Proxy War: An indirect conflict in which stronger nations use weaker nations as pawns (or “proxies”) to compete against each other so that they don’t have to fight directly.
Proxy Wars During the Cold War
The main instigator of proxy wars involving the United States was MAD. Because the Soviet Union and the United States were so diametrically opposed, they were constantly gearing towards conflict, but the thought of nuclear war was enough to deter them both. Instead, they sought to spread their own spheres of influence, which directly led them into proxy wars.
The Greek Civil War
The first Cold War proxy war did not involve soldiers from either the Soviet Union or the United States, but did set a precedent in U.S. foreign policy for the following Cold War decades. In 1947, President Harry Truman addressed Congress about the Greek Civil War, where Communists backed by Albania, Yugoslavia, and Bulgaria (allies of the USSR) were rising against the Western backed Greek government [a military dictatorship].
In his address, now known as the Truman Doctrine, Truman asked for $400,000,000 to give in aid to Turkey and Greece… At this point, with the United States still healing from its WWII wounds, he did not ask for boots on the ground [US troops], merely financial aid. Truman was successful, and Congress granted the aid, thus creating the first proxy war that the United States took part in during the Cold War.
This intervention qualifies as a proxy war because both sides of the Greek Civil War were backed by larger states with opposing interests, and in this particular case, the United States was successful and the Communists were suppressed, which would directly inform the United States policy regarding the proxy Korean War. Greece had a pro-US military dictatorship for many years afterwards as a result of this US victory.
Soviet War in Afghanistan
In 1979… when the Soviets invaded Afghanistan, the United States couldn’t simply sit idly by. What made this particular invasion so important were the spheres of influence or more specifically, spheres of influence over oil. Afghanistan is located close to many oil-rich countries in the Middle East that the Soviets could potentially take control of if they succeeded in their invasion of Afghanistan. Faced with the dilemma of needing to act, but not wanting to involve American troops, or even let the American public know they were engaging in a conflict, the U.S. policy… is best expressed in the words of former national security advisor Dr. Zbigniew Brzezinski:
“We immediately launched a twofold process when we heard that the Soviets had entered Afghanistan. The first involved direct reactions and sanctions [economic penalties] focused on the Soviet Union… to increase the international costs to the Soviet Union of their actions. And the second course of action led to my going to Pakistan a month or so after the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, for the purpose of coordinating with the Pakistanis a joint response, the purpose of which would be to make the Soviets bleed for as much and as long as is possible; and we engaged in that effort in a collaborative sense with the Saudis, the Egyptians, the British, the Chinese, and we started providing weapons to the Mujahidin [guerrillas, some of whom included Islamic extremists like Osama Bin Laden]…”
Thus the policy became the CIA would go to Congress, ask for money without officially specifying what for, Congress would grant it, and the CIA would buy the weapons and direct them towards the Mujahidin (the Afghani fighters against the Soviets). It worked. The secret funding and supporting of the Afghan rebels as a proxy drove the Soviets out of Afghanistan after losing thousands of soldiers. The United States could secretly pat itself on the back for a job well done.
Guatemalan Civil War From 1960-1996 Guatemala was at war with itself. Leftist rebels [backed by the Soviets] faced off against a US-backed military dictatorship in a conflict that left 200,000 people dead. Entire ethnic groups (Mayan peoples living in rural areas controlled by the rebels) were targeted by government forces in scorched-earth operations that some consider genocidal.
The descent towards war began in 1954, when the CIA helped overthrow a democratically-elected, left-leaning government led by Jacobo Arbenz. Thanks to his land reform policies designed to benefit displaced farmers at the expense of private companies such as the US-based United Fruit Company [today’s Chiquita banana company], Arbenz attracted the attention of the CIA, which supported military officers who overthrew him in a coup. A succession of military dictators set about trying to crush the guerrilla groups.
After the war ended, Guatemala became a flawed democracy. Organized crime groups, many founded in Los Angeles by refugees from the civil war, have effectively taken over large parts of the country. The legacy of this conflict continues to destabilize Guatemala decades after it ended, contributing to large numbers of refugees fleeing towards the US border.
