facing global challenges, jfk to nixon

7/28/2019 Facing Global Challenges, JFK to Nixon

1/89

FACINGFACINGGLOBALGLOBAL

CHALLENGESCHALLENGESFrom John F.From John F.

Kennedy to JimmyKennedy to JimmyCarter, 1961Carter, 1961 19801980


2/89

v Berlin

v Peace Corps

v Alliance for Progress

v Bay of Pigs

v Cuban Missile Crisis

v Race for the moon

v Nuclear Test Ban Treaty

v Vietnam


3/89

In 1949, Germany was divided into two nationscommonly known as East and West Germany. EastGermany was ruled by the USSR while West Germany was

independent. The city of Berlin, located in East Germany,was also divided into a free and a communist sector. TheUSSR tried to force the Americans to surrender control ofWest Berlin.

West Berlin

WestGermany

EastGermany


4/89

Relations between the two super powers worsenedafter the Vienna Summit in June 1961.

Khrushchevthreatened JFK

with an ultimatumon Berlin. JFK

responded with aU.S. military build-

up and a civildefense program.


5/89

Tensions rose during the remainder of 1961.On August 13th East Germany prepared for the

construction of the Berlin Wall to separatecommunist Berlin from the American and

European controlled sectors.


6/89

In June of 1963 President Kennedy went toBerlin and delivered his famous Ich bin ein

Berliner (I am a Berliner) to show U.S.determination to keep Berlin free.


7/89

JFK met with various world leaders

JFK and Gromyko, SovietForeign Minister

March 1961

JFK and Willy Brandt,Mayor of West Berlin1961

JFK, Indonesian PresidentSukarno, and LBJ

April 1961

JFK and Nkrumah PrimeMinister from Ghana

March 1961


8/89

Creation of the Peace Corps

Kennedy signed an Executive Order to create

the Peace Corps on March 1, 1961. His brother-in-law, Sargent Shriver, was appointed the firstdirector on March 4.

Congress formally authorized program in

September, 1961.

The purpose of the program is to fight hunger,

disease, illiteracy, poverty, and lack ofopportunity by sending volunteers to assist localsin their own nation.

Within two years, more than 7,000 volunteerswere serving in 44 Third World nations. ThirdWorld nations are usually defined as lessindustrialized and poorer than First Worldnations.


9/89

The Alliance for Progress

The Alliancefor Progress

initiativefocused on

maintainingdemocraticgovernments,on industrialand agrarian

development,and on

equitabledistribution of

wealth.

Bogot, Colombia December 17, 1961.

"Here is inaugurated the first school of22,000 to be constructed by the

Colombian government within theAlliance for Progress with the assistanceof the President of the United States of

America, J ohn F. Kennedy


10/89

In 1960, all U.S. businesses in Cuba were nationalized(taken over by the Cuban government) without

compensation. The U.S. broke off diplomatic relationswith Cuba and saw Castro as an enemy.

Eisenhower agreed to a CIAplan for an exile invasion ofCuba to overthrow Castro in

March of 1960


11/89

BAY OF PIGSINVASION SITE

Cuban exiles

invaded Cubawith the help of

the U.S. inApril 1961


12/89

The invasion was a failure and the entireCuban exile invasion force was either killed or

captured by Castro's army.

Castros forces Castros air forcedestroyed theinvading ships


13/89

Cuban Missile Crisis

August to November 1962

The closest the world has come to fullscale nuclear war


14/89

U.S. intelligence began receiving reports ofSoviet missiles in Cuba. A U2 flight on

August 29,1962 confirmed the presence ofsurface to air missile batteries in Cuba. Thesemissiles were designed to shoot down enemy

aircraft.


15/89

Declassified1962 map

showing thedistances

nuclear armedmissiles wouldgo if fired from

Cuba. Almost allmajor U.S.population

centers werewithin range.Maps like this

convinced JFKthat the Soviet

missiles must beremoved from

Cuba.


