...Carter and the Doctrine The Cold War and US Diplomacy Dr. Igor Barsegian Pol 300 Contemporary International Problems February 7, 2015 Abstract This paper is about the Carter Doctrine and the Cold War. I will address the wars that are affected by the speech to protect the interest of the Persian Gulf. The wars started in 1991 and they continue on today. The name has changed but the message hasn’t. The last item to address is the final chapter before Jimmy Carter left office. Jimmy Carter was the 39th President of the US narrowly beating Gerald Ford for the most coveted office in the US. The margin was 297 to 240 Electoral votes (American Experience, 2006). Carter’s State of the Union was focused on oil since we were coming out of an oil shortage in the early 70’s. His speech sent a strong message to the Soviet’s the US was going to protect the Persian Gulf region by any means necessary (2006). In 1947 President Truman made a similar declaration to protect Greece and Turkey from being controlled by outside forces such as Russia, this is why the Cold War has been in existence. The Soviet started taking over smaller vulnerable countries after WWII. The Carter Doctrine provided in some ways many foreign diplomatic affair episodes involving the use of force by the United States. The first Afghanistan War was a result of protecting the interest of the Persian Gulf region. The US had to use military force to prevent the Soviets from taking over the smaller area in and around...
Words: 1094 - Pages: 5
...The Cold War and US Diplomacy II Carter and the Doctrine Dr. Igor Barsegian Pol 300 Contemporary International Problems March 7, 2015 Abstract January, 2010marked the 30th anniversary of the Carter Doctrine as recited by former President Jimmy Carter. The State of the Union, along with his Presidency moved forward without notice. The Carter Doctrine has had a transformative impact on U.S. national security policy. Both massive and lasting, its impact has also been almost entirely pernicious. Put simply, the sequence of events that has landed the United States in the middle of an open-ended war to determine the fate of the Greater Middle East begins here (Bacevich, April 2010) The Carter Doctrine was a policy proclaimed by the president of the United States Jimmy Carter in his State of the Union address on January 23, 1980, which stated that United States would use military force if necessary to defend its national interest in the Persian Gulf region. The doctrine was a response to the 1979 invasion of Afghanistan by Soviet Union, and was intended to deter the Soviet Union-the Cold war adversary of the United States-from seeking hegemony in the Gulf. After stating that Soviet troops in Afghanistan posed “a grave threat to the free movement of middle east oil,” Carter proclaimed (Bracevich, 2010). Carter’s new policy came about because he wanted to develop a containment strategy for the Persian Gulf area. When Carter came to office, unlike John F. Kennedy, his aim was...
Words: 1415 - Pages: 6
...Running head: - TITLE The Cold War and U.S. Diplomacy The Cold War and U.S. Diplomacy Claudette E. Washington Professor Dr. Michael Simms POL 300 – International Problems May 5, 2016 Summarize a situation that required U.S diplomatic efforts during the president’s time in office. The patronizing presidency for Jimmy Carter obligated a one-term governor of a southern state with no coast-to-coast or global involvement. His individual foreign policy goals were understood in the statute of law as well as global matters and in the belief of independence for all people. Furthermore, he required the United States to yield the main indorsing surrounding widespread human rights. Mr. Carter said that the American power must be trained sparingly and that the United States would avoid military involvements as much as possible. Through my research Carter opinions were to help the American families, during the eras of the Soviet Union and to undergo recovery of two state financially control settlements that would relax Cold War strains. Carter's supporters requested his desired of the govern in a diverse way, he wanted not to appoint the Washington insiders to top overseas program locations. After the election Carter accepted the needs of professionals nearby him to deportment for his foreign policy. Carter was impressed with professor Zbigniew Brzezinski of Columbia University, asked him to be his national security adviser and...
Words: 1702 - Pages: 7
...Doctrine of Reagan Mrs. J. Y. Baker Prof. Thomas Payne Jr. – POL 300 February 4, 2012 Doctrine of Reagan With the threat of The Cold War, U.S. Presidents beginning with Truman had to create doctrines to find remedies for the problem of communism and its expansion. The doctrine of Ronald W. Reagan was especially noteworthy because it initiated a revolutionized foreign policy after World War II. The Cold War brought trepidation of nuclear bombing that sent panic through the U.S. government. This is why previously the U.S. chose not to challenge the Soviet Union head-on. Officials felt American’s weren’t ready to send their loved ones to fight another war on foreign soil after Vietnam listed so many casualties. However with the risk of communism spreading further and possibly encompassing the globe, the U.S. just couldn’t take a backseat and keep quiet. In 1983, Reagan dubbed the Soviet Union an “evil empire” using a speech written by Dolan for the opposite purpose. As Diggins put it “Reagan dubbed the Soviet Union ‘the focus of evil’ of the entire world” (2007, pg. 29). Following the footsteps of his predecessor, President Carter, Reagan developed a way to fight the war on communism and make the people happy by preventing our military from suffering anymore casualties. President Carter got the ball rolling when the Soviet Union tried to invade Afghanistan in 1979. That’s when the U.S. supplied secret military aid to mujahideen fighters to assist in driving out the...
