information about End of cold war

1. Prepared by:
Anum Chaudhary
Theme: The US emerges as the world’s
only superpower
The End of the Cold War, Desert
Storm, and the New World Order

2. President ReaganPresident Reagan
 During the1980s, Cold War
tensions increased as
Ronald Reagan pursued a
vigorous anti-Soviet policy
◦ Characterized the Soviet
Union as “the evil empire”
◦ Dedicated massive amounts of
money to military spending to
include the Strategic Defense
Initiative or “StarWars”
◦ Successfully confronted
communist challenges in
Grenada and Nicaragua
Reagan delivers his “Mr.
Gorbachev, Tear Down This
Wall!” speech in 1987

3. The Soviet UnionThe Soviet Union
 While the US was spending
at levels the USSR was
finding difficult to match,
the Soviets were having
their own internal problems
◦ The Soviets withdrew from
Afghanistan in 1989 after ten
years of a failed war many
likened to the US experience
inVietnam
◦ The Soviet economy and those
of its eastern and central
European satellites were in
serious trouble
US-supplied Stinger missiles
helped the mujahedeen
defeat Soviet forces in
Afghanistan

4. GorbachevGorbachev
 With economic and political reforms
obviously needed, Soviet premier
Mikhail Gorbachev initiated perestroika
(the “restructuring” or decentralizing
of the economy) and glasnost (an
“opening” of the Soviet society to
public scrutiny)
 Gorbachev’s reforms proved difficult
to implement and unleashed hostility
from the old order it threatened, long
suppressed criticism, and ethnic and
nationalist separatism
 By the summer of 1990, Gorbachev’s
reforms had spent themselves

5. Collapse of the Soviet EmpireCollapse of the Soviet Empire
 Revolutions broke out
throughout eastern
Europe as people
overthrow communist
dictators in places like
Poland, Bulgaria, and
Romania and countries
such as Czechoslovakia
andYugoslavia broke
apart
 The Berlin Wall came
down on November 9,
1989 and East and West
Germany united in 1990
The 1989 Romanian Revolution
was a violent overthrow of the
communist regime of Nicolae
Ceauşescu

6. Collapse of the Soviet EmpireCollapse of the Soviet Empire
 Beginning in August 1991, Soviet
republics began declaring their
independence from the USSR
 Also in August, a group of
conspirators representing
dissatisfied elements of the
Communist Party, the KGB, and
the military attempted to seize
power while Gorbachev was on
vacation
 BorisYelstin crushed the coup,
but himself replaced Gorbachev
 By the end of 1991, the USSR had
ceased to exist AP photo of Boris Yelstin
atop an armored personnel
carrier encouraging
resistance to the coup

7. End of the Bipolar WorldEnd of the Bipolar World
The demise of the Soviet Union left the US as
the world’s sole superpower
Without the danger of a superpower
confrontation, the US was now more free to
use its military power
Additionally, new opportunities for cooperative
international efforts would become possible
without the bipolar competition
This new dynamic would be tested when Iraq
invaded Kuwait in 1990

8. Desert StormDesert Storm
Theme:The end of theVietnam SyndromeTheme:The end of theVietnam Syndrome

9. The Middle EastThe Middle East

10. BackgroundBackground
 Majority of region administered by Britain until post-World War II.
 Long-standing disputes between Iraq and Kuwait.
◦ Iraq argues Kuwait is an Iraqi province.
 Iraq mobilized and prepared for invasion in 1961 immediately
after Kuwait was granted independence by Britain.
◦ Iraq wants Kuwait to forgive debts Iraq owes from Iran-Iraq
War.
 Claims Kuwait actually owes Iraq for “defending” it against
Iran.
◦ Iraq accuses Kuwait of overproduction of oil/theft of Iraqi oil.
 On Aug 2, 1990, Iraq invaded Kuwait

11. Coalition OperationsCoalition Operations
 The end of the Cold War and Russia’s willingness to
join the US in opposing Iraq created an unprecedented
level of international cooperation
 The United Nations adopted resolutions condemning
Iraq and authorizing the use of force
 Thirty-six countries (as well as Kuwait) contributed
forces

