Sample Assessments

The Cold War was a period of time which came about just after World War II. Emerging out of post-World War II tensions between the two nations, the Cold War conflict between the United States and the Soviet Union which lasted for most of the latter half of the 20^th century (1917 through 1991) resulted in shared suspicions, intensified tensions and a series of international incidents which brought the world’s superpowers to the brink of disaster. Many believe that no single party was entirely to blame for the Cold War given such a hostile atmosphere, but believe that the Cold War was inevitable. In her book Cold War, Carole Fink (2013) explains that Bolshevik leadership established a communist regime in Russia and defied the international order by preaching world revolution and challenging conventional diplomatic practices. The Western powers (Britain, France, and the United States) responded with military intervention and ostracism. During the next twenty-four years the estrangement between Russia and the West was overshadowed by the challenges of Italy, Japan, and Germany, but the capitalist world continued to regard the Soviet Union with fear, mistrust, and repugnance—sentiments that Moscow duly reciprocated.

Carter Doctrine

James Earl “Jimmy” Carter, Jr. was born on October 1, 1924 in the small town of Plains in rural Georgia. Carter was a peanut farmer, and served in the United States Navy for 7-years as a naval officer before returning to Plains in the early 1960’s.  Jimmy Carter took an interest in State politics around 1962 and went on to serve as a State Senator for the State of Georgia from 1963 to 1967.  Carter was then elected Governor of the State of Georgia, serving one term from 1971 to 1975.  Running as a democrat, Carter seized the opportunity to run for President of the United States at a time when the citizens and voters of the United States still had bitter memories of the Watergate scandal of President Nixon. For many American voters’, Carter was looked at as a fresh-face for Washington. In December 1974, Jimmy Carter announced his candidacy for President of the United States, and began a two-year campaign trail. Carter ran on a platform of emphasizing ecology, efficiency in government and the removal of racial barriers. James Carter won the election and became the 39^th President of the United States, winning 297 electoral votes to the 241 electoral votes of President Gerald Ford.

In 1979, the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan. President Carter believed this may have been the first step in a threat to the Persian Gulf oil resources. On January 23, 1980, President Carter gave his State of the Union Address.  In his State of the Union Address, President Carter introduced a foreign policy called the Carter Doctrine. This doctrine stated that the United State would use military force if necessary to defend its national interest in the Persian Gulf region. President Carter then expanded military aid to Israel, Egypt and Saudi Arabia and went beyond surrogate forces to create a U.S. Rapid Deployment Joint Task Force, also referred to and known as (RDF). The RDF could call upon more than 200,000 troops from all services to meet crises in the gulf region from its headquarters in the Indian Ocean. The Carter Doctrine proved to play a great role in protecting America’s oil interest in the Middle East. In their book Becoming Enemies, authors James G. Blight, Janet M. Lang, Hussain Banai, Malcolm Byrne and John Tirman argue the importance of the Gulf resides largely in its oil. It contains about 35% of known world oil reserves, 35% of the non-communist world’s production capacity and 25% of current output. The power to interrupt the supply of this flow entails the power to wreak havoc on the economies of the West.

Explicate the Diplomatic Doctrine

President Carter introduced to the American People and to the World, the Carter Doctrine, during his State of the Union Address on January 23, 1980.  This Doctrine came about as a response to the Soviet Union’s invasion of Afghanistan in 1979, as well as the growing weakness of the U.S. in the region of the Persian Gulf.  The doctrine was intended to deter the Soviet Union from seeking control or authority in the Gulf. The Carter Doctrine pledged the U.S. to use military force in the event that the Soviet Union or any other outside power attempt to take control of the Gulf.  Written in their book, Encyclopedia of the Cold War, Ruud van Dijk, William Glenn Gray, Svetlana Savranskaya, Jeremi Suri and Qiang Zhai (2013) writes, the Carter Doctrine represented a new manifestation of containment, the overarching U.S. Strategy of stopping the spread of Soviet influence and communism. A portion of the doctrine which states clearly the position of the United States reads, “Let our position be absolutely clear; An attempt by any outside force to gain control of the Persian Gulf region will be regarded as an assault on the vital interests of the United States of America, and such as assault will be repelled by any means necessary, including military force.” The phrase was written by President Carter’s National Security Advisor, Zbignew Brzezinski, and was given to speechwriter Hendrik Hertzberg to be woven into the State of the Union Address.

There were a number of specific actions and events which took place following the invasion of Afghanistan and following the announcement of the Carter Doctrine. The Carter administration outlined a new comprehensive security policy. The administration also took several punitive steps toward the Soviet Union for its invasion.  There was a limit to on the export of grain; a tight ban on the export of high technology; the curtailment of Soviet fishing privileges in U.S. waters; a suspension of U.S.-Soviet official exchanges and finally, the boycotting of the Moscow Olympics.  The Carter administration successfully worked with other allies to enforce these sanctions. Japan, China and Germany agreed to the boycotting of the Olympics. Canada also agreed to the grain embargo. There were a few countries which did not support the U.S. in these efforts. Many countries felt that Carter’s administration had given up on détente (the 1969 foreign policy of former Presidents’ Nixon and Ford). During the Carter years, the U.S.-Soviet relationship continued to deteriorate.

Effects of the Diplomatic Efforts

The Carter Doctrine, directly or indirectly, is said to have provided the rationale or justification for the following episodes involving the use of force by the United States. 1979 thru 1989 was the Afghanistan War1, where the United States led the effort to punish the Soviet Union for occupying that County. In 1983, there was the Beirut Bombing. 1981-1988, there was the war against Khaddafi, a series of inadequate battles with the Libyan dictator, culminating in the destruction of Pan Am Flight 103. The Tanker War (1984-1988), waged bu U.S. Naval forces against Iran to maintain the flow of oil through the Strait of Hormuz. The Iraq War 1 which went on from 1990 to 1991, where the first U.S. armed confrontation with Saddam Hussein. There were also the Somalia Intervention, 1992-1993; The Afghanistan War II 2001-2003; Iraq War II in 2003; Iraq III 2004-2010 and the Afghanistan War III which started in 2009 and has not currently been settled.

Conclusion

There were some disadvantages of the Carter administration foreign policies. One of the most notable was the lack of a clear and consistent policy toward the Soviet Union. This lack of vision caused fluctuations among bureaucrats with special interest who could have easily took advantage of an open opportunity. There was also inadequate intelligence, its leadership and the opposition. The about-face of President Carter in reference to his own order on the Persian Gulf. When a President repudiates his policies, there will be cost. According to his article, The Carter Doctrine at 30, Andrew J. Bacevich (2011) writes The Carter Doctrine was intended to secure U.S. interest in a region of ostensibly great strategic importance. Those who have applied the Carter Doctrine have assumed that the presence of U.S. forces and the periodic application of American hard power serve to enhance regional stability. Yet the record of the past 30 years suggest just the opposite: The U.S. military presence and activities have served only to promote greater instability. Our exertions, undertaken at great cost to ourselves and others, are making things not better, but worse.

References

Bacevich, A. (n.d.). The Carter Doctrine at 30. Retrieved August 1, 2015, from http://www.worldaffairsjournal.org/blog/andrew-j-bacevich/carter-doctrine-30

Blight, J. (2012). Becoming enemies: U.S.-Iran relations and the Iran-Iraq War, 1979-1988 (p. 311). Lanham, Md.: Rowman & Littlefield.

Dijk, R. (2013). James Carter. In Encyclopedia of the Cold War (p. 124). New York: Routledge.

Fink, C. (2014). Cold War: An international history. Boulder, CO: Westview Press, a member of the Perseus Books Group.