Words: 784 - Pages: 4
...The Carter Doctrine and the Effects in Afghanistan POL 300 July 28, 2013 Professor Koltochnik Adreion Rice Assignment 2 As recorded, The Carter Doctrine was a policy proclaimed by the president of the United States Jimmy Carter in his State of the Union address on January 23, 1980, which stated that United States would use military force if necessary to defend its national interest in the Persian Gulf region. The doctrine was a response to the 1979 invasion of Afghanistan by Soviet Union, and was intended to deter the Soviet Union-the Cold war adversary of the United States-from seeking hegemony in the Gulf. After stating that Soviet troops in Afghanistan posed “a grave threat to the free movement of middle east oil,” Carter proclaimed: The region which is now threatened by Soviet troops in Afghanistan is of great strategic importance: It contains more than two-thirds of the world's exportable oil. The Soviet effort to dominate Afghanistan has brought Soviet military forces to within 300 miles of the Indian Ocean and close to the Straits of Hormuz, a waterway through which most of the world's oil must flow. The Soviet Union is now attempting to consolidate a strategic position, therefore, that poses a grave threat to the free movement of Middle East oil. When Carter assumed office in 1977, he was a tabula rasa, the perfect American innocent in a world set in its ways. Predictions of how he would behave were few, and those that were attempted were based on Carter’s...
Words: 1194 - Pages: 5
...After World War II tension between the two super powers of the time, The Soviet Union and the United States increased. Many believed a third war would break out and the world as we know it would have possibly been destroyed or at least most of it due to the nuclear warfare. The soviets could not handle the fact that the United States had nuclear weapons thus making the soviets envious and them wanting to be superior to the United. On the other hand the United States wanted the world to be peaceful or at least have no communism in the world, seeing that the two superpowers in the world did not agree nor get along the race to prove to the world which super power was superior began, starting the Cold War. During the Cold War there where...
Words: 1148 - Pages: 5
...relations were chiefly guided by containment and its philosophy. Where as strategic action would be taken to stop the spread of communism. Devised by George Keenan and adopted by Harry Truman, containment was created during the Cold War to stop the spread of Soviet influence, and communist rule. Examples of this doctrine are the war in Vietnam, Korea, Iran, and other countries where democracy seeking countries were looking for U.S support over communist governments. Although containment was heavily influenced within the U.S foreign relations principles, there are a few examples where U.S policy was not guided by Cold War thinking. The first example comes from negotiations between the U.S and Russia, called...
Words: 844 - Pages: 4
...Discuss when, why and how the Cold War began. Then cite at least one factor that perpetuated the Cold War in each decade from the 1950s-1980s and discuss how the item you selected affected America at home as well. Last, discuss when and why the Cold War ended To begin with, it should be specified that the Cold War was a state of political, economic, ideological and other confrontations existed between the Soviet bloc countries and The United States-led Western powers. There were several prerequisites of the Cold War beginning, but the main one was a refusal of the USSR to compromise with the USA and leave occupied areas of Eastern Europe, moreover its potential interest in communist regimes in Greece, Italy and France. The Truman Doctrine that was suggested by the president with a support of George Marshall, George Kennan and Dean Acheson in February 1947 became an ideological substantiation of the Cold War. According to this doctrine a conflict between Western democracy and communism was inevitable, thus the Cold war began. The most significant event that happened in 1950s was the threat of intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) that were successfully tested by the USSR in August, 1957. Reacting to such danger, the USA created a system of anti-missile defense in big cities and started to construct nuclear bombers. 1960s were marked by Berlin crisis, when a physical symbol of the Cold War – the Berlin Wall was built. According to the decree of Khrushchev the Wall separated...
