Foreign Policy
Nixon's Detente
Description
Detente was a cooling down, or thaw, among America, Russia and China's arms' race (Detente). The United States and Russia could either slow their weapons production or continue the arms race, which, people feared could end in a devastating war (Detente, CNN). Nixon and Henry Kissinger worked secretly on Detente at summit meetings in Beijing and Moscow. President Gerald Ford signed on to Detente in Helsinki in 1975. (CNN, Detente).
President Involved
Richard M. Nixon
Gerald Ford
People involved:
Leonid Brezhnev, Moscow Communist Party Chief, wanted to relax tensions with America (CNN, Detente).
Willy Brandt, West German Chancellor, gave Brezhnev the idea for Detente.
President Richard M. Nixon and National Security Advisor Henry Kissinger were the architects of the United States' plan for Detente.
President Gerald Ford took over the office after Nixon resigned and signed the treaty in 1975.
Foreign Policy
The U.S. Foreign policy of, reduction of arms and building better relations seem to contradict each other.
Event Resolved?
Detente was successful in the long run.
Rate the event: 1. Warlike. 2. Increased Tensions. 3. Neutral. 4. Decreased Tensions. 5. Peaceful.
Nixon's Trip to China 1972
Description
Nixon's trip to China was a step toward dealing with communist countries and opening the doors of communications. Since Mao Tse Tung took China's leadership role in the 1950s, the United States had argued that Taiwan's Nationalist government was representative of all of China. Nixon softened this notion, eased trade and became the first American President to visit Beijing.
President involved
Richard M. Nixon
People involved:
President Richard M. Nixon made the historical visit
Henry Kissinger was responsible for opening the doors to tals with China
Mao Tse Tung, the Chinese leader of godlike status who began to soften his communist views somewhat by the time of Nixon's visit.
Foreign Policy
Nixon's China visit was in-line with the Foreign Policy of building better relationships with communist countries.
Event Resolved?
Nixon's visit was somewhat successful in beginning to build a relationship
Rate the event: 5. Peaceful.
Nixon's Trip to China 1972
Description
SALT I was the treaty signed on May 26, 1972, at the end of the Strategic Arms Limitation Talks in Moscow (SALT I, Wikipedia). The talks took place between the Soviet Union and the United States in order to come to an agreement on arms reduction.
President involved
Richard M. Nixon
People involved:
President Richard M. Nixon participated in the talks
Mao Tse Tung, leader of China who received Nixon into his country.
Foreign Policy
The signing of the SALT I Treaty was in-line with the Foreign Policy of building better relationships with communist countries.
Event Resolved?
SALT I gave way to SALT II and the talks were eventually successful
Rate the event:. 4. Decreased Tensions
Helsinki Accords of 1975
Description group of thirty-five representatives of thirty-five nations signed the Helsinki Accords as an agreement on human rights, in Helsinki, Finland. The Accord outlined fundamental freedoms and the States respect for these rights, regardless of the human's religion, race, sex or language. The Accord also bound nations to promote and encourage civil, political, economic, social and other rights which are part of human dignity. The Accord also recognized the Soviet Border which included the Baltic States (The Helsinki Accords). The third point was that the nations promised cooperation in regards to trade and cultural exchange.. Gerald Ford, Leonid Brezhnev and many other leaders met to sign the Final Act, which included three "baskets." The first declared European borders inviolable, codifying post-World War II European borders established in 1945. The second "basket" promised cooperation in trade and cultural exchange. The third guaranteed respect for fundamental human rights.
President involved
Gerald Ford
People involved:
Major signers of the accord included Gerald Ford, President of the United States and Leonid Breshnev, the Leonid Brezhnev, Moscow Communist Party Chief. The two signed the treaty to further the mission of Detente by creating friendly accords.
Foreign Policy
The Accord is in line with the mission of establishing better relationships between America and communist countries.
Event Resolved?
The event was successful because thirty-five nations signed the agreement.
Rate the event:. 5. Peaceful.
The Mayaguez Incident and Ford's Response
Description
The Mayaguez was a cargo ship that a Cambodian gunboat stopped about 60 miles off the mainland coast of Southeast Asia (about eight miles from Poulo Wai island in the Gulf of Siam. The incident took place a few weeks after the final scene in the Vietname war. Because of the loss of the war, America had lost credibility and President Gerald Ford saw the Mayaguez incident as a means for boosting America's credibility around the world. Gerald Ford decided to challenge the principle of freedom of the sea and free the Mayaguez crew.
