Download The Proxy Wars: Angela Chung CHA3U1

The Proxy Wars:
Products of the Cold War Era
Angela Chung
CHA3U1-01
Mr. Cotey
December 20, 2006.
The Cold War was an era of much conflict and confusion. Although this period is
seen primarily as a competition for power between the United States of America and the
Soviet Union today, its effects were felt worldwide. Among those numerous clashes were the
ones in Iran and Vietnam. While both involved American interference in foreign affairs, the
reasons for its involvement differed slightly. The Iranian Revolution and the Vietnam War
had both similarities and differences in their origins, the American role, their ending, and
their role in the Cold War.
The Iranian Revolution was the result of an accumulation of tensions against the
United States. It began many years prior, with Operation Ajax: the American-launched coup
in Iran to secure its share of oil in the Middle East. The appointed Shah, Pahlavi, was
extremely pro-American, and soon instigated a vast campaign to modernize Iran. Its people
were angered by this breach in their tradition, and an Islamic Revolution took place, led by
Khomeini. The Vietnam War was an attempt by North Vietnam to unite with the democratic
South Vietnam under a single, communist government. Since the end of World War One,
Vietnam nationalists had hoped to gain independence from France. This movement was
renewed near the end of the Second World War. With the French defeat during the first
Indochina War (war for independence from France), Vietnam split into communist North,
and capitalist South. North Vietnam failed to gain control of the South, sparking a civil war.
The Iranian Revolution and the Vietnam War were similar in the sense that they involved the
conflict of ideas within a nation. For Iran, it was traditionalists against Americanism; for
Vietnam, it was communism against democracy.
With the Iranian Revolution, the United States had a more personal involvement.
Ever since the coup, the Shah had complete American support. However, when the Shah’s
popularity took a plummet, the United States attempted to sever their ties with him, and
reinstate friendship between America and the Iranian people. By the time of the revolution,
anti-Americanism had become so strong that the action proved too little too late. Iran erupted
when United States let in the exiled Shah for cancer treatment, seeing this as a betrayal
against the Iranian people. This sparked the Iran Hostage Crisis, where religious extremists,
sanctioned by the new Iranian government, held a handful of American ambassadors hostage
for over a year. As a result, the United States was almost forced into taking action. This
hesitance on the other hand, was not observed during the Vietnam War. Since the split up of
Vietnam, America had supported the Southern regime with billions of dollars, in accordance
to the Truman Doctrine. The following War served as an opportunity for America to stop the
spread of communism. When the South’s situation grew worse, President Johnson pledged
United States’ complete support of democracy in war, and the war soon became
“Americanized”. Unlike the Hostage Crisis, where most Americans demanded United
States’ action, both the citizens and the government were severely disillusioned with the war,
and demanded that it be stopped. Whereas American involvement for the Iranian Crisis was
inevitable because it involved a direct attack against the Americans, the Vietnam War was a
clear example of the United States’ attempt to act as world policemen.
In both cases, the crises ended in stalemate. For the Iranian Revolution and Hostage
Crisis, the hostages were released when Ronald Reagan was voted into office. However, the
United States lost the support of a key oil-supplier, losing a severe foothold in the Middle
East. The pro-American shah’s regime was defeated, and Iran turned to the Soviet Union
instead. With the Vietnam War, America was forced to withdraw because of the
overwhelming number of casualties and tactical failure. The South fell to communist North,
and Vietnam was once again reunited, under the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. The United
States had failed to stop the nation’s fall to communism, and yet again lost another ally in
their struggle to defend democracy.
Both the Iranian Revolution and the Vietnam War were prime examples of the effects
of the Cold War. Although the situation in Iran was not a war, the Soviet Union had funded
Khomeini’s regime, making it an indirect rivalry against the United States. During the
hostage crisis, brinkmanship played an enormous role because neither side knew how far the
other would go. Tension and doubt was thick in the air, with the America attempting yet
afraid to launch a full-out rescue mission. Perhaps the most significant result of the
Revolution was the United States’ loss of a major ally in the Middle East, which led to
further crises, including the Iran-Iraq War. The Soviet Union, upon gaining an ally, was
given an upper hand. The Vietnam War was a more typical proxy war. With the United States
supporting democracy and the Soviet Union supplying communist North with ammunitions,
Vietnam served as an indirect battleground between the two superpowers. The idea behind
the Vietnam War, capitalism against communism, was the chief principle of the Cold War. In
addition, the policy of containment and prevention of the domino effect were the key reasons
America gave for its involvement. The Iranian Revolution and the Vietnam War most
definitely played important roles in the scheme of the Cold War.
The Cold War period saw many triumphs and failures. It was an era riddled with
danger, disagreement, and violence. Before its end in 1991, people lived lives of constant fear
and doubt. This was reflected in the Iranian Revolution and the Vietnam War, both of which
were by-products of hostility between the United States and the Soviet Union. In conclusion,
the Cold War was limited to not only the two conflicting superpowers, but also the rest of the
world, of which Iran and Vietnam were prime examples. With the collapse of the Soviet
Union, the Cold War came to an end. However, the injuries inflicted during that time period
can never truly be healed. With those wounds sprung a new era – an era of terrorism, an era
of which we live in today. The tragedy of human nature becomes even more pronounced, as
we come to the realization that we cannot truly co-exist without conflict.