, French and Israelis to withdraw The Eisenhower Doctrine stated that the US would not tolerate Soviet intervention in the Middle East, and that the US would intervene if any country was threatened by a communist takeover This extended the containment policy to the Middle East

Israel (created in 1948) US policy on Israel also influenced conditions in the Middle East ***US recognized the nation of Israel in 1948, and supported it with military and financial aid in part as a response to the horrors of the Holocaust Palestinians were expelled from their homeland when Israel was formed ***CREATED TO GIVE JEWS A HOMELAND!! They formed the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) to rectify the situation The hostilities between the PLO and Israel continue to this day.