12. Combat OperationsCombat Operations
 17 Jan 1991 - Air war begins
 23 Feb - Ground war begins
 28 Feb – Cease fire takes
effect
 2 March – 24th Infantry
Division fights last
engagement of the war
 3 March – Norman
Schwarzkopf accepts Iraqi
surrender at Safwan

13. Shaping OperationsShaping Operations
 Create and preserve
conditions for the success
of the operation
 FM 3-0, p. 4-23
 Air operation
◦ Cut supplies bound for Iraqi
forces in Kuwait from 20k tons
per week to 2k tons per week
and eliminated Iraqi air threat
 Deception operation
◦ Highly visible Marine
rehearsals persuaded Saddam
to commit an estimated four
divisions to protect his flank
against an amphibious assault
Leaflets such as these
deceived the Iraqis into
thinking the main attack would
be amphibious

14. The Shift WestwardThe Shift Westward

15. The Ground Offensive PlanThe Ground Offensive Plan
Iran
Euphrates
Tigri
s
Hafir
al Batin
Kuwait
City
As Samawah
An Nasiriyah
Al
Basrah
Khafji
Persian
Gulf
Al
Busayyah
Saudi Arabia
Iraq
Third Army
XVIII
Airborne
Corps VII
Corps
JFC
East
JFC
North MARCENT
xxx
xxxx
xxx
xxx
Republican
Guards
Iraqi Defenses
The ground war begins Feb 23

16. ““Highway of Death”Highway of Death”

17. Situation, February 28, 1991
Iran
TigrisHafir
al Batin
Kuwait
City
As Samawah
An Nasiriyah
Al
Basrah
Persian
Gulf
Al
Busayyah
Saudi Arabia
Iraq
JFC
East
XVIII
Airborne
Corps
xxx
US Third Army
VII
Corps
JFC
North
MARCENT
xxx
xxxx
xxx
JFE
XX
XX
1
Marine
X
2
XX
2
MarineJFN
XX
XX
1 UK
III
2
XX
1
XX
3
XX
1
XX
1
III
3
XX
24
AD
AL
XX
101
XX
6 FR
XX
82

18. IraqIraq
 The objective of Desert Storm
was to liberate Kuwait, not to
destroy the Iraqi army or remove
Saddam
 Even though the coalition
experienced amazing military
success, Saddam remained in
power and crushed short-lived
uprisings by the Kurds in the
north and the Shia in the south
 Iraqi Freedom would have the
objective of changing the regime
in Iraq

19. Legacy of Desert StormLegacy of Desert Storm
Won with an operational concept that sought in a
single climatic operation to destroy the enemy’s
center of gravity
In 100 hours of combat, American forces
destroyed or captured more than 3,000 tanks,
1,400 armored carriers, and 2,200 artillery pieces
The “Great Wheel” swept over and captured
almost 20,000 square miles of territory
Only about 140 soldiers died in direct combat
Erased the “Vietnam Syndrome”
 Scales, Certain Victory, p. 382-383

20. The New World OrderThe New World Order
Theme: International cooperation and militaryTheme: International cooperation and military
intervention in the post-Cold War eraintervention in the post-Cold War era

21. ““New World Order”New World Order”
“We stand today at a unique and extraordinary
moment. The crisis in the Persian Gulf, as grave
as it is, also offers a rare opportunity to move
toward an historic period of cooperation. Out
of these troubled times, our fifth objective -- a
new world order -- can emerge: a new era --
freer from the threat of terror, stronger in the
pursuit of justice, and more secure in the quest
for peace. An era in which the nations of the
world, East and West, North and South, can
prosper and live in harmony.…

22. ““New World Order”New World Order”
….A hundred generations have searched for
this elusive path to peace, while a thousand
wars raged across the span of human endeavor.
Today that new world is struggling to be born,
a world quite different from the one we’ve
known. A world where the rule of law
supplants the rule of the jungle. A world in
which nations recognize the shared
responsibility for freedom and justice. A world
where the strong respect the rights of the
weak.”
◦ President George H. W. Bush Sept 11, 1990

23. Post-Cold War EnvironmentPost-Cold War Environment
 ColdWar threats were
potentially catastrophic but
they were also measurable
and somewhat predictable
 The bipolar structure and
the desire to avoid
superpower confrontation
had provided a certain
degree of order and stability
 The post ColdWar period
was much more ambiguous
and uncertain and many new
threats emerged
CIA Director James Woolsey
described the post-Cold War
environment by saying, “We have
slain a large dragon (the U.S.S.R.) —
but we now live in a jungle filled with a
bewildering variety of poisonous
snakes. In many ways, the dragon
was easier to keep track of.”

