Chapter 17 Section 4

Fighting for the Third WorldConfrontations in Latin America

Confrontations in the Middle East

Fighting for the 3rd World• 3rd world nations: developing nations, often newly

independent, who were not aligned with either superpower

• Cold War Strategies– Foreign aid: using money to gain influence in the country– Espionage: each superpower spied on the other to ensure neither

side gained an advantage in the 3rd world– Alliances: to gain support each superpower enter into alliances.– Propaganda: the superpowers used information to gain influence– Brinkmanship: going to the brink of war to force the other side to

back down– Surrogate wars: the superpowers would back other nations to fight

for their ideology (ideas)

Fighting for the 3rd World• Nonaligned nations– Many nations remained neutral as the superpowers squared

off in different places around the world– The “3rd force” of independent nations• India and Indonesia led the way in forming a group of

nonaligned nations to protect themselves from the influence of the superpowers

• Some were able to remain neutral, but many hoped to “cash” in on the superpowers fight over their countries

Confrontations in Latin America• The Latin American nations struggled after WWII to

close the “gap” between themselves and the rest of the world on an economic basis– Many Latin nations sought aid from both of the superpowers

to expand their industries, strengthen their militaries, and better the lives of the people living in their countries

– Revolutions were wide spread in many Latin nations• Both Communist and Nationalist feelings sparked these

revolutions• When a nation would begin a Communist revolution, the

Soviets would back the revolt• The US would send military and economic aid to any leader

fighting to stop the spread of Communism in his country• The US backed many dictators fighting against Communism

Confrontations in Latin America• Fidel Castro and Cuba– During the 1950s, the US backed Fulgencio Batista as the ruler

of Cuba– He was at times hard on his people which created anti-Batista

feelings and a revolution against his rule– Fidel Castro led the revolution• At 1st Castro was praised for bringing reform to Cuba &

improving the economy• Castro was a harsh dictator who did not bring democratic

rule. • He suspended elections, jailed or executed opponents, and

had a tight control over the press

Confrontations in Latin America• Fidel Castro and Cuba– Castro nationalized the economy, including US sugar mills– Eisenhower placed an embargo on Cuba– Castro turned to the Soviets for economic and military aid

• The Bay of Pigs Invasion– The CIA trained anti-Castro Cuban exiles to invade and start a

counter revolution against Castro– The invasion took place in April of 1961– The US did not provide the air support needed for the invasion

to succeed and Castro’s forces captured most of the invading exiles

Confrontations in Latin America• Nuclear Face Off: the Cuban Missile Crisis– Nikita Khrushchev decided to secretly send nuclear

missiles to Cuba– 10/62: a US U2 spy plane photograph the missile sites

under construction– JFK placed a naval blockade around Cuba and

demanded the removal of the Soviet missiles– The standoff lasted 13 days, many people around the

world feared nuclear war– Finally Khrushchev agreed to remove the missiles if

the US pledge to not invade Cuba

Confrontations in Latin America• Nuclear Face Off: the Cuban Missile Crisis cont..– Castro was left completely dependent on the Soviets– He agreed to back Communist revolutions in other Latin

American & Africa nations in exchange for Soviet support– In 1991, the Soviet Union broke up and aid to Cuba stopped– The Cuban economy was dealt a serious blow

Confrontations in Latin America• Civil War in Nicaragua– The US had funded the dictatorship of Anastasio Somoza– In 1979, the Sandinista rebels overthrew Somoza– The US and Soviets sent aid to the leader Daniel Ortega– Ortega sent aid to El Salvadorian Communists– The US sent aid to the Contras (countrarevolutionaries)– The civil war in Nicaragua lasted a decade– To end the war Ortega promised free elections• Ortega lost to Violeta Chamorro• But Ortega was reelected in 2006

Confrontations in the Middle East• Because the value of oil in the world the Middle East

becomes a target of the influence of both superpowers• Religious & Secular Values Clash– In the Middle East, growing wealth and Western influence

fueled a clash between Islam and materialism– The most obvious country where this clash could seen was Iran– Reza Shah Palivi embraced Western governments and Western

oil companies.– Nationalists resented the influence of the West, and forced the

Shah from power in 1953– The US feared the Soviets would gain influence with the new

government and restored the Shah to power

Confrontations in the Middle East• The US supports secular rule– The Shah used US aid to westernized the country• Foreign Banks, and modern factories became a common

site in Iran– The conservative religious leaders, the ayatollahs, wanted the

West out of Iran– The Ayatollah Khomeini, who had been living in exile rallied

religious opposition to the Shah – Rioting against his rule forced the Shah to flee Iran in 1978– The Ayatollah Khomeini returned to rule Iran as a strict Islamic

state

Confrontations in the Middle East• Khomeini’s Anti-US Policies– Strict Islamic law ruled the domestic policies of Iran– Hatred of the US fueled its foreign policies– 1979, with the blessing of the Ayatollah, Iranian student

stormed the US Embassy in Iran and seized 60 Americans hostage

– To gain their release the US had to force the Shah to return to Iran to face trial for crimes against the people

– The hostages were held for 444 days and released January 20, 1981

– Iran also clashed with other non-religious led countries in the Middle East

– Iraq would be the biggest thorn in the side of Iran

Confrontations in the Middle East– War broke out between Iran & Iraq in 1980– Saddam Hussein was the secular dictator of Iraq– The US sent aid to both sides, in secret, to maintain the balance

of power in the Middle East– The war ended in 1988, millions had died on both sides

Afghanistan• The Superpowers Face Off – In the late 1970s a Muslim revolt threatened to overthrow the

Communist government in Afghanistan– The Soviet Union invaded to help support the government in

1979• The plan was to get in, prop up the government, & get out

– Afghanistan became just like Vietnam had been for the US– The Soviets fought in Afghanistan until 1989– The US supported the mujahideen or holy warriors– The US also stopped shipping gain to the Soviets, & boycotted

the 1980 Summer Olympics held in Moscow– The mujahideen had been made up of several Islamic fractions

including the Taliban– In 1996 the Taliban seized power in Afghanistan