WOES WITH CARTERThe break down of Détente

Helsinki Accords 1972 over 30 countries participate in a

European Security Conference. They produced a final agreement on August 1, 1975

It consisted of Three Baskets

Basket 1 Security: All countries recognize Europe’s

borders after 1945, they cannot be changed by force. This makes Poland’s border safe from German aggression, as well as recognizes the legitimacy of two separate Germany’s.

Basket 2 Co-operation: It created closer ties and

collaboration between countries in economic, scientific and cultural areas. By working together, countries invest more in each other and benefit from maintaining peace. A war will be much more costly to everyone

Basket 3 Human Rights: All countries agreed to respect

human rights and individual freedoms: thought, conscience or religion and freedom of travel…Soviets were not too happy.

“Well, who’s the master of this house? We are the masters of this house and each time it will be up to us to decide how to act. Who can force us?”- Andrei Gromyko (Minister of Foreign Affairs)

Hello Mr. Peanut! Soviets expected Ford to win reelection

and continue détente as usual Nov. 1976 Carter won due to Ford

pardoning Nixon, people did not trust the government and felt Carter was a good guy who would never lie to them

Carter had a combo of good intentions, strong ideas but vague policies

Brezhnev assured the new president the USSR would not do anything to test him

Carter the Cold Warrior Carter’s national security advisor, Zbigniew

Brzezinski was the son of a Polish diplomat and a leading scholar on Soviet totalitarianism…he was also anti-détente

Neo-Conservatives began to question and attack détente, claiming it was weakening America and allowing the USSR to grow stronger

Human Rights Carter insisted the Soviets live up to their

promises in the Helsinki Accords and began to talk to Soviet dissidents

1977 KGB cracked down on the Helsinki watch groups and arrested activists

Brezhnev was more concerned with continuing arms limitation talks, SALT II was almost complete

Arms Control Brezhnev stated he does not seek superiority

in delivering a first strike, that Soviet goals were purely defensive

Soviets wanted to keep using back door channels with the US…but Carter saw this as dishonest and refused

Carter introduces a new arms control proposal which would eliminate ½ the Soviet Satan rockets and the US would promise not to deploy any more missile systems

This meant that all the work on SALT II would be thrown out…Brezhnev’s health was failing, partly due to the stress of those talks. He could not handle any more

It was time to teach the Americans a lesson, the Soviets very rudely rejected the American proposal

The next Soviet-American summit was postponed and did not meet until Jun 1979, when Brezhnev was near physical and mental disintegration

More Mishaps World Energy crisis hit in the

70’s, hurting America and benefiting the USSR

Carter moves closer to China, giving full diplomatic recognition to the CCP and breaking relations with Taiwan in 1978

Iran Shah of Iran was put in power by the

CIA in 1953, he was hated by Islamic Fundamentalists

A general strike occurs, Shah flees and Islamic Fundy Ayatollah Khomeini takes over, creating a new constitution based on Islamic Law

Carter allows the Shah (suffering from cancer) to seek asylum in the US, the “Great Satan” according to Khomeini who demands we return the Shah

Islamic students take 50+ American hostages at the US embassy in Tehran

Carter avoided using the military as long as he could but eventually tries to rescue the hostages.

It is a complete failure Iranians burn US flags and

flaunt our weakness The hostages were held for 444

days. If Carter had been successful he most likely would have won reelection in 1980.

Lastly Carter put an embargo in

grain sales to the Soviets and boycotted the 1980 Olympic Games held in Moscow

Dec 24th 1979 the USSR invaded Afghanistan, ending any ties that remained with the US

DÉTENTE IS DEAD