16/89

Low altitude view of missile preparation area. The pilottaking this shot flew at an altitude of about 250 feet, and

at the speed of sound.Each one of the Russian missiles in Cuba had the

explosive power of 50 Hiroshima type atomic bombs


17/89

Secretary of Defense Robert Mc Namara, Secretary ofState Dean Rusk and JFK, the main policy makers

during the Cuban Missile crisis along with RobertKennedy.


18/89

JFK had two choices of how to

deal with the situation inCuba:

First: He could order airstrikes on the missile sites inCuba and risk an all out

nuclear war with the USSR

Second: He could order anaval blockade and stopSoviet ships from bringing in

missiles and other equipment.No one knew how theRussians would react to this.

He chose the naval blockade

Kennedy signedCuba Quarantine

Proclamation,10/23/1962


19/89

Khrushchev gave in to U.S. pressure andremoved Soviet missiles from Cuba in

exchange for a U.S. promise not to invadeCuba.

Missiles being loaded onSoviet ships for return to the

Soviet Union

Soviet cargo ship leavingCuba with missiles visible

above the desk


20/89

Americas First Manned Space Flight

Americas first astronaut, Alan

B. Shepard, blasted off fromCape Canaveral, Florida, onMay 5, 1961. Shepards capsuleFreedom 7 flew successfully

on a 15 minute suborbital flightto match Soviet cosmonaut and

first man in space YuriGagarins orbital flight the

month before.


21/89

Test Ban Treaty Provisions

Treaty was negotiatedduring summer, 1963

Signed in August, 1963

Banned nuclear testing inthe atmosphere,underwater, or in outerspace

Underground testing

allowed

China and France, bothnuclear powers, refused tosign


22/89

Yesterday a shaft oflight cut into the

darkness.Negotiations were

concluded in Moscowon a treaty to ban allnuclear tests in the

atmosphere, in outerspace, and underwater. For the firsttime, an agreementhas been reached onbringing the forces of

nuclear destructionunder international

control

John F. Kennedy President John F. Kennedy presidedover the formal signing of the 1963

Test Ban Treaty


23/89

vThe space race

vVietnam


24/89

A Walk in Space

Astronaut Ed White maneuvered outside the GeminiIV spacecraft during the first American walk in spacein June, 1965. After six successful Mercury one-man

flights, Gemini two-man flights were rehearsals ofskills astronauts would need in lunar flights. White

later would die in the 1967 Apollo I fire.


25/89

Fire in the Spacecraft!

Americas moon landing hopesnearly collapsed with the January

1967, Apollo I fire. AstronautsGus Grissom, Ed White, and Roger

Chaffee died in the fire from awire striped of its insulation

which occurred in a dressrehearsal for the flight.


26/89

Man on the moon,The Flight of Apollo 11

From left, mission commander NeilArmstrong, center, command module

pilot Michael Collins, and right, lunar

module pilot Edwin (Buzz) Aldrin.

July 20, 1969

July 16, 1969


27/89

Thats one small step for man, one giantleap for mankind -Neil Armstrong

Millions of television

viewers worldwidewatched in black andwhite as Armstrong

descended the Eaglesladder to the lunar

surface.

At 10:56 p.m. on July20, 1969, Armstrongbecame the first manto walk on the moon.

Below, the first

footprint on lunar soil.


28/89

Early History of Vietnam

Vietnams history goes back to 200

B.C.

Vietnam was ruled by the Chinesefor over a thousand years

More than a dozen different dynastieshave ruled

European contact began in the 16th

century

France became interested in Vietnam inthe 19th century and eventuallyconquered the nation along withLaos and Cambodia.

The French were firmly in control by1893 and began exploiting theeconomic wealth of the region

Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia becameknown as French Indochina


29/89

Military Spending under President Johnson in billionsof dollars:

Why did it increase so much after 1966?

0

50100

150

200

250

300

350

400

1964 1965 1966 1967 1968

$ spent


30/89

During WWII France was defeated andoccupied by Germany in 1940.

