Congo Crisis Research Paper

Natural resources played a significant role in the United States and the Soviet Union’s intervention into the Congo Crisis. In the years leading to the Congo Crisis, tensions heightened between the world’s two superpowers, the United States and the Soviet Union. “After World War II, the relentless pursuit of resources was overshadowed by the political and ideological exigencies of the U. S. -Soviet rivalry” (Klare 50). However, the United States was perceived to be losing the arms race. So, the U.S. sought strategic minerals in the Congo, and established a pseudo colonial regime to protect their national security interests concerning containment and resources. To defend their military actions in the Congo the United States used their policy …show more content…
Congolese possession of the largest reserve of uranium insured that the two largest powers in the world would attempt to gain influence over the Congo, for “global market forces can also increase the likelihood of conflict, most notably when a contested resource is seen as being so valuable in monetary terms that none of the claimants involved is willing to accept its loss” (Klare 50). The two great superpowers struggled to achieve an advantage over one another, and the Congo played the role of a nation willingly or not, in the center of the dispute. The United States was in a better position at the beginning of the Congo Crisis because it already had a historically friendly relationship with the Congo. When their friendly relationship was endangered, the United States worked to ensure their own national security interests, thereby, establishing a pseudo colonial regime in the form of Joseph Mobutu’s dictatorship, which lasted for almost thirty …show more content…
Political unrest led to instability; instability gave the Soviets an opportunity to influence the government of the Congo. The United Nations suffered attacks on its organizational structure by the Communist bloc and the Congolese suffered many brutalities during the instability. Containment meant stopping the spread of Soviet influence to this region. This interest was present in the Congo; the U.S. interest in prevention of communist expansion into the Congo justified the U.S. pseudo colonial actions there. This level of crisis in the world demonstrates the increasing tensions between the United States and the Soviet Union as they attempted to not only maintain security and increase influence, but also while avoiding nuclear