President Involved
Gerald Ford
People involved:
President Ford decided to take aggressive action to free the Mayaguez.
General David Jones, Chairman of the Joint Chief of Staff and Secretary James Schlesinger and Henry Kissinger advised President Ford on the matter -- Kissinger wanted strong military action.
Foreign Policy
The actions were consistent with the United States' desire to send a message that such attacks on the seas would not be tolerated.
Event Resolved?
The event was resolved. However, 41 people lost their lives to save the 40 crew members aboard the ship.
Rate the event: 1. Warlike.
The Energy Crisis and OPEC
Description
The energy crisis was a major issue during President Jimmy Carter's presidency. He believed that Americans were far too dependent on foreign oil. In 1977, Carter asked that Americans cut down on oil and gas use, conceived the Department of Energy and brought more than a hundred bills to Congress on energy conservation. These measures resulted in the National Energy Act that placed a tax on gas guzzling tires among other things. By 1979 America's demand for oil had lessened; however, The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) increased the cost of oil again. This caused a great strain on America's energy resources (Danzer).
President involved
Jimmy Carter
People involved:
President Jimmy Carter - created legislation to punish energy-intense energy users and reward conservationists
Members of OPEC - raised the price of oil
The American people - learned that oil is not a renewable source. The American's also began conserving energy.
Car manufacturers. The automobile industry began designing fuel-efficient cars.
Foreign Policy
Jimmy Carter's reaction regarding the energy crisis helped the United States become less dependent on foreign oil.
Event Resolved?
The event was resolved in some ways, such as the auto industry designing fuel-efficient cars and the price of oil eventually went down.
Rate the event: 3. Neutral..
Carter's Human Rights Policy
Description
Jimmy Carter used his presidency to further the issue of human rights. His foreign policy was one that advocated that other countries be held to the highest standard and that Americans should also adhere to a high standard. His policy led him to cancel America's participation in the 1980 Olympic games, which were held in Moscow, after the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan.
President involved
Jimmy Carter
People involved:
President Jimmy Carter
Foreign Policy
Carter's views on human rights as the issue relates to foreign policy were inconsistent with many foreign-policy actions that he took during his presidency. He aided Indonesia, the Philippines, El Salvador and Iran as their governments were involved in human-rights violations (Cohen).
Event Resolved?
Human Rights' abuses were not resolved.
Rate the event:. 5. Peaceful.
Panama Canal Treaty of 1977
Description
On September 7, 1977 Jimmy Carter signed the treaty that provided that America would give up control of the Panama Canal by the year 2000 and that the Panama Canal guaranteed its neutrality (Panama Canal Treaty).
President Involved
Jimmy Carter
People involved:
President Jimmy Carter signed the treaty
Panamanian Chief of Government Omar Torrijos signed the treaty.
President Nixon began negotiations under pressure by the United Nations Security council.
President Ford stepped up treaty negotiations, only to become deadlocked on issues such as territory for American bases.
Foreign Policy
The Panama Canal treaty helped ease tensions between the United States and Panama that had been festering since 1908.
Event Resolved?
The event was resolved with the signing of the treaty and the United States' eventual withdrawal.
Rate the event: 5. Peaceful.
Description
The primary agreement of the SALT II treaty was to provide equal numbers of strategic nuclear delivery vehicles between the United States and the Soviet Union. The treaty called for a process of reducing of these vehicles and to impose restraints on nuclear developments that might threaten the two nations. The first breakthrough in talks took place in Vladivostok, Russia in 1974. The final agreement was signed in Vienna in 1979.
President Involved
Jimmy Carter
Gerald Ford
Ronald Reagan
People involved:
President Gerald Ford began the process of SALT II.
General Secretary Brezhnev, architect and signer of the agreement.
Secretary Vance, and Soviet Foreign Minister Gromyko attended talks to agree on the Treaty language.
President Jimmy Carter negotiated and signed the agreement; then he asked Congress to delay ratification after the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan..
President Ronald Reagan declared that the Soviet Union had violated the treaty.
Foreign Policy
The treaty was consistent with United States' policy to slow down the arms' race.
Event Resolved?
SALT II was not ratified due to a shift in United States' policy under President Reagan and the Soviet Union's lack of desire to abide by the treaty.