Also during WWII Japan invaded and ruledVietnam through a puppet government.

During the war the nationalist Communistleader Ho Chi Minh formed a resistance group,the Vietminh, that fought both the Japanese and

Vichy French.After the U.S. entered WWII, the Office of

Strategic Services (later the Central IntelligenceAgency), sent U.S. agents into Vietnam. Thesemen helped to train the Vietminh and theypromised Ho Chi Minh that the United States

would support his goal for Vietnameseindependence after the war.

Ho Chi Minh believed that after the war theUnited States would support independence forVietnam but he could not foresee the Cold War.


31/89

After WWII Ho Chi Minh, leader of theCommunist Vietnamese, believed that

the U.S. would not allow France to

reoccupy to its former colony, sincethe OSS promised that to Minh during

the war. When French soldiersreturned to reassert their authority

and reclaim their colony a bitter nineyear war began that ended in a

French defeat that divided Vietnaminto two halves. One, the north,

became communist, while the southwas under U.S. influence.

FRENCHINDOCHINA

HO CHI MINH


32/89

In July of 1954, the GenevaAccords were signed dividingVietnam at the 17th parallel

for two years until electionscould be held to unify the

nation.

The north became communistwhile the south established

an anti-communist regimethat was tied to the U.S.

President Dwight D. Eisenhower and Secretary ofState John Foster Dulles (from left) greet south

Vietnam's President Ngo Dinh Diem at Washington

national airport, 05/08/1957


33/89

Kennedy, to avoid

being accused oflosing South

Vietnam as Trumanwas accused oflosing China,increased the

number of militaryadvisors sent by

Eisenhower from 800to 16,000 and

formed the Green

Berets special forces.Kennedys goal was

to keep SouthVietnam free fromcommunist control.

Kennedys Vietnam policy


34/89

To protest the Catholic Diems attacks onBuddhist pagodas, Buddhist priests set fire to

themselves in protest. The U.S. decided thatDiem's corrupt and murderous regime was toounpopular and supported an army coup that

killed Diem on November 1, 1963.

Ngo Dinh Diem


35/89

USS Maddox

Target of a

fictionalNorth

Vietnamesenaval attack

Tonkin Gulf Incident, August 1964

The official story was that North Vietnamese torpedo

boats launched an "unprovoked attack" against a U.S.destroyer on "routine patrol" in the Tonkin Gulf on

August 2, 1964, and that North Vietnamese PT boatsfollowed up with a "deliberate attack" on a pair of U.S.

ships two days later. Evidence uncovered since the eventhas proven that there was no attack that night, and some

have suggested that this incident was an excuse toescalate U.S. involvement in the region.


36/89

President Johnson signed the Gulf of TonkinResolution, August 7, 1964

The Gulf of Tonkin Resolutionauthorized President Johnson to"take all necessary measures torepel any armed attack againstforces of the United States and toprevent further aggression.

The resolution passedunanimously in the House, andby a margin of 82-2 in theSenate.

The Resolution allowedJohnson to wage all out waragainst North Vietnam withoutever securing a formalDeclaration of War fromCongress.

Senator

WayneMorseopposed theresolution


37/89

LBJ had stated in his 1964 presidential campaignthat he was not going to send American boys

nine or ten thousand miles away from home to dowhat Asian boys ought to be doing for

themselves.

By early 1965, the communists were well on theirway to victory and Johnson had to either increase

U.S. involvement or see South Vietnam defeated.


38/89

In 1965 after Viet Cong forces attackedseveral American bases LBJ authorized the

"Rolling Thunder" campaign, the systematicbombing of North Vietnam. This bombing

would continue off and on for the next sevenyears.


39/89

Tet Offensive 1967-1968

Planned by General Giap,

commander of the NorthVietnam Army, who hadplanned and executed thebattle which drove theFrench out of Vietnam in1954.

