Detente and Afghanistan

• what were the causes of detente for the US

  wanted to end Vietnam war (60,000 deaths), public opinion was against conflict and wanted to refocus funds on internal social issues like rich v poor divide that was leading riots. Richard Nixon elected in 1968 after promising to end the war
• what were the causes of detente for the USSR

  poor living standards, stagnated economy, nuclear weapons = v expensive. some tension w/ China after 1968 invasion of Czechslovkia. also want to refocus funds on domestic issues
• how did the paris peace accords contribute to detente

  1973 US national security adviser Henry Kissenger and leader of north vietnam delegation Le Duc Tho signed the peace accords signifying the end of the Vietnam proxy war
• what was SALT 1

  series of talks held for over 2 tears which aimed to limit the arms race. 1972. 5 year freeze on total number of ICBMs and SLBMs. limits on defensive weapons e.g. only allowed ABMs on 2 sites each with 100 max per site. set rules for conduct for nuclear war
• what was its weaknesses?

  the treaty didn't cover MIRVS (latest tech development, carries multiple warheads on one missile). both sides used spy satellites to check the other was sticking to the treaty- heightened suspicion?
• positive consequence of SALT 1 that lead to further agreements

  Nixon visited Moscow in 1974. both leaders agree to try their best to limit the arms race
• what were the Helsinki Accords?

  1975. 3 agreements known as baskets: basket 1- security. recognition of the frontier of the soviet union by the US and acceptance of WG by the USSR. basket 2- cooperation. closer scientific and cultural links. basket 3- human rights. respect human rights such as freedom of though, speech and religion
• what was basket 2 symbolised by

  1975 handshake in space between US astronaut and Soviet cosmonaut
• what was SALT 2

  1978. new US president Carter and Soviet president Brezhnev sign an agreement limiting the production of nuclear missile launchers
• what was the problem

  it was not ratified by the US senate
• why did some american politicians think helsinki accords were too soft on the soviets?

  it meant the US would accept post ww2 borders- this included the baltic states- Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania
• why was detente becoming increasingly unpopular in the USA in the 1970s

  the soviets were funding communist groups in south africa
• what happened in 1978 in Afghanistan

  a communist coup led by Mohammad Taraki
• why was it opposed by various Afghan warlords and tribal leaders and how did the new gov respond

  communism clashes ideologically w/ islamic fundamentalism- secular, even became anti-islamic. gov tortured & murdered many islamic tribal leaders
• explain the influence of Iran

  taken over by a fundamentalist islamic gov that gave aid to the comm gov's oppostion: the mujahideen. they wanted to wage a war against their god-less gov, a jihad.
• why did the soviet union fear Amin's possible future actions

  he had replaced Taraki as comm president of Afghanistan. had little success in ensuring stability in Afghanistan against the mujahideen. the soviets feared he would turn to the US for help
• why were the mujahideen a threat to the USSR

  fundamentalist islam could spread to the soviet union where 30 mill muslims were living in 1979. contradicts comm values & system- can't co-exist
• explain the events


  december 1979. 50,000 soviet troops invaded on xmas day! justified as a mission to support Amin's gov against islamic terrorists. assassinated Amin, replaced w/ hardline comm Babrak Kamal to establish a pro-soviet gov. the soviets had to keep 85,000 troops in Afghanistan to keep this comm gov in control
• short-term consequences of the invasion: 1

  the carter doctrine! 1980. the US would defend its military interests in the Persian Gulf in necessary to protect its oil reserves. included: economic sanctions against the USSR, military aid to states bordering it like Pakistan, supple of weapons to mujahideen, more spending on arms, increase of espionage via the CIA
• short-term consequences: 2


  1980 Olympic boycotts. US and 61 other countries refuse to participate in 1980 olympic games in moscow. eastern bloc later boycott 1984 olympics in LA
• long term consequences of the war

  soviet forces end up having to fight the mujahideen for 10 years (experts at guerilla tactics in mountains in Afghanistan. received financial support from US). the war drained human & financial resources- 15,000 deaths, cost $20 bill. withdrew eventually in 1989, failed to keep a pro-soviet gov in place. weakened moral
• who was elected next as president, what was his stance towards the USSR

  Ronald Reagan 1980. believed that it was an evil empire. much more aggressive in his stance than previous presidents