Arms Deliveries and Propaganda: How the US Fueled Conflicts Worldwide During the Cold War

Weapons for rebels and propaganda against governments. During the Cold War, the USA caused conflicts worldwide. Afghanistan, Iran, and Angola show what this policy left behind. From heated wars to unstable states and hundreds of thousands of deaths. In Indonesia alone, 2-3 million people died in massacres, and in Angola, around 800,000. What was then presented as a fight against communism ended for millions of people in war and dictatorship.  

Afghanistan 1979: CIA Weapons for Islamists

In 1979, the Soviet Union marched into Afghanistan to support the communist regime. After the invasion, President Hafizullah Amin killed and replaced by a pro-MoscowBabrak Karmalreplaced It came to War between the Soviet Union and rebels in Afghanistan, primarily the Islamist ones Mujahideen.

The Mujahideen were a loose coalition of religious groups that rebelled against communist rule. With the help of the CIA supported the US provided the Mujahideen with rifles, anti-aircraft, and anti-tank weapons. After the Soviets 1989 When the Soviets left Afghanistan, the Mujahideen split. Some of the fighters joined the now-ruling Taliban and others formed networks such as Al-Qaeda.

Years of civil war followed. 1996 takeovers the Taliban The power. 2001 The USA under George W. Bush Jr. marched into Afghanistan. Until 2021, international troops under US leadership were stationed in Afghanistan, but could not stabilize. During the Detachment the last Western troops in August 2021, the Taliban once again took power in the country.

Infobox: Mujahideen and their heirs

The Taliban (Ger. for „the students,“ „the knowledge seekers“) emerged in 1990 from Mujahideen fighters and religious Quranic students. Instability arose within the new Afghan government apparatus after 1992. The Taliban succeeded in defeating the remaining Mujahideen warlords. They captured the capital Kabul in September 1996 and proclaimed the „Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan“ there – this was partly achieved through American weapons that were still in Afghanistan from the previous war.

Iran 1953: CIA and Britain overthrow Mossadegh

In the early 1950s, the government of Iran under Prime Minister Mohammad Mossadegh die Oil fields nationalize the country and thus remove the subsoil resources from the control of British corporations. However, this displeased the USA and Great Britain. The CIA became active in the country, uprisings were supported and 1953 The Shah, the King of Iran, appointed as ruler. The CIA also relied on propaganda: Mossadegh was portrayed as a power politician close to the communists in order to turn public opinion against him and prepare for the coup publicly.

Previously, the Shah had already been 1941 on the throne, through the 1953 coup but rose from ceremonial to de facto head. Until the 1970s For years, he ruled the country as an ally of the West. 1979 Protests broke out in the country. Despite US support for the Shah, the dynasty was overthrown.

Instead of the king, the Islamic Republic of Iran under the Ayatollah, the religious leader, proclaimed. This has been in power to this day. The state repeatedly uses force against protests and opposition. In January 2026, human rights organizations documented particularly severe repression against demonstrators. Estimates range from 2,000 up to 18,000 deaths has begun. In February 2026, Israel and the USA attacked Iran – the spiritual leader of Iran, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was killed.

Infobox: The Ayatollah Regime

In the 1970s, there was great dissatisfaction with the Shah's government. It had become increasingly authoritarian, and the economic situation deteriorated. Amidst mass protests, he fled the country in 1979. Ruhollah Khomeini returned to the country and declared the „Islamic Republic of Iran“ – the country transformed from an authoritarian monarchy into a theocratic republic with religious leadership. The country went from being a major US ally to one of its bitterest enemies.

Egypt 1956: US Veto Against Its Own Allies

In July 1956 nationalized Egypt the Suez Canal Company. The most important Trade route of the world was until then predominantly owned by the former colonial powers of Egypt, the United Kingdom, and France. The UK was on the Suez Canal directed, to secure their oil supply and enable access to their colonies in Africa.

Also France had an interest in an attack on the land on the Nile. The Egyptian president Gamal Abdel Nasser supported the independence movements Algerians, then still a French colony. In response marched End October 1956 Israel, France, and the United Kingdom invaded Egypt. Paratroopers occupied key positions along the canal, while Israeli troops invaded the peninsula Sinai income. The former world powers and their allies in the Middle East, however, did not reckon with the new world order, which Cold War had created.

The USA positioned themselves politically against their own allies, Great Britain and France, and introduced a resolution in the UN for an immediate ceasefire. The Soviet Union, in parallel, increased with military threats the pressure. Under this dual pressure, Great Britain, France, and Israel had to break off their offensive and withdraw from Egypt withdraw.

Infobox: Abdel Nasser and Pan-Arab Nationalism

After the end of World War II, a wave of nationalism swept through the Arab world. Many former colonies strove for self-determination. In 1952, Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser came to power through a military coup. He wanted more independence from the West, Arab unity, and far-reaching social reforms.

After the Suez Crisis, Egypt and Syria formed the United Arab Republic from 1958 to 1961. However, this failed and was dissolved again. The Six-Day War against Israel weakened Nasser's position and the current of „Pan-Arab nationalism.“ Abdel Nasser died in 1970 – Pan-Arab nationalism lost importance.

Angola 1975: 800,000 dead, 4 million displaced

1975 was Angola one of the last countries in Africa to be freed from its colonial power Portugal independent. In the country in southwestern Africa, a bloody war broke out after independence Civil war out. On the one hand, the movements fought UNITA and National Front of Liberation of Angola against the Marxist-oriented MPLA. While the Soviet Union, together with Cuba, the MPLA supported, the USA supplied weapons to the UNITA and the FNLA. The Cold War in Angola therefore did not just mean ideology, but concrete arms deliveries, foreign interference and a decades-long civil war.

Also Apartheid South Africa mixed to join the fighting on the side of UNITA and FNLA. 1976 banned the US Congress with the Clark Amendment while the official interference of the United States, the support continued covertly. 1986 US President Ronald Reagan lifted the ban. From 1986 on, at times there was funding for the time most modern weapons at the market to UNITA and FNLA.

The fighting in Angola lasted for decades, until 2002 the leader of UNITA, Jonas Savimbi, was killed in combat. The civil war had lasted for decades between 500,000 and 800,000 fatalities demanded and over 4 million Angolans distributed.