By the end of 1966, NorthVietnam had suffered largecausalities in manpowerand supplies through thebombing of the North andthe fighting in the South.

The primary goals of Giapwere to destabilize theSaigon regime and to forcethe United States tonegotiate a settlement.


40/89

My Lai Massacre March 16, 1968

My Lai village was located in an area of

South Vietnam entrenched with communists.Army Lieutenant William Calleycommanded and led the Charlie Company

soldiers into the village firing, even thoughthere had been no report of opposing fire.Numerous members of their unit had beenmaimed or killed in the area during the

preceding weeks.During their search and destroy mission,

over 300 apparently unarmed civilians,including women, children, and the elderlywere massacred. Calley was said to haverounded up a group of the villagers, orderedthem into a ditch, and mowed them down in

a fury of machine gun fire.When news of the atrocities surfaced, it

sent shockwaves through the U.S. politicalestablishment, the military's chain ofcommand, and an already divided Americanpublic.

Army First LieutenantWilliam Calley, Jr


41/89

The Vietnam War at Home: Demonstrations and Civil Disobedience

In 1965 when Johnson began the massivebombing campaign against North Vietnam the

anti-war movement began organizing protests.Extensive media coverage, especially on the

nightly TV news, brought the violent and bloodyguerrilla war home each night into every

American living room.When draftees were sent to Vietnam, young

people on college and university campuses allaround the country organized protests andteach-ins against the war.

Over the next 2 years the anti-war movementsnowballed. Activists, celebrities and musicianstook up the anti-war cause and waved anti-war

banners. Their speeches and their music

reflected the anger and hopelessness thatAmericans felt over the Vietnam war. Even some

GIs stationed overseas began supporting theanti-war movement in whatever capacity theycould, from wearing peace symbols to refusing

to obey orders.


42/89

There were several types of protestsranging from teach-ins on college

campuses to marches and civildisobedience.


43/89

Vietnam

Kissinger and China

Dtente and the Nixon doctrine

October 1973 Yom Kippur War

SALT II

Fall of Vietnam

Mayaguez

Panama Canal Treaty

Carter and the U.S.S.R.Camp David Accords

Nicaragua & El Salvador

Iran hostages

Soviet invasion of Afghanistan


44/89

Nixon and Vietnam

1969 saw some of the bloodiest fighting ofthe war. This led to massive anti-war

demonstrations and the announcement ofa new policy.


45/89

Vietnamization training bases and schools

Nixon launched aVietnamization of thewar. This meant most of

the fighting would be doneby South Vietnamese

(ARVN) forces with theU.S. providing support.The major elements of

Vietnamization were theimprovement and

modernization of theSouth Vietnamese armed

forces ability forpacification and combat

operations.


46/89

President Nixon, as part ofVietnamization, began withdrawing

U.S. troops from Vietnam.

0

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Troops


47/89

Nixon authorized secret bombing of Cambodia inearly 1969 to destroy communist bases.

Daniel Ellsberg, a military analyst

for the Pentagon disillusionedwith government policy, decidedin 1971 to release a top-secret,47-volume internal study of the

evolution of the role of the U.S. in

Indochina over three decades.

The so-called Pentagon Papersexposed government policies such

as the buildup of troops while

publicly announcing withdrawaland bombing of neutral

neighboring nations.

In an attempt to discreditEllsberg, Nixon ordered the break

in of his psychiatrist's office,which eventually led to the

exposure of the Watergate break-

in.


48/89

Kent State University anti-war (Cambodian invasion) protest, May1970. National guardsmen opened fire on protesting students

killing four and wounding eight.

Kent State photo that shocked the nation


49/89

The end in Vietnam

Nixons plan of talking and bombing led to results inthe Paris Peace talks which had been going on since

1968. North Vietnam was pressured by both theUSSR and China which led to a final agreement and

ceasefire in January of 1973.

The treaty allowed the U.S. to withdraw almost allof its troops. Unfortunately for South Vietnam, the

North Vietnamese led a massive invasion in April of1975.

