The MPLA gained the upper hand in Angola, offering a strategic ally to the similarly communist-leaning SWAPO. Because of these conflicts, numerous nations in central, eastern and southern Africa were destabilized economically, politically, and socially. The South African Border War, also known as the Namibian War of Independence, was a prolonged battle between several governments and guerrilla movements. As many colonies pursued struggles for independence, the United States, Soviet Union, and China attempted to fill the power vacuums with money and arms. These countries became the battlefields for the competing influences of Democracy/Capitalism against Communism/Centrally-planned economies. Un… The Cold War Begins May 8: VE Day - Victory in Europe. Herbert Rosenbaum and Alexej Ugrinsky (Westport, CT: Odd Arne Westad, The Global Cold War (Cambridge, U.K.: Cambridge University Press, 2007). After a period of high tension between Israel and the countries around it, the a war began with Israel launching surprise air strikes against Arab forces. The conflict was fought along ethnic and political lines but included foreign intervention from the United States, the Soviet Union, China, Cuba, and South Africa. From the early 1920s until the mid-1960s, South Africa attempted several times to fully annex the territory of South West Africa but failed every time. During the Cold War period, it was the only government to do so under the same leader in Africa. After World War I, Germany was forced to surrender its colonial possessions, and South West Africa became an administrative mandate under the trusteeship of South Africa. Resistance began in the 1950s and culminated with a declaration of independence in June of 1960. Both sides claimed victory following the seven-month skirmish. The Congo Crisis was a period of social, political, and military upheaval in the newly formed Republic of the Congo-Léopoldville (present day Democratic Republic of the Congo, formerly Zaire). Using covert military operations and a steady supply of resources, the United States attempted to bolster the SADF enough to maintain authority over South West Africa. Pervasive issues stemming from these conflicts remain to this day and show the painful legacy of the Cold War. The ideological war between communism and capitalism claimed millions of lives and cost untold amounts of money. Rather, the lack of American intervention on the part of the Somali regime, and the public fallout from President Jimmy Carter’s hesitancy to confront communist aggression, led to the gradual decline of détente between the United States and the Soviet Union. The Ogaden War ended in a rout and by March of 1978 all Somali forces had withdrawn from Ethiopian territory. 1961 ... South Africa’s Prime Minister JB Vorster authorises Operation Savannah, eventually resulting in the infiltration of several SADF forces and a clash between the South African government and Cuban forces. The Congolese conflict and later proxy wars focused on physical resources, but were also fought because of political ideology, economics, and geographic strategy. These issues were exacerbated by a poor economy and years of destabilization. Namibia was granted and affirmed its independence in 1990. In most cases, the SADF was able to overwhelm the combined forces of SWAPO, MPLA, and Cuban militants supported by Soviet advisors because of the superior weaponry provided to the SADF by the United States. The United States responded by furthering aid of their own to the UNITA and FNLA forces and also pledged their support to South African maneuvers. 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