SOURCE: This reading was modified for high school students. The original article is here.
Proxy Wars During the Cold War
The main instigator of proxy wars involving the United States was MAD. Because the Soviet Union and the United States were so diametrically opposed, they were constantly gearing towards conflict, but the thought of nuclear war was enough to deter them both. Instead, they sought to spread their own spheres of influence, which directly led them into proxy wars.
The Greek Civil War
The first Cold War proxy war did not involve soldiers from either the Soviet Union or the United States, but did set a precedent in U.S. foreign policy for the following Cold War decades. In 1947, President Harry Truman addressed Congress about the Greek Civil War, where Communists backed by Albania, Yugoslavia, and Bulgaria (allies of the USSR) were rising against the Western backed Greek government [a military dictatorship].
In his address, now known as the Truman Doctrine, Truman asked for $400,000,000 to give in aid to Turkey and Greece… At this point, with the United States still healing from its WWII wounds, he did not ask for boots on the ground [US troops], merely financial aid. Truman was successful, and Congress granted the aid, thus creating the first proxy war that the United States took part in during the Cold War.
This intervention qualifies as a proxy war because both sides of the Greek Civil War were backed by larger states with opposing interests, and in this particular case, the United States was successful and the Communists were suppressed, which would directly inform the United States policy regarding the proxy Korean War. Greece had a pro-US military dictatorship for many years afterwards as a result of this US victory.
Soviet War in Afghanistan
In 1979… when the Soviets invaded Afghanistan, the United States couldn’t simply sit idly by. What made this particular invasion so important were the spheres of influence or more specifically, spheres of influence over oil. Afghanistan is located close to many oil-rich countries in the Middle East that the Soviets could potentially take control of if they succeeded in their invasion of Afghanistan. Faced with the dilemma of needing to act, but not wanting to involve American troops, or even let the American public know they were engaging in a conflict, the U.S. policy… is best expressed in the words of former national security advisor Dr. Zbigniew Brzezinski:
“We immediately launched a twofold process when we heard that the Soviets had entered Afghanistan. The first involved direct reactions and sanctions [economic penalties] focused on the Soviet Union… to increase the international costs to the Soviet Union of their actions. And the second course of action led to my going to Pakistan a month or so after the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, for the purpose of coordinating with the Pakistanis a joint response, the purpose of which would be to make the Soviets bleed for as much and as long as is possible; and we engaged in that effort in a collaborative sense with the Saudis, the Egyptians, the British, the Chinese, and we started providing weapons to the Mujahidin [guerrillas, some of whom included Islamic extremists like Osama Bin Laden]…”
Thus the policy became the CIA would go to Congress, ask for money without officially specifying what for, Congress would grant it, and the CIA would buy the weapons and direct them towards the Mujahidin (the Afghani fighters against the Soviets). It worked. The secret funding and supporting of the Afghan rebels as a proxy drove the Soviets out of Afghanistan after losing thousands of soldiers. The United States could secretly pat itself on the back for a job well done.
Guatemalan Civil War From 1960-1996 Guatemala was at war with itself. Leftist rebels [backed by the Soviets] faced off against a US-backed military dictatorship in a conflict that left 200,000 people dead. Entire ethnic groups (Mayan peoples living in rural areas controlled by the rebels) were targeted by government forces in scorched-earth operations that some consider genocidal.
The descent towards war began in 1954, when the CIA helped overthrow a democratically-elected, left-leaning government led by Jacobo Arbenz. Thanks to his land reform policies designed to benefit displaced farmers at the expense of private companies such as the US-based United Fruit Company [today’s Chiquita banana company], Arbenz attracted the attention of the CIA, which supported military officers who overthrew him in a coup. A succession of military dictators set about trying to crush the guerrilla groups.
After the war ended, Guatemala became a flawed democracy. Organized crime groups, many founded in Los Angeles by refugees from the civil war, have effectively taken over large parts of the country. The legacy of this conflict continues to destabilize Guatemala decades after it ended, contributing to large numbers of refugees fleeing towards the US border.
SOURCE: This reading was modified for high school students. The original article is here.