24. International Economic ChallengesInternational Economic Challenges
The Post Cold War era included an ever-
widening gap between rich industrialized
nations (mostly in the Northern Hemisphere)
and poor agricultural ones (mostly in the
Southern Hemisphere)
The goal of all poor nations is economic
growth, but most lack the requirements for
industrial development
◦ Trapped in a cycle of poverty: lack of capital resulting
from low production leads to low savings which in
turn means little or no available capital for future
development projects

25. International Economic OpportunitiesInternational Economic Opportunities
 The collapse of communism in
the USSR and Eastern Europe
opened up huge economic
markets
◦ On the other hand West Germany’s
previously booming economy
struggled as it tried to integrate the
much poorer former East Germany
 In 2004, the EU swelled to 25
members including the former
Soviet republics of Latvia,
Lithuania, and Estonia As Germany moved its
capital from Bonn to
Berlin, construction
projects were rampant

26. Ethnic Conflict and HumanitarianEthnic Conflict and Humanitarian
Crisis in the 1990sCrisis in the 1990s
The Cold War structure had kept in check
ethnic divisions in many countries and limited
military interventions
The end of the Cold War changed all that
◦ UN Secretary General Boutros Boutros-Ghali
advocated the “legitimate involvement” of the UN in
“peace enforcement” and “peacemaking” operations
◦ President Clinton proclaimed a “National Security
Strategy of Engagement and Enlargement”
After the Cold War, the United Nations went
from an average of three or four peacekeeping
operations a year to 13 in December 1992

27. Ethnic Conflict and HumanitarianEthnic Conflict and Humanitarian
Crisis in the 1990sCrisis in the 1990s
“In a globalized war, bad things that happen in
other countries spread more quickly to our
shores. Genocides spawn refugees, who
destabilize their neighbors. Corruption sparks
financial meltdowns, which rock the world
economy. Pandemics hopscotch across the
globe.”
◦ Peter Beinart in explaining why the US intervened in
Kosovo where there was “no direct threat to the
US” (Time, 23 Apr 2007, 28)

28. Ethnic Conflict and Humanitarian Crisis inEthnic Conflict and Humanitarian Crisis in
the 1990sthe 1990s
 In Somalia, various clan leaders
struggled for power and
plunged the country into a
humanitarian crisis
 WhenYugoslavian republics
began to seek independence,
terrible ethnic conflicts ensued
◦ Bosnian Serbs initiated an “ethnic
cleansing” campaign against
Bosnian Muslims
◦ Yugoslav Serbs did the same
against Kosovar Albanians
Warlord Mohammed Farah
Aidid emerged as the
dominant clan leader in
Somalia

29. Ethnic Conflict and Humanitarian Crisis inEthnic Conflict and Humanitarian Crisis in
the 1990sthe 1990s
 A military coup in Haiti
ousted the democratically
elected president and
motivated thousands of
Haitians to flee to the US in
fragile boats
 Ethnic violence erupted
between Hutu and Tutsis in
Rwanda which resulted in
up to a million deaths,
mostly from the Tutsi
minority
Deep gashes in the skulls of
victims of the Rwanda
genocide evidence the
violence of their deaths

30. Ethnic Conflict and Humanitarian Crisis inEthnic Conflict and Humanitarian Crisis in
the 1990sthe 1990s
 East Timor declared
independence after a
27-year occupation by
Indonesia but anti-
independence militia
forces unleashed a
campaign of violence
and destruction

31. International EffortsInternational Efforts
The United Nations Charter proclaims one of
the UN’s principle purposes as being “to
maintain international peace and security”
Sometimes the UN effectively intervened in
these crises, sometimes it didn’t
◦ Same for the United States
The US found that its status as world economic
and military superpower would not necessarily
equate to unchallenged world leadership
◦ The US would meet a host of challenges within the
UN and from non-governmental organizations
(remember Lesson 23) as well as from new enemies