Posted on 09/28/2004 10:32:29 PM PDT by SAMWolf
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![]() are acknowledged, affirmed and commemorated.
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ARMS TALKS In 1976, Jimmy Carter and Leonid Brezhnev promised to reduce East-West tensions. But within four years those promises turned to anger and mistrust. The Cold War was far from over. ![]() Jimmy Carter and Leonid Brezhnev Secretary of State Cyrus Vance went to Moscow with a set of proposals -- one which called for radical cuts in arsenals well below the 1974 levels. But the Soviets bluntly rejected the initiative. At home, Carter and Vance promoted the talks as a positive move. But the public wondered whether the new White House team was up to the task of managing U.S.-Soviet affairs. Carter's proposed 3 percent increase in defense spending did little to deter the view among some that America was losing the arms race -- especially since the Soviets were still pouring resources into their military build-up. HUMAN RIGHTS In the era of détente, the issue of human rights gained attention on both sides of the Iron Curtain. In 1975 in Helsinki, 35 nations -- including the United States and U.S.S.R. -- signed a declaration on human rights. Meanwhile, Czech dissidents secretly drew up Charter 77, a human rights document that was smuggled to the West. Activists in the communist bloc set up Helsinki Watch Committees to monitor and publicize abuses. But the Soviets did not feel bound by the Helsinki Accords and persecuted the dissidents, many of whom ended up in KGB prisons -- or in mental hospitals, where mind-control drugs were used to make them recant. ![]() Students held rallies and picketed the Russian Embassy while declaring a hunger strike to support refusniks. Jews were a distinctive group among the dissidents -- claiming the right to leave the Soviet Union. Many were refused exit visas and became known as refuseniks. Those who campaigned for their rights were often sent to forced labor camps for years. In 1979, the prominent refusenik Anatoly Sharansky was sentenced to 13 years for espionage and treason. Outside the court, supporters defiantly publicized his case to the Western media -- triggering forceful protests in the West. The evidence of human rights abuse inflamed anti-Soviet feeling in America. SALT II As Moscow and Washington clashed over human rights, they also stepped up negotiations for a new arms limitation treaty -- SALT II. One issue not on the SALT II agenda was the Soviets' decision to deploy the SS-20, a new medium-range nuclear missile that targeted Western Europe. West Germany and other NATO allies were alarmed. Instead of making the SS-20s an issue during the SALT II negotiations, the United States pursued a twin-track policy: America would develop its new generation of missiles and allow Moscow three years to negotiate limits on medium-range missiles. If no deal was reached, America would station its cruise and Pershing nuclear missiles in Europe -- and target Soviet cities. Fear of missiles in their backyard created a new mood of resistance among Western Europeans. ![]() By June 1979, the superpowers had agreed to new limits on strategic arms -- completing the SALT II treaty. Carter and Brezhnev met for the first time when they came to Vienna to sign the agreement. Soviets viewed the treaty as a way to limit arms production -- and improve their civilian economy. But in America, the pact was condemned by the political right for not imposing limits on the development of new weapons systems. Ultimately, SALT II would fail to gain congressional approval. MALAISE Increasingly, Carter was charged with being soft on the Soviets. His critics pointed to Soviet expansionism in Angola and the Horn of Africa. They warned that U.S. oil supplies were threatened. Then the Shah of Iran was overthrown. Islamic fundamentalists, led by the Ayatollah Khomeini, took over the oil-rich country. A siege of the U.S. Embassy ended with all diplomats taken hostage. A failed rescue attempt sealed America's humiliation. ![]() In America, the loss of Iran led to long lines at the pump. The economy was slowing down. The blame fell on Carter, further damaging his prestige. Then the Soviets struck in Afghanistan -- essentially bringing an end to dtente. Carter, who saw the invasion as part of a wider Soviet plan, gave up hope of Congress approving SALT II. He organized punitive sanctions against the U.S.S.R., including a boycott of the 1980 Moscow Olympics -- a gesture that proved futile and unpopular. World affairs ultimately influenced the 1980 U.S. presidential election. Carter faced difficult odds: The economy was slack, Americans were still hostage in Iran, the Soviets were still in Afghanistan. Carter himself saw a growing spirit of "malaise" in the country. His opponent, Republican Ronald Reagan, won the election by a large margin -- in part by promising much tougher policies against Moscow. SOLIDARITY In Poland, the Soviets faced a fresh challenge. The Polish economy was in crisis, shortages were everywhere, Western loans had been squandered and the country was burdened by international debt. In the midst of the crisis, the new pope, Karol Wojtyla, visited his homeland -- and called on his flock to retake control of their destiny. ![]() Lech Walesa and Solidarity Inspired by John Paul II's message, workers at the Gdansk shipyard staged an illegal strike in the summer of 1980 -- after the government yet again raised food prices. The strikers drew up a 21-point list of demands and refused to leave the shipyard until the demands were met. The government decided to negotiate and eventually agreed to the workers' key demands -- among them the right to strike. Intellectuals joined the workers in forming a new movement -- Solidarity. As support for Solidarity spread throughout the world, the movement became increasingly defiant. Moscow watched with growing alarm. MARTIAL LAW By December 1980, Soviet pressure on the Polish leadership was intense. Warsaw Pact forces were massed around Poland's borders. The message was clear: Curb Solidarity or else. American concern grew as Brezhnev pressed Poland's leader, Gen. Wojciech Jaruzelski, to plan countermeasures. ![]() Meanwhile, the hard-line policies of the new U.S. president, Ronald Reagan, boosted morale in Poland, where Solidarity had 9 million supporters fighting for economic reform and political rights. Strikes gripped the country. On December 2, 1981, in a warning to Solidarity, riot police crushed a firemen's strike. Ten days later, Solidarity met to plan a nationwide strike. But that night, the Polish government sent in the army, arrested Solidarity's leaders and banned the trade movement. Jaruzelski declared martial law, suspending civil rights. Moscow had reimposed its will. East-West relations were fractured once more.
