January, 1979: the collapse of the regime of the Shah of Iran
March, 1979:The rise to power of the New Jewel Movement of Maurice Bishop in Grenada
July, 1979: The victory of the Sandinistas in Nicaragua
October, 1979: A reform coup in El Salvador overthrows a reactionary government.
November, 1979: Over 50 US military and diplomatic personnel are taken hostage in Teheran, Iran.
US responses during the year:
Spring, 1979: Reinstitute draft registration
Spring, 1979: Begin to provide billions of military aid to Egypt
July, 1979: Based on recommendations from his National Security Advisor, President Carter begins to aid rebels fighting against the government of Afghanistan which had signed a treaty of friendship and mutual aid with the former Soviet Union
December, 1979: The Soviet Union sends 85,000 troops to Afghanistan to protect the beleaguered regime in Kabul, based on treaty agreements.
January, 1980: President Carter announces the US will not participate in the Moscow Olympic games; condemns Soviet "aggression" in Afghanistan. Key aides claim the Soviet Union wants to advance to capture Iranian oil, and Carter's National Security Advisor claims that Afghanistan will be "their Vietnam."
President Carter also declares that the Persian Gulf region is part of a US sphere of influence: the Carter Doctrine. Over the years the United States supports rebels, including Osama Bin Laden and soon to be Taliban, with arms, including shoulder held rocket launchers.
In short, Cold War II was launched in 1979 to respond to the changes in the Persian Gulf, East Asia, and Latin America and the Caribbean, signs of the relative decline in US power. A centerpiece was the launching of what would be a quagmire in Afghanistan, the last 20 years of which involved United States military forces.