Rate the event:. 2. Increased Tensions. 4
Soviet Invasion and War in Afghanistan
Description
The war took place between 1979-89 in Afghanistan. In 1978 a coup brought in a new Communist government. In 1979 another coup brought in another leader, which caused the Soviet Union to invade and install Hafizullah Amin in December 1979. The Soviets put in Babrak Karmal as president and eventually brought in 100,000 troops. The United States, China and Saudi Arabia supported the Muslims. The Soviets had superior weapons, but the rebels managed to elude the Soviets until Karmal finally resigned in 1986 and Mikhail Gorbachev agreed to withdraw the troops in 1988. By 1989, the Soviets had withdrawn all the troops.
People involved:
The war began under Soviet President Brezhnev. Presidents Chernenko and Andropov inherited the war when they took office.
The bloodiest fighting in Afghanistan took place under Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev (1985-1986) before he began withdrawing troops.
President Carter, Ford and Reagan were in office during the Soviet war in Afghanistan. All provided aid.
Foreign Policy
The United States' position to aid the Afghan rebels was in line with the foreign policy of the time, which was to contain communism. Prior to the war, the United States supported the Afghan president, Noor Mohammed Tureki. Later the United States shifted its foreign policy saying that the United States would not let anything get in the way of the friendship between America and Afghanistan. Then the State Department said that the United States did business with whoever was in power, whether the government was legitimate or not. These policies under President Carter were all in conflict with each other (Sloan).
Event Resolved?
The event was resolved when the Soviet Union pulled out of Afghanistan without having met its (the Soviet Union) goals. Civil war continued in Afghanistan after the Soviet pull-out; therefore the issue was not resolved.
Rate the event: 1. Warlike.
The Moscow Olympics
Description
The Moscow Summer Olympics in 1980 became a vehicle of protest during the Carter administration. Because the Soviet Union had invaded Afghanistan, Jimmy Carter opted to boycott the American presence at the games.
President Involved
Jimmy Carter
People involved:
Jimmy Carter called for the boycott
American athletes who were forbidden from competing in the games.
Foreign Policy
The boycott was in line with Carter's human-rights policy.
Event Resolved?
The event was resolved after the Olympics took place and American teams did not attend.
Camp David Accord
Description
The 1979 agreement between Egypt and Israel was signed on March 26, 1979 in Washington D.C. The treaty called for Israel's withdrawal from Sinai and Egypt would recognize Israel with full diplomatic relations. Sinai would be demilitarized with the help of the United States (Camp David Accord).
President Involved
Jimmy Carter
People involved:
President Jimmy Carter brokered the deal at Camp David and visited Israel and Egypt just before the treaty was signed
Anwar al-Sadat the Egyption president who signed the Accord
Menachem Begin, the Israeli prime minister who signed the Accord.
Foreign Policy
Carter witnessed the signing that was in line with America's foreign policy to recognize Israel as a State.
Event Resolved?
The demilitarization was successful and completed in 1981.
Rate the event: Decreased Tensions. 5.
Iranian Hostage Crisis
Description
Tensions between the United States and Iran were tense after the overthrow of Muhammad Reza Shah Pahlevi of Iran. When the exiled Shah was admitted to the United States for medical treatment, about 500 students seized the U.S. Embassy in Teheran. Of the 90 people who were at the embassy at the time 55 were held until the end of the crisis. President Carter halted oil and froze Iranian assets in the United States. He also attempted diplomacy. AU.S. led rescue mission was aborted when U.S. helicopters were damaged in a sandstorm and eight people died. On the day of President Ronald Reagan's inauguraton the hostages were released (Iranian Hostage Crisis).
President involved
Jimmy Carter
Ronald Reagan
People involved:
President Jimmy Carter tried in vain to negotiate the hostage release. The crisis was one of the reasons for his re-election defeat.
The exiled Shah of Iran - His coming to the United States sparked the crisis.
Secretary of State Cyrus Vance under Carter opposed the action to rescue the hostages, but resigned when the mission was aborted.
Foreign Policy
The United State Policy in Iran was contrary to Carter's Human Rights' policies, which stated that all humans should be treated with respect.
Event Resolved?
The event was resolved after 444 Days.
Rate the event: 2. Increased Tensions.
The Strategic Defense Initiative
Description
The Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI) was a program under the Strategic Defense Initiative Office, an agency of the United States Department of Defense in Washington, D.C.. President Ronald Reagan announced the program on March 23, 1983, which was responsible for research and development of a space-based system. This system would defend the United States from attacks by strategic guided missiles. Critics called the program "Star Wars" (Strategic Defense Initiative).
President Involved
Ronald Reagan
People involved:
President Ronald Reagan pushed the program to the American people and called for cooperation among other agencies to make the program work.
Scientists from the NASA and other space agencies worked on the program.