Communist forces entered the South Vietnamese

capitol city of Saigon and renamed it Ho Chi MinhCity. Vietnam was reunited under a communistgovernment. The U.S. mission to protect South

Vietnam had failed.


50/89

Henry Kissinger, Nixons Secretary of State in 1973,wasNixons main advisor for foreign policy. They both were

pragmatic, wanted stability and order in the world, a conceptthat is defined as realpolitik:

Kissinger believed that peace was not a universalrealization of one nations desire, but general acceptance of

a concept of international order.

A belief in a global balance of power, sharedby five nations (regions) that were to

be responsible for world peace.

These nations had the obligation to besuperpowers and police the rest of the

world to keep the peace.The five nations were:

1. United States2. USSR3. Western Europe (West European

NATO allies)

4. People's Republic of China5. Japan


51/89

Nixon and China

In 1949 Communist armies led by Mao Zedong defeated theNationalist government of Chiang Kai-Shek and established

the Peoples Republic of China.The U.S. refused to recognize the Communist takeover of

China and insisted that Taiwan, where Chiang Kai-Shek and

his army had fled, was the real government of China.


52/89

U.S. and China

Richard Nixon reversed the policy of non-

recognition of the new government of China in atwo step process. First the Chinese invited a U.S.

ping pong team to play in China. This wasfollowed by an invitation for Nixon himself to visit

China.

Original Chinese ping pong players at a 25th reunion of the event


53/89

Why did Nixon reverse U.S. China policy in1971?

The Vietnam War was still going on and heneeded a foreign policy victory and good presscoverage for the upcoming election

China was the most populous nation in theworld and it made no sense not to have diplomaticand commercial relations

China and the USSR were not on friendly termsand the U.S. could play them off against each other

Nixons history of anti-communism allowed himto normalize relations with China without beingaccused of being soft on communism

There was pressure in the United Nations to letChina in as a permanent member


54/89

DtenteRELAXING OF TENSIONS BETWEEN NATIONS

Union of Soviet Socialist Republics

The power of the U.S.S.R.extended to these Eastern

European nations. They hadlimited relationships with the

free world.


55/89

President Nixon improvedrelations with the U.S.S.R.

Helsinki arms control talks and the SALTI treaty

Nixon visited Moscow

Wheat deal

Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev visited theU.S.

In May of 1972Richard Nixon became

the first AmericanPresident to visit the

U.S.S.R.


56/89

Helsinki arms control talks and Salt I Treaty

To cool the arms race between the U.S. and U.S.S.R. a series ofstrategicarms limitations talks were held from November 1969 to May 1972. This

was the first agreement to place limits and restraints on some of the mostimportant armaments.

Limitations were place on anti-ballistic missile systems (ABM)


57/89

The U.S. agreed to sell the U.S.S.R. over a billion dollars in

wheat to feed the Russian people. After the wheat dealRussia became more cautious in promoting communist

revolutions in third world countries and helped get NorthVietnam to the bargaining table. The wheat deal helpedAmerican farmers who were struggling with a surplus ofwheat. This deal also led to U.S. oil drilling equipment

being sold to the U.S.S.R. to help them develop theiroilfields in Siberia.

Wheat deal


58/89

Nixon and Brezhnev signed theJoint Commission Agreement, 1973

State Dinner, 1973

Leonid Brezhnev visited the U.S. in1973.


59/89

Nixon Doctrine

An attempt to set guidelines for dealing with nonaligned

Third World nations, while avoiding another Vietnam-type war.

Third World

was the termused to refer to

poorer nations inthe 1970s. Todaythey are referredto as Developing

Nations. Third World outlined in black


60/89

Nixon Doctrine

" I ts central thesis is that the United States will participate in the defenseand development of allies and friends, but that America cannot-and will

not-conceive all the plans, design all the programs, execute all thedecisions and undertake all the defense of the free nations of the world.

We will help where it makes a real difference and is considered in ourinterest."

