HIST 1011 Lecture Notes - Lecture 22: Strategic Hamlet Program, Mutual Assured Destruction, Proxy War
War and Terror in the Global Age
The Cold “War”
- Strategic standoff
o “Mutually assured destruction” with strategic nuclear arsenal
o Russia vs. USA
o No direct confrontations of military power
o Communism and democracy both claim to be ideologies of peace
o Both had the idea that the other’s regime would fall and convert to their similar regime
▪ Then Soviet Union collapsed without being military overcame
o India Pakistan War and Israeli Arab War had nothing to do with Cold War but got sucked into Cold War
paradigm
- “Proxy” wars
o America was the free world leader, but not everyone was democratic
▪ As long as is anti-communist, America brought them in the coalition
o Korean War—North (communist) vs. South (backed by US but authoritarian)
▪ Through medium of UN, South Korea received military aid
▪ Chinese and Soviet on one side and America in the other
o Vietnam War
▪ Product of decolonization
▪ France had many messy decolonization
▪ Cold War conflict like Korea
▪ North (communist) vs. South (backed by US but authoritarian)
▪ Strategic Hamlet Program aimed at strategically move entire villages
▪ More bombs in Vietnam than WWII
▪ Lead to divisions in western alliance
▪ South Korea joined the Vietnam War to fight communism
▪ Australia did too
▪ US Free-World coalition
▪ One justification: dominoes theory → if communists won then all Asia will eventually become
communists
• Laos and Cambodia became communists but that’s about it
▪ Made US more cautious, want to avoid a second Vietnam
• From draft and conscription to all-volunteer force
• Grenada and Panama were short and goal was clearly defined
o Afghanistan 1980s
▪ Clear proxy war
▪ Revenge of US for Vietnam
▪ Defeat of Soviets seen as victory of the free world
▪ Actually a victory of Islam when the last Soviet tank withdrew
▪ What US failed to understand is the meaning it took on the Islamic world
▪ Many Muslim young men see Muslims in Afghanistan effectively fighting back want to do it too
• Osama bin Laden → terrorism
• Ideologically zealous, militarily able, no government → terrorism
• Gulf War 1991 US left troops in Saudi
Terrorism
- Loose definition: political use of fear
o But more associated with use of political fear by non-state actors
