Cold War essay
 

I am taking a Cold War history course for my junior year, and we were just assigned a paper due in a few weeks. We have to post-Cold War conflict somewhere around the world (of which there are plenty...), and we have to show how its roots sprang from the Cold War. I am thinking of doing the conflict in the Balkans during the '90s, but upon further research, I discovered that most of the roots of that crisis were from WWI and WWII. Can any of you help me find a connection from the Balkans to the Cold War? I was also thinking of maybe doing the Chechen Rebellion, and I'm sure that has its roots during the Cold War, but I don't know that much about it so a little help would be grrrreat.

Thanks

One interesting angle you might take on the Balkans conflict is that of how attitudes have switched in recent years, like this:

During the Serb/Croat war, most of the NATO countries were coming down on the side of the Croats, largely because the Serbs were supplied with a great deal of Soviet weaponry (this is portrayed in the tank simulation game 'T-72 Balkans on Fire' aka 'Iron Warriors'). So in effect it was something of a 'proxy Cold war'. The Serbian position was very anti-muslim, and being pre 9/11, this was not something the US was particularly interested in supporting. Fast forward to the present and it would be interesting to speculate upon whether the vast majority of NATO countries would now pick the same side to support, since they are now all taking a very anti-Islamic stance. Which might make an interesting subject about which to write.

It's also interesting to note that the US tested much of its (at the time) latest stuff over the Balkans, including the supposedly invulnerable F-117 Nighthawk stealth bomber. One of which, the Serbs actually did manage to shoot down with a surface to air missile. The US were also interested in engaging the Serb's MiG-29s which at the time were something of an unknown quantity, so there's a couple of Cold War connections for you straight away. If you do a bit of a search on the internet, you will find some interesting articles about how the Serbs created mock ups of the MiG-29 in order to lure US bombers into its rings of surface to air missiles, and there can be little doubt that much of this was with Soviet backing in order to test their latest air defence systems against the latest US stuff.

Strictly speaking, the biggest proxy Cold War was probably Vietnam, lasting from around 1946, when the French were fighting there immediately following WW2, right up until 1975 when the Americans fully withdrew support for the ARVN after over ten years of involvement. For most of that time, the protagonists were supplied by the Soviet Union and China, versus the West (mostly France, Australia and the US, but also the UK and some other nations). The scope of the conflict might make it difficult to write about concisely however, so it may not be the best choice for a small piece of writing, however, you could choose to concentrate on a small aspect, and there is a wealth of well-documented information on the matter, which is obviously something else to consider.

A more localised conflict upon which to concentrate would be something like the CIA's involvement in the War in Angola. There's quite a lot of source information available on this and it is rarely covered as much as other subjects, so you might win 'Brownie points' for doing something a little different if you choose that.

:D Chock

Thanks for the response mate. Most history teachers try to stay away from subjects concerning military history (which actually really pisses me off), and I think my paper should lean more towards foreign policy and the "big picture." As much as I'd like to talk about MiGs and SAMs, I think my teacher is looking for something more along the lines of foreign policy, so maybe the Balkans Conflict isn't right for the paper. I was thinking of Vietnam too, but then I realized that the subject has to be on a contemporary/post-Cold War conflict, and I ruled that out. The CIA ops in Angola sound really interesting, as I love learning about clandestine operations during war-time, and I know next to nothing about the war in Angola. That would probably be my best bet, but are there significant connections to the Cold War there?

I don't know much about the Chechen and Balkan topics but it may be worth to consider as an alternative the conflicts in Afghanistan. It might be a popular choice in the class as this is one of the real big conflicts that have spanned the collapse of the Soviet Union. The Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979 prompted a variety of international involvement in support of the defending Mujahideen to beat them back - perhaps most notably from the CIA under Carter and Reagan, but also from a then-little known fellow named Osama bin Laden. Direct CIA support to bin Laden is still highly disputed but it might be a fun topic to talk about, there is certainly plenty to say about it.

Consider how:

a) While the Cold War was happening, how/why were the intrinsic conflicts within the Balkans were put 'on hold'?
b) How did the end of the Cold War allow the Balkan conflicts to re-ignite?
c) Would Nato have intervened in the Balkans conflict if the Cold War hadn't ended?

Those are just my humble suggestions on what to include in your paper.

:|\\

That being the case, as a justification, you can always throw in the good old Von Clausewitz quotation: 'War is a continuation of politics by other means' After all, the US aircraft carrier fleet's purpose, for example, is to project power around the globe in being 'the big stick'. :up:

Most history teachers I had were content to let you write whatever the hell you wanted as long as you indicated that you had studied the thing in some depth. Which is easy to indicate with a few pithy quotes and some relevant dates etc. Regardless of the political aspirations of world leaders, it still very often comes down to military events either boosting or ruining political careers; you only have to look at what the failed 1980 hostage rescue attempt in Tehran did to Carter's career to see that. And, as with Vietnam, the unpopular image of body bags coming home from the Gulf is having an effect on determining US foreign policy and putting pressure on the present US Government; if things had gone better in the Gulf, the Republicans would absolutely walk the next election. Which is of course, why Governments like proxy wars, which they can distance themselves from, or choose to take credit if it all comes up smelling of roses.

Anyway, good luck with whatever you write.

:D Chock

Great suggestions guys, I'll think about it a bit more over the course of the day, thanks.

The Chechen conflict - not at all. It's an interesting topic to look into, but it really has roots in 19th century Russian imperialism followed by the Stalin era. The cold war had nothing to do with it. (I did A LOT of research on it before)

Some of the African conflicts, the continuing hostility with Cuba, and even perhaps Afghanistan could have some interesting connections. :hmm:

There is also the ongoing, cold conflict left on the Korean Peninsula. There you still have 8th Army and two Brigades of 2nd ID. With rear support coming from Japan, Okinawa, and Guam. Although it is not a hot conflict, it is still the last vestage of the Cold War that exist today. There are still hundreds, if not thousands, of artillery pieces pointed southward . . . and look at how it effects current relations with the "Hermit Kindgom" today.

you could do a comparison on confilcts cold war and post cold war with finnacial and manpower numbers also the diffence in tactics between the two eras

I would agree with this statement. The Korean war was the only real war with a direct link to the cold war. The US took the Southern Side and the Russians and the Chinese supported " Under the table" the North Koreans. The Canadians and British also helped out the south and there today is still a "No mans land" along the length of the 38th parallel. It is said that the US before they were streched thing by The War on Terror :-? would have been able to put 75000 troops on the ground in the south in less the 30 days. If that's not a sign that its still a relic of the cold war then what is.

Another thought During the age of Boris Yeltson ( I'm pretty sure I spelt that name wrong) Russia was a country on the downswing after "losing" the cold war and the race to the moon; another integrile part of the cold war don't forget. When Putin took his place he found ways to make the vast resources of Russia work in his favour and now the 2nd cold war is upon us. If you use North Korea as a link between the first and now possible second Cold War, you could cover all three on a Regional political and world political basis.

Third thought, the break-up of the soviet Union was a sign of the very importance to the Soviets of winning the cold war, and when the Wall came down in Berlin, and the Union broke up, that could still be considered a part of the problem in that world : afghanistan, Pakistan ect. ect.

I have studied war and world politics since I was 7 years old, and if you would like to dicuss this in more depth, don't be afraid to contact me via private message, or a e-mail.