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COUP
In the 1970s, Afghanistan became a focus of superpower rivalry. Geographically strategic -- near Persian Gulf oil and Indian Ocean ports, and bordering the Soviet Central Asian republics -- a friendly Afghanistan was vital to Moscow's interests.
The Soviet Union sent hundreds of advisers to Kabul following an April 1978 military coup that brought a left-wing regime to power. Led by Nur Mohammed Taraki, the new regime began reforming Afghanistan by decree -- taking land from the owners and giving it to the peasants who worked it. Women were encouraged to stop wearing veils, and were placed in literacy classes alongside men. In the countryside, these reforms were seen as threats to ancient customs and the authority of the mullahs -- the Islamic priests. Opponents of reform burned down schools. Thousands fled to neighboring Pakistan to avoid the turmoil.
INVASION
In Afghanistan, President Taraki's prime minister, Hafizullah Amin, launched a campaign of terror -- having opponents arrested and shot. Concerned, Taraki flew to Moscow to talk with Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev about how to curb Amin's excesses. They decided to oust him, hoping the Kabul government could gain popular support by slowing the reforms and ending the terror. But Moscow's secret plans leaked out, and when Taraki returned to Kabul, Amin had him seized and executed.
RESPONSE
At the United Nations, the Soviet invasion was widely condemned. In Washington, President Carter blocked grain deliveries to the Soviet Union, launched a boycott of the 1980 Olympic Games in Moscow and stepped up U.S. arms spending. He sent his national security adviser to Pakistan to rally resistance. Brzezinski wanted to arm the Mujahedeen without revealing America's role, and sought the help of Pakistan's military ruler, Gen. Zia-ul-Haq -- despite his poor record on human rights, nuclear weapons and drug trades.
CIVIL WAR
Inside Afghanistan, the ferocity of the fighting increased. At first, the Soviet army guarded cities, road and airports, leaving the Afghan army free for combat. But by 1980, almost 100,000 Soviet troops were deployed around the country; soon, they were sucked into battle. The Soviets started with textbook "sweep offenses" devised to defeat NATO in Europe or Chinese troops on the plains of Manchuria. But against guerrilla fighters in mountainous terrain, their approach was a disaster.
WITHDRAWAL
The war in Afghanistan was taking its toll on the Soviets. With increasing ruthlessness and daring, the Mujahedeen attacked Soviet convoys bringing oil and weapons to their army. As many as 2,000 Soviets were killed each year. For Moscow's troops, many of whom were raw recruits, the war seemed pointless. Sickness, drunkenness and drug abuse sapped the army's strength. The wounded got minimal care. Back home, Soviet propaganda portrayed the troops as brave defenders, bringing order to a war-torn country. But returning veterans began to reveal their true role. And in cemeteries across the Soviet Union, the cost of the invasion became impossible to hide. For the Soviets, Afghanistan had become their Vietnam.
