Pact of Baghdad

History

Organization

Built on the model of NATO and conceived like the prolongation of the OTASE, this alliance constrained nations as well with the mutual co-operation and protection as with non-intervention in the businesses of the others. Its goal was to contain the Soviet Union by having a line of strong States on its southern border. However, on the geopolitical level, alliance will be regarded as one of the least succeeded of the Cold war. In addition, the CENTO moved as of the Années 1960 towards an economic cooperation between the members.

The role of the United States

Even if the American pressures, in the form of promises of economic and military generosities, had a key role in the negotiations, the the United States chose not to take part in the agreement in order to avoid alienating the Arab States with which they always tried to cultivate friendly relations. Thus, the pact often led the Americans to support corrupted or unpopular modes in Iraq, Iran and Pakistan.

The United States had, thanks to a Member State, the Pakistan, facilities for espionner the Soviet Union. Based with Peshawar, planes - spies Lockheed U-2 practiced reconnaissance flights to the top of the Soviet airspace. After the Crisis of U-2 of 1960, the first secretary of the PCUS Nikita Khrouchtchev informs Pakistan which it had become a target for the Soviet nuclear forces.

Incompetence of the CENTO

The the Middle East and the South Asia became very significant zones during the years 1960, with the aggravation of the Israeli-Arab Conflit and the indo-Pakistani Guerre. The United States and the CENTO were unable to intervene in these problems. The American support for Israel also degraded the relations between the United States and the Moslem members of the pact. In 1965 and 1971, Pakistan tried without success to obtain from the assistance of the CENTO in its war against the India.

Alliance theoretically lasted until the Iranian Révolution of 1979. Actually, it was indeed finished since 1974, when Turkey invades Cyprus, obliging the the United Kingdom to withdraw its forces of a place however envisaged by alliance.

Assessment

It seems finally that alliance exploited only little the prevention of the expansion of the Soviet influence on the States non-members of the zone. Other States of the Close relation and the Middle East felt excluded from the CENTO and turned to the Soviets, in particular the Egypt and the Syria.

See too

List of international alliances of the Cold war
Organization of the treaty of the North Atlantic
Truman doctrine

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