Three key points of the Doctrine were:

1. Negotiating with adversaries, regardless of their philosophy of

government, an attempt to find some common ground for agreement andmutual benefit.2. Working for a greater partnership with U.S. allies, in which each nationis encouraged to make a greater contribution toward its own defense.3. Preserving Americas strategic strength for security. The U.S. maintainsits arms as a bargaining chip while attempting to reduce the overalllevel of strategic weapons among all nuclear nations and working toward

universal control of weapons in space and on the ocean floor.

The stated goals were to promote democracy and economic

development in nonaligned nations by providing foreign aid. Inpractice it supported many repressive unpopular governments.The U.S. furnished military and economic aid to any government

that was pro-US and anti-communist.


61/89

Chile was an example of the NixonDoctrine in practice.

Pinochet and Allende

Allende, a Socialist, ran forpresident of Chile in 1970.Nixon and Kissinger fearedan alliance with Cuba and a

domino effect in SouthAmerica. Nixon sent in the

CIA to prevent Allende

from taking office; initiallythe operation was a

failure, but eventually theCIA supported General

Pinochet to seize power,who took office and

murdered Allende in 1973.

Even though Pinochet ledan oppressive governmentthat jailed, tortured, andmurdered his opponents,

his anti-communism standensured normal relations

with Chile.

Pinochet

Allendeand FidelCastro,

communistdictator of

Cuba


62/89

Egypt

Israel

Syria

Jordan

SaudiArabia

Iraq

Sinai Peninsula

under I sraeli

control

Lebanon

Cyprus

Conflict in the Middle East increased the risk of warbetween the U.S. and U.S.S.R. in 1973.


63/89

Yom Kippur War, October 1973On the highest holy day for Jews, Yom Kippur, Egypt and Syria

launched a two front surprise attack on Israel.

Many other Arab countries lent either military or financial support toEgypt and Syria including Iraq and Saudi Arabia.

Israel, taken by surprise, had a difficult time at first and appealed toPresident Nixon for military aid (planes, tanks and other weapons).

After some hesitation Nixon ordered military aid be sent to Israel.

Israel launched a successful counteroffensive that threatened todestroy several Arab armies.

The USSR supported the Arabs and threatened to enter the war on theirside once it became clear the Arabs were losing.

Both superpowers (U.S. and USSR) put their military on the highestalert.

Nixon defused the tense confrontation by sending Henry Kissinger tothe Middle East. There he negotiated a ceasefire between the Arabs andIsraelis.


64/89

Foreign Affairs under Ford

Ford retained Henry Kissinger as Secretary ofState and continued many of Nixons policies


65/89

Continuing dtente, Ford met withSoviet leader Leonid Brezhnev at

Vladivostok Siberia (U.S.S.R.) in 1974and Helsinki, Finland in 1975


66/89

At the meetings bothnations agreed to workon a SALT II agreement

limiting nuclear

warheads and acceptthe post WWII borders

in Europe. The USSRpledged to improve itshuman rights record.


67/89

MADMAD (Mutually Assured Destruction) was a nuclear war strategyused by the U.S. and USSR. MADMAD meant that if either side started

a nuclear missile war they would be assured that both nationswould be destroyed. It was a type of deterrence where both

nations knew no one would win a nuclear war. A major factor inMADMAD was the use of multiple independently targetable reentry

vehicles (MIRVs). These multi-warhead intercontinental ballisticmissiles would have the capability of breaking into severalhydrogen bomb warheads that could hit several targets.

MIRV warheads and rockets. Limiting their deployment was a majortopic of discussion between Ford and Brezhnev.


68/89

In 1975 South Vietnam fell to communist forces and wasreunited with North Vietnam after 20 years of war. Laos

and Cambodia also became communist countries that same

year.

April 30, 1975

Last helicopter evacuation of U.S.Embassy in Saigon


69/89

Fords response to the Mayaguez Incident illustrated hiseffort to show U.S. resolve in the wake of Vietnam.