The Soviet government would have to think twice before launching an attack against the United States.
Foreign Policy
Ronald Reagan's foreign policy adhered to the "peace through Strength" philosophy. SDI was a means to achieve this and was not contradictory.
Event Resolved?
Many of SDI's components were not technically feasible and therefore the program could not be fully implemented. As a result, in the 1990s, SDI was redefined as a proposed defense against limited nuclear missile attacks rather than against a major exchange of nuclear weapons (Strategic Defense Initiative).
Rate the event: 4. Decreased Tensions.
INF Treaty
Description
The INF treaty was a treaty signed in 1987 by President Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev as part of a set of negotiations that began in 1982, called Start (Strategic Arms Reduction Talks). The treaty was intended to eliminate intermediate-range nuclear forces (Disarmament, Nuclear: International Agreements).
President involved
Ronald Reagan
People involved:
Mikhail Gorbachev, leader of the Soviet Union and President Ronald Reagan signed the treaty.
President George Bush (Senior) continued the negotiations and agreed to the elimination of most the United States' tactical arms, took strategic bombers off alert status and continued to reduce the amount of ballistic missiles in the United States' arsenal.
Russian President Yeltsin agreed to a START II treaty after the fall of the Soviet Union. The treaty called for reducing the amount of nuclear weapons by two-thirds by 2003.
Foreign Policy
The treaty was in line with Ronald Reagan's policy of peace through strength, while working diplomatically with America's foes.
Event Resolved?
The event was successful until the fall of the Soviet Union when countries such as the Ukraine did not sign onto START for fear of a Russian invasion.
Rate the event:. 4. Decreased Tensions.
Perestroika and Glasnost
Description
Perestroika means restructuring in Russian. Perestroika was Russian President Mikhail Gorbachev's policy in Moscow that hoped to transform the economy of Russia from stagnant and inefficient economy, which was the result of a centralized Soviet Union, into a decentralized and vital one (Perestroika). Glasnost, openness, came about at the same time when Gorbachev began to promote a policy where the public could discuss the Soviet Union's problems at the time, as well as historical problems. Many atrocities were discussed such as the brutality of the Stalin regime and purges such as the Katyn massacre. In promoting Glasnost, Gorbachev and Soviet leaders were more open to the press and to foreign leaders. He hoped that Glasnost would promote Perestroika program (Glasnost).
President involved
Ronald Reagan
People involved:
Russian President Mikhail Gorbachev hoped Perestroika would democratize Russia and that Glasnost would open up communication between Eastern and Western leaders.
The Media received more access to the leaders of the Soviet Union
President Ronald Reagan benefited in a renewal of Detente talks with the U.S.S.R.
Russian industrial managers, local government and party officials were given more autonomy under Perestroika.
Foreign Policy
Though the policies were Soviet, the policy helped further policies under Reagan that hoped to put an end to the Cold War.
Event Resolved?
Perestroika was only partially successful and its implementation thwarted after the failed August Coup of 1991 resulted in a change in the Russian constitution.
Rate the event: 5. Peaceful.
Tiananmen Square
Description
The event that took place on Tiananmen Square in China began as a massive demonstration for democratic reform in April of 1989. The protesters demanded the posthumous rehabilitation of the former Communist Party Chairman Hu Yaobang. After Yaobang's funeral Deng Xiaoping denounced the protests, while General Secretary Zhao Ziyang was sympathetic to the cause. In the meantime, workers, intellectuals and civil servants joined the students in the square. The protest drew more than a million. Deng decided to use the military to suppress the protesters. Martial law ensued on May 20 and on June 3 and 4, the leadership, who refused to resign came in with troops, killing thousands. The government arrested many others, including student leaders and Zhao (Student Demonstration).
President involved
Ronald Reagan
People involved:
Students and the people of China who desired a democratic society. Involvement for many of them resulted in death or incarceration.
Deng Xiaoping, Communist Party Chair, who was in favor of using force against the protesters. He resigned after the event.
General Secretary of the Chinese Communist party Zhao Ziyang opposed the use of force at Tiananmen Square. He was ousted and arrested after the event and remained under house arrest until August 1989.
George Bush (Senior) had met with the dissidents in February 1989. After the Tiananmen Square incident, the United States freezes relations and imposes sanctions on China (Collision Course: China U.S. Crash in the Skies).
Foreign Policy
The United States' reaction to the Tiananmen square event is in line with the United States' policy to promote democracy and human rights.
Event Resolved?
The event did not resolve the problem for the protesters.
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