Words: 544 - Pages: 3
...Assignment 1 - The Cold War and U.S. Diplomacy SHAMIKA WARD EMMANUEL OBUAH POL 300: Contemp Intl Problems May 31, 2013 The Cold War and U.S. Diplomacy The Reagan Doctrine was the foreign policy in the United States, enacted by President Ronald Reagan. The doctrine was design to eradicate the communist governments in Africa, Asia, and Latin America that were authorized and corroborated by the Soviet Union. This assignment will review by what method the United States delivered open and private backing to guerrilla and resistance movements during the Regan years. Additionally, explain the political doctrine detailed events that occurred in Afghanistan when the Soviet Union invaded. As a final point, this assignment will define the benefits and drawbacks established on the Regan Doctrine. Summarize the Situation of U.S. Diplomatic of the Regan Doctrine During the course of the initial years of the Cold War, Presidents Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, and Jimmy Carter all endorsed dogmas against communism in order to enclose it. Ronald Regan prohibited their détente policy in 1979, when the Soviet Union attacked Afghanistan. This alone demonstrated that policies that only contain communism were unproductive. Regan criticized in the compromise policy when it emanated to any communist government. As an alternative, Reagan proposed the Rollback policy. The creation of the Reagan Doctrine moved from containment and dispersal to eradicating all current communist governments. Likewise...
Words: 1299 - Pages: 6
...The Cold War and U.S. Diplomacy Strayer University Summer 2014 The purpose of the Reagan Doctrine was to “sponsor anticommunist guerrillas who are trying to overthrow pro-Soviet regimes” (Roskin, 2010, p.58). It was implemented in the mid-1980’s; specifically mentioned in a discrete manner in President Reagan’s 1985 State of the Union Address and lasted less than a decade, until the end of the Cold War in 1991. One of the major challenges that President Reagan faced throughout his time in office was Communism and the Cold War. Although these issues had been a problem through several presidencies, they began to escalate in the early years of Reagan’s administration. Reagan believed that President Carter provided minimal leadership to reverse communism. In 1985 President Reagan introduced the principles of the doctrine through support of anti-communist revolutions. During his State of the Union Address in 1985 he compared, “anticommunist forces with American colonists who had fought the revolutionary war, describing those latter-day patriots as ‘freedom fighters’ for democracy” (“The Reagan Doctrine”, 2014, par. 2). The doctrine was created to decrease the Soviet influence in Africa, Asia and Latin America as part of the Reagan administration’s Cold War strategy (Reagan Doctrine, 2014). It has been argued that the Reagan doctrine contributed to the fall of communism itself. One of the diplomatic efforts that occurred during Reagan’s time in office was the support...
Words: 1193 - Pages: 5
...Reagan Doctrine 1981 – 1989 By: Naomi Reid Professor Muhammad Sohna Pol 300 Sunday, July 29, 2012 “The "Reagan Doctrine" was used to characterize the Reagan administration's (1981-1988) policy of supporting anti-Communist insurgents wherever they might be. In his 1985 State of the Union address, President Ronald Reagan called upon Congress and the American people to stand up to the Soviet Union, what he had previously called the "Evil Empire": "We must stand by all our democratic allies. And we must not break faith with those who are risking their lives--on every continent, from Afghanistan to Nicaragua--to defy Soviet-supported aggression and secure rights which have been ours from birth." (Reagan Doctrine) To the naked eye the Reagan Doctrine appears to corresponds with the United States’ 40-year mission for containment of the Soviet Union. The doctrine however is very different. As carried out by Presidents Truman, Eisenhower, Nixon and Carter, containment is a defensive theory referring to efforts to limit the further spread of Soviet power. During the initial years of the Cold War, the United States’ official policy towards communism was containment. With the creation of the Reagan Doctrine the focus shifted from keeping communism from spreading to eliminating existing communist governments. In addition to the rollback of these communist governments, the United States also wanted to encourage capitalism and democracy in those places. The Reagan Doctrine goes over...