SS Mayaguez

Pol Pot, leader of theKhmer Rouge, killed twomillion Cambodians. He

was deposed in 1978when the Vietnamese

invaded.


70/89

Carters foreign policy team:

They often gave him contradictory advice.

Secretary of State CyrusVance was in favor of aconciliatory approach to

the USSR.

National Security AdvisorZbigniew Brzezinski believed

the USSR was takingadvantage of dtente and

wanted a harder line.


71/89

Major foreign policy issues JimmyCarter faced:

Panama Canal Treaty

Relations with the Soviet Union

Camp David Accords

Human Rights diplomacy

Nicaragua, the Sandinistas and El Salvador

Africa

Soviet invasion of Afghanistan

Iran Hostage Crisis

O f C fi h i h


72/89

One of Carters first human rights gestures wasto give the Canal Zone to the Republic of Panama.

Canal

I th 1960 d 1970 t t l t d i P th


73/89

Signing the Treaty

In the 1960s and 1970s resentment escalated in Panama over theterms of the original 1903 canal agreement. The major issues were:

1. The treaty's length of time

2. Who would benefit monetarily from the canal3. The right of the United States to expand canal facilities.

On September 7, 1977, President Jimmy Carter and Panama's chiefof government,Brig. Gen. Omar Torrijos Herrera, signed two treaties in the presence of twenty-six

representatives of Western Hemisphere nations. The United States agreed to turn thecanal over to Panama on December 31, 1999. The treaties protected the United States

interests in the canal and increased Panama's economic benefits.

The Carters at the canal


74/89

Carter and the Soviet Union

His attempts to continue dtente with the Soviet

Union failed because the U.S.S.R. continued to supportrevolutions in Africa.

The U.S.S.R. began deploying medium rangenuclear missiles in Europe, forcing the U.S. to respond.

Carter and Brezhnev negotiated the SALT II treatywhich limited the number of missile launchers andother nuclear delivery systems. The Senate refused to

ratify the treaty under the leadership of Senator HenryJackson. Jackson opposed the treaty because it

improved relations with the U.S.S.R. without animprovement of human rights records.

In 1979 the Soviets occupied Afghanistan andrelations between the two superpowers chilled anddtente suffered a serious blow.

C D id A d


75/89

Camp David Accords

Egypt

Israel

SinaiPeninsula

The one majorsuccess Carterhad during hispresidency was

the 1979Egyptian-Israeli

peace agreement.

The Arab-Israeli conflicthad been going on sincethe establishment of the

Jewish state in 1948.The refusal on the part

of Arab nations toaccept the existence of

Israel led to four majorwars and countless actsof terrorism. In 1977

the world was shockedwhen Egyptian

President Anwar Sadatvisited Israel and began

peace negotiations.


76/89

Anwar Sadat

IsraelEgypt

MenahamBegin


77/89

When talks between Begin and Sadat broke down, Carterinvited them to Camp David, the presidential retreat in

Maryland. After two weeks of intensive negotiations the

Camp David Accords were signed.In the Accords, Israel agreed to withdraw from the Egyptianland it had taken in the 1967 war. Egypt agreed to formallyrecognize Israels right to exist. Egypt became the first Arab

country to recognize the nation of Israel.


78/89

Human Rights diplomacy

Carter campaigned with the promise, Because we are free, wecan never be indifferent to the fate of freedom elsewhere. Ourmoral sense dictates a clear-cut preference for those societieswhich share with us an abiding respect for individual humanrights. When he assumed office Carter put his human rights policy intoeffect. He reduced foreign aid to several nations because of humanrights violations and incorporated his philosophy into manyaspects of U.S. foreign relations. Congress published a State Department report card onhuman rights in 82 nations and passed legislation mandating that

a human rights policy be incorporated into foreign policy. Even though Carter was very sincere in his desire to implementa human rights policy, world events such as the Iranian revolutionand Russian invasion of Afghanistan turned the American peopleaway from his policy and towards one of stronger nationaldefense.

