1. Getting others to fight your war
Proxy Wars
Getting others to fight your war

2. Smaller nations can fight without worry of a nuclear exchange
What is a ‘Proxy War’?
USA
USSR
Can’t fight directly because of MAD
Sells or gives conventional weapons to friends
Sells or gives conventional weapons to friends
Smaller nations can fight without worry of a nuclear exchange
Capitalist Country
Communist Country

3. Why fight or support a Proxy War?
Prevents a nuclear war that would probably be started from direct conflict
Allows both sides to test their weapons against the weapons of the other side
Lets each side expand their spheres of influence or to contain the other county’s sphere

4. The Korean War (1950 – 1953)
Japan had control of the Korean Peninsula during WWII
Korea was split into two occupation zones by the USA and the USSR after WWII along the 38th parallel
There were supposed to be elections in the north, but they never happened. North stayed Communist, South became democratic
With Stalin’s blessing, Kim Il-sung of North Korea invaded the south in April 1950

5. The Korean War (1950 – 1953)
South Korea immediately asked for help from the newly-formed United Nations
The UN faced it’s first real test as an organization that could halt an aggressor nation through collective security
The United Nations multinational force, with the United States leading it, came to help a near- defeated South Korea in October 1950

7. The Korean War (1950 – 1953)
After three years of fighting a stalemate, a ceasefire was declared, and the border had barely moved
Canada was a key nation in the peace negotiations
How was this part of the policy of containment?

8. The Vietnam War (1956 – 1975)
Vietnam and most of south-east Asia (Indochina) had been a French colony when Japan took it over in WWII
After WWII, the French regained control of the country, but a rebellion held by Ho Chi Minh overthrew the French in 1954
European nations divided Vietnam into north and south, and elections were to be held. They never happened.
The USA supported the democratic south, and started sending weapons and advisors in 1956

9. The Vietnam War (1956 – 1975)
By 1966, almost 500,000 American troops were in Vietnam actively fighting the North Vietnam Army
The United States continued to send troops and began drafting soldiers to continue fighting
The USA feared a domino effect; if Vietnam became Communist then so would Cambodia and Laos and Thailand and India and so on and so on

10. The Vietnam War (1956 – 1975) The war was very unpopular in the USA
Many Americans that did not want to get conscripted into fighting ‘dodged the draft’ by fleeing to Canada
Massive peace movements rose up to demand an end to American involvement in Vietnam because of the high death toll on both sides
The USA pulled out of Vietnam in 1973, and North Vietnam defeated the south in 1975, unifying the country under Communist rule

13. Soviet War in Afghanistan (1979-89)
A country you might have heard of before…
The Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan in 1979 to support a pro-communist government against a rebel movement called the Mujahedeen
The USA boycotted the Moscow Olympics in protest

14. Soviet War in Afghanistan (1979-89)
The United States, wanting to force the Soviets into a Vietnam like conflict, secretly supplied the Mujahedeen with weapons and other equipment
The Mujahedeen fought a guerilla war against the Soviets for years

15. Soviet War in Afghanistan (1979-89)
The Soviets had difficulty winning the war because
The USA and other Arab nations supplied the Mujahedeen
Afghans had more loyalty to their clans and local chieftains than a central government
The large population of rural afghans did not support communism on religious grounds

16. Soviet War in Afghanistan (1979-89)
The end result of the Soviets leaving in 1989:
No strong central government
A well armed and battle- hardened Mujahedeen military
The Mujahedeen became a new government in the years to come…
The Taliban