Words: 506 - Pages: 3
...Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan The Invasion of Afghanistan marked the beginning one of the darkest decades in Soviet political action. One of the most decisive event in the latter half of the Cold War, it raised tensions once again and put the two superpowers butting heads once again. A 10 year war that pitted the Soviets against the Mujahedeen backed by many western and fellow Arab nations. Countries had different reasons to support the fight against the Soviets such as the Americans who saw it as another Cold War struggle, to Egypt and other fellow Muslim nations it was to assist a fellow Muslim population fight back against the atheist invaders. This invasion of Afghanistan was met with a worldwide outcry for the USSR to immediately pull out and stop the fighting. The Soviet equivalent of Vietnam, this was a conflict that they realized was unwinnable far too late into the endeavor. This event brought the world to the end of Détente and created high tensions through much of the 1980’s. When the Soviet paratroopers landed over Kabul on Christmas of 1979 the time for current Prime Minister Hazifullah Amin was quickly running out. He was a very unpopular leader with many ideals that did line up with Moscow, however they decided that his time leading the nation was up. On December 27th Soviet troops stormed his palace and murdered him with most of his family. He was almost immediately replaced by Babrak Kamal, a politician who depended very heavily on the Soviet forces to stay...
Words: 2127 - Pages: 9
...The Reagan Doctrine The Reagan Doctrine popularized during the two-term presidency of Ronald Wilson Reagan was one which he hinted to in his 1985 State of the Union Address. He affirmed to the American public and the world that “We must not break faith with those who are risking their lives--on every continent from Afghanistan to Nicaragua--to defy Soviet aggression and secure rights which have been ours from birth. Support for freedom fighters is self-defense.” (Reagan, 1985, Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents 21, no. 6). This theme was expanded upon afterwards by then Secretary of State George Shultz, and picked up by journalists, most notably Charles Krauthammer who was first to give the Reagan Doctrine its name in his column in the April 1, 1985 issue of Time magazine. The Reagan Doctrine contended that the United States had a duty to oppose the spread of communist dictatorships and to support the freedom fighters that were part of insurgencies defying Soviet aggression. Its policies were rooted in the 1950s anti-communist doctrines long supported by Americans; however it differed in that “containment” was no longer its only goal. Under the Reagan doctrinal policy it was now permissible to support freedom fighters seeking to throw off governments in counties suffering under communist domination. The rhetorical outpouring of the Reagan Doctrine was much more universal than its actual enactment of policy. This was attributed largely to the impact on U.S. interests...
Words: 1068 - Pages: 5
...The Cold War and U.S. Diplomacy POL 300 January 31, 2012 The key problem for his presidency clearly would be the Vietnam War. It had driven his predecessor from office, and if it were not resolved in a way that could be turned to political advantage, it would drive him from office as well. Two months after Nixon assumed the presidency, American combat deaths exceeded thirty-six hundred, and there seemed no end in sight. Nixon was in a dilemma, for during the campaign he had said that he had a "secret plan" to end the war but could not divulge it because it might upset the Paris peace negotiations. If his plan involved escalation, Democrats could charge that he was abandoning attempts to reach a peaceful solution and could point to mounting American casualties and prisoners of war. If he negotiated a solution that led to the fall of the government in Saigon, Democrats could charge he had abandoned an ally. Nixon had to find a way to cut American commitments while preserving the non-Communist government in South Vietnam—at least for a "decent interval" so that the overthrow of the regime could not be blamed on the United States (Morgan 2002). Nixon, his national security adviser Henry Kissinger, and Secretary of Defense Melvin Laird settled on an approach with several elements. First, the Laird policy for "Vietnamization" was adopted. Responsibility for fighting would be turned over to the Vietnamese, in order to reduce American casualties. Gradually...
Words: 1576 - Pages: 7
...Current Events and U.S. Diplomacy Contemporary International Problems POL 300 March 4, 2012 The Reagan Doctrine was no different. Presupposing a world of evil and good, it operated on the theory that evil, was in the form of the USSR, and was getting the upper hand. To Reagan and his advisers, examples of Soviet treachery, including support for Marxist movements around the globe, were numerous; moreover, Soviet adventurism, from the Horn of Africa in the 1970s to Central America in the 1980s, showed no signs of lessening. Reagan was intent on stopping that trend—a trend, he believed, that President Carter had done little to reverse. Therefore, he adopted the vocabulary of the early Cold War, advocating policies equally aggressive and bold in range (Foreign Affairs). Reagan presented his vision at his State of the Union Address on February 6, 1985. "We must not break faith," he declared, "with those who are risking their lives—on every continent from Afghanistan to Nicaragua—to defy Soviet-supported aggression and secure rights which have been ours from birth." The president went on to compare anticommunist forces with American colonists who had fought the revolutionary war, relating those early patriots as "freedom fighters" for democracy. Providing aid to those groups was not only ethically just but geopolitically sensible. "Support for freedom fighters," Reagan declared, "is self-defense." It would be months before those declarations...
Words: 3080 - Pages: 13