Meanwhile, U.N. officials pressed on with peace talks. By April 1988, an agreement was signed in Geneva allowing Moscow to withdraw its troops. The pact also barred further military aid to either side -- but both superpowers ignored the ban. The supply of weapons went on; the Geneva accords did not bring peace. Instead, Afghanistan was to endure more years of bloodshed. Although the Soviet troop withdrawal was completed by February 1989, fighting among rival groups of Islamic fundamentalists -- using U.S. and Soviet weapons -- has continued to destroy the country. Since 1979, five million Afghans have been wounded or forced to flee their homes. Almost 15,000 Soviet soldiers have been killed. And a million Afghans have died -- a cruel legacy of the Cold War.
www.cnn.com
www.presidentschildren.com
www.ramaz.org
www.wien-vienna.at
home.millsaps.edu
reagan.webteamone.com
college.hmco.com
www1.gazeta.pl
www.afghanland.com
fmso.leavenworth.army.mil
www.informationwar.org
www.iasa.com.au
www.msu.edu
www.vw.cc.va.us
www.sparrowsp.addr.com
www.smh.com.au
www.pinetreeline.org
www.pbs.org
www.skyrocket.de
www.nacic.gov
In 1976, Jimmy Carter and Leonid Brezhnev promised to reduce East-West tensions. But within four years those promises turned to anger and mistrust. The Cold War was far from over. For centuries, nations had tried to conquer Afghanistan. None succeeded. But the Cold War -- and an Afghan civil war -- would bring a terrible toll of death and destruction to the people of this traditionally Islamic land. The Cold War was fought on two fronts. In public, it was a series of confrontations and crises. But the East and West also battled in the shadows, as intelligence agents risked their lives to steal secrets. |
Good Night, Snippy.
Good night Sam.
before you go to bed, are you going to link all the cold war threads when you finish? Good Night.
This may sound absurd, but it is the honest truth.
Jarulzelski, whom Matthew despises, had much to do with keeping the Soviets from doing the dirty work. More important, the Russians hated to do the job needed. My own guess at the time is that they would have had to kill well over a million Poles. Maybe five million. That is still my guess. A return to late '30s policies.
To all our military men and women, past and present, and to our allies who stand with us,
THANK YOU!
I hope everyone's doing fabulously! I've had my hands a bit more than full lately and haven't had much computer time. :-( I've certainly missed y'all.
((Hugz)) all 'round!
Good morning, snippy and everyone at the Freeper Foxhole.
Good Morning to All at the Foxhole
Regards
alfa6 ;>}
Good morning
Read: John 15:1-14
You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength. Mark 12:30
Bible In One Year: Isaiah 7-8; Ephesians 2
A Harvard Business School professor wrote an open letter to the nation's graduates. He told them that in one sense they needed to forget what they had learned in school. He said that schools tend to put too much emphasis on the idea that success comes as a result of passing tests. The professor pointed out that in the workplace doing well depends largely on learning to succeed in what he called a "web of relationships"the ability to cooperate with others and function as an effective team.
This truth also applies to living the Christian life. We often think that spiritual maturity and success result from how much we know about biblical facts and principles.
Jesus showed us, however, that real success comes from something elsefrom loving one another in the same way He loved us. He made it clear that we can do this only if we "abide" in Him (John 15:7). This means that we must stay close to Him through prayer and willingly obey His commands (v.10). Our web of relationships must extend first to God and then to others.
The secret of spiritual success is not just in acquiring individual knowledgeit's in combining that knowledge with love in all our relationships. Mart De Haan
Present!
Good Morning manna
Regards
alfa6 ;>}
Good Morning, snippy...good morning, Sam...
"Shed Powers!!"
(To be sung to the Rolling Stones' "Dead Flowers")
Folks, when you're sitting there, thinkin' 'bout supportin' Kerry...
Votin' fer some rich bloke you don't know...
Well, Hanoi John LOATHES the FRee...prefers Sosh'list Tyranny!!
He's a Massachusetts Lib'ral to the bone!!
Devolve Power, Prez'dent Dubyuh!! Devolve Power!!
Our Righteous dreams can be real if Bush leads US now!!
That's Right...we can devolve Power to individuals...
Must devolve Power to the States...
States, devolve Power to the Counties...
Folks, it's time we Liberate the U.S. of A.!!
Now hear me, DemonRATS...Right did Liberate Iraq!!
Folks're FRee 'cuz George Dubyuh led the way!!
Ol' MUD'll be in his basement room, laughin' while FReepin' Leftist tunes...)8^D!!
In a Righteous Quest fer Independence Day!!
Devolve Power, RightWing Congress!! Devolve Power!!
Our Righteous dreams can be real if Bush leads US now!!
That's Right...we can devolve Power to individuals!!
Must devolve Power to the States!!
States, devolve Power to the Counties!!
Bush, it's time we Liberate the U.S. of A. - yeah!!
(guitar-pickin' and strummin' interlude)
Devolve Power, Prez'dent Dubyuh!! Devolve Power!!
Our Righteous dreams can be real if Bush leads US now!!
That's Right...we can devolve Power to individuals!!
Must devolve Power to the States!!
States, devolve Power to the Counties!!
Folks, it's time we Liberate the U.S. of A.!!
Bush, it's time we Liberate the U.S. of A.!!
Mudboy Slim (07/29/2004)
Today! Spaceship One will make it's first official attempt at the X-prize.
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