Another problem was in Central America:


79/89

GuatemalaGuatemalaHondurasHonduras

El SalvadorEl Salvador

NicaraguaNicaragua

CostaCosta Rica

PanamaPanama

MexicoMexico

Another problem was in Central America:Nicaragua and El Salvador

Nicaragua changed from dictator rule to a Marxist


80/89

Nicaragua changed from dictator rule to a Marxistgovernment

The Somoza family ruled Nicaragua with an iron hand beginning in 1936. Itended with the assassination of Luis Somoza in 1979. The Somoza family

had always maintained friendly relations with the U.S. Violent opposition togovernmental manipulation and corruption spread to all classes by 1978and resulted in a short-lived civil war that brought the Marxist Sandinistaguerrillas to power in 1979. Nicaraguan aid to leftist rebels in El Salvadorcaused the U.S. to sponsor anti-Sandinista Contra guerrillas through much

of the 1980s.

Anastasio and Luis Somoza

Nicaragua

C t d t i C t l A i


81/89

Carter and events in Central America

The new revolutionary Sandinista Nicaraguangovernment asked the U.S. for $75 million in aid.President Carter asked Congress for the money

but they turned him down. Nicaragua then turnedto the Communist world for assistance.

In El Salvador the repressive anti-communistgovernment was involved in the murder of 4

American Catholic Church women. Carter wantedto withhold aid but Congress refused and there

were calls to increase aid to the pro-U.S.government no matter what crimes they

committed. A 12 year civil war broke out with theanti-government forces supported by the pro-

communist Nicaraguan government.

Jimmy Carter told the American


82/89

Jimmy Carter told the Americanpeople in a speech at Notre DameUniversity that they should put

the inordinate fear of Communismbehind them. Shortly after his

speech Communist forces began

operations in Africa, CentralAmerica, and Afghanistan.President Carter was forced to

confront the fact that communism

was still a menace to the peace ofthe world. In 1979 Carter calledfor a major military build-up tocounter Soviet military power.


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President Carters greatest challenge camefrom Iran.


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Shah Reza Pahlavi &President Carter

1979

January 16: The Shah of Iranfled from Iran and AyatollahKhomeini returned from exile

to establish thefundamentalist Shiitegovernment in Iran on

February 26. Khomeini, anIslamic fundamentalist, hated

America calling it the GreatSatan. He turned Iran into a

theocracy where religiousbullies enforced harsh Koranic

laws.

November 4: Iranian militants

seized U.S. Embassy inTeheran, took 63 Americans

hostage, demanded the returnof Shah of Iran, who was inUnited States for medical

treatment.

Portraitof

Khomeini

A i H ili ti 1979


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Americas Humiliation 1979

Iranian Muslim fundamentalists seized the U.S.

embassy in Tehran, Iran taking 66 hostages.They demanded the U.S. send them the Shah as

the price for freeing the prisoners. Carterrefused.


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Letter from Carter

to Khomeinirequesting therelease of the

hostages,November 6, 1979.

They would not bereleased until

January of 1981,after President

Reagan waselected president.

Carter ordered the military to attempt a rescue


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Carter ordered the military to attempt a rescue.This resulted in a disaster when two U.S. aircraftcollided, ending the mission before it got off the

ground. Eight Americans were killed in the April24-25, 1980 hostage rescue attempt.

Crashed U.S. aircraft in the Iranian desert

The Soviet invasion of Afghanistan


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The Soviet invasion of Afghanistan,December 1979

U.S.S.R.

Afghanistan

To punish the U.S.S.R. for their invasion of


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To punish the U.S.S.R. for their invasion ofAfghanistan, Carter withdrew from the Salt II

treaty, stopped selling them grain, and declared a

boycott of the 1980 Moscow Olympics games.None of these actions had any impact on theSoviet invasion.

facing global challenges, jfk to nixon

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