The Cold War Around the World

A. Developing Nations

B. The Middle East

C. Latin America

D. Living With Fear

E. Cuban Missile Crisis

A. Developing Nations

• Three “Worlds” in the postwar world

• First World – U.S. and its allies

• Second World – Soviet Union and its allies

• Third World – non-industrialized or developing nations that haven’t chosen sides

• Some countries are willing to take sides for assistance – money, technology, military

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/32/World_map_worlds_first_second_third.GIF

• Soviet Union & U.S. willing to help for their allegiance

• Will use CIA & KGB (spy agencies) to influence 3rd world nations

• Nonaligned nations – Some Third World nations refuse to choose sides and will remain neutral

B. The Middle East• The Shah (king) of Iran aligned Iran with the U.S.

which angered the ayatollahs (Muslim leaders)

• Most Arab nations do not like the U.S. because of Israel

• Iranians overthrow the Shah in 1979

• He fled to the U.S.

• 52 American hostages held for 444 days before they were released in retaliation for the Shah being allowed to sanctuary in the U.S.

• Iran and the U.S. still don’t like one another

• Afghanistan aligned with the Soviet Union and became Communist

• 1979: Afghanis try to overthrow the communist government

• Soviet Union intervenes to keep communist government in control

• Will be the Vietnam for the Soviet Union – they get stuck in a war they can’t win

• After 10 years, they will pull out leaving a power struggle in Afghanistan

• Eventually the Taliban will take control over the nation

C. Latin America• The U.S. dominated

Latin American politics before WWII

• After the war, the U.S. continues to support governments who are anti-communist

• Still following the policy of containment

• Most Latin American governments are dictators who oppress (hurt) the people

• Soviet Union will intervene to help revolutions overthrow the dictators

• Cuba was led by dictator Fulgencio Bautista

• In 1959 Fidel Castro overthrew U.S. supported Bautista

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• Castro aligns Cuba with the Soviet Union under leadership of Nikita Khrushchev

• U.S. becomes very worried and cuts off all communication with Cuba

D. Living with Fear• Most Americans throughout the Cold War are

fearful of nuclear war

• Fear escalates when both sides develop the Hydrogen Bomb

• To combat this fear, Americans will start to build bomb shelters for protection

• American government starts Duck and Cover drills in schools

• October 1962 – Soviet Union is putting nuclear missiles in Cuba pointed at the United States

E. Cuban Missile Crisis

• Led to 13 tense days when the world thought that WWIII was about to begin

• Closest the two nations came to fighting a war

• Kennedy & Khrushchev finally negotiate the removal of the missiles & crisis is averted

• Because of the U.S. and Soviet Union, the entire world almost went into nuclear war

• The world is very negatively affected by the Cold War