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Involvement in Proxy Wars and the Role of Public Opinion

    


    The Cold War was marred by proxy wars. Modern-day Vietnam, Korea, Afghanistan, and others are defined by Soviet and American intervention over the course of the 20th century. As of the start of this committee, the Korean was is a decade old and over, and the Vietnam War is being fought without American and Soviet ground troops, and conflict in Afghanistan is not on anyone's minds.


Korean War: The Korean War broke out in 1950 as the USSR armed North Korean communist insurgents in an effort to install communist rule throughout the Korean Peninsula. While these forces did manage to break through the 38th parallel, they were soon driven back by UN forces led by the United States. These forces formed a peace at the 38th parallel years after fighting. After the conclusion of the last battle of the war, neither side felt truly victorious. On the American side, they had managed to repel the Communist forces back to territory that was divided at the end of the Second World War, but they had not managed to unite Korea under the Republic. The Soviets had managed to support a communist nation militarily against international forces, but they had not managed to unite the Peninsula under their vision. The real losers of the conflict were the Korean people. Families that were separated under the war remain separated to this day by virtue of where their members were located after the last bullet was shot. While international sentiment was against the USSR after this conflict due to the aggression that instigated the conflict, this would not persist for all Cold War proxy battles.
Sources: <https://www.ukessays.com/essays/history/causes-and-impacts-of-the-korean-war.php?vref=1>, <https://www.history.com/topics/korea/korean-war>

Vietnam War: The Vietnam War's first battles started as early as 1955. The Viet Cong was a Communist insurgency group that started to fight against the South Vietnam army. The United States, seeking to prevent Communism from spreading to another nation, began financially supporting the South Vietnamese government. However, this was met by Chinese and Soviet financial support for the Viet Cong in their efforts to create a communist nation. Eventually, in the later 1960s, ground troops from both sides would be deployed to support their respective Vietnamese allies in the conflict. This did not end up in stalemate like Korea, however. As the Viet Cong leadership proved to be far more effective and less corrupt than South Vietnam, it began less and less likely that the country could be united under a South Vietnamese government. In 1975, the South Vietnamese government fell and the country was united under Communism. At home and abroad, the United States was criticized for its use of chemical weapons in order to clear the Vietnamese jungle. This war demonstrated the power of public opinion in influencing whose side could emerge victorious in these wars. 
<https://www.britannica.com/summary/Causes-and-Effects-of-the-Vietnam-War>

Afghanistan War: The Afghan War truly began in 1979 although the first major event that occurred was the USSR supporting a communist government led by Taraki in 1978, which was able to take over the capital of Kabul. Many Afghani people were against the Communist government because of their atheist faith, which they believed to be at odds with their Muslim faith. As a result, the leader of the Mujahideen, the anti-communist forces in Afghanistan, Amin, was able to have Taraki assassinated. This prompted the USSR to invade the no longer officially Communist Afghanistan, which escalated into Amin requesting that the United States support him in order to repel forces from the USSR. This conflict seemed to be the mirror opposite of Vietnam. The Soviet ground troops were beaten over and over by guerilla forces armed by the United States. This costly war ended in defeat for the Soviets as they lacked the forces on the ground to secure territory and they created enemies in Afghanistan's neighbors like their old ally China.
Source: <https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/guides/zwp86fr/revision/2>

Ultimately these examples are to help all of you really see the impact of going to war in various territories in the world. While I did not delve in detail, all of these conflicts led to the loss of millions of lives and have created political tears in these nations that persist to this day. When threatening war with each other, be mindful of what is truly at stake. 

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