The Cold War took place after WWII, and was a period of intense tension between the Soviet Union and the USA. The Soviet Union refused to trust the United States because of the difference in government between the capitalists and the communists. The countries both were paranoid that they were plotting against each other, and the spying that took place caused even more distrust between the countries. The Cold War never included direct fire between both countries, but peacekeeping missions were launched where the countries were both trying to claim power. The UN was working parallel to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in trying to keep …show more content…
"We were surrounded on the hills of Kapyong and there was a lot of fire. We were pretty well out of ammunition and out of food too. We did get some air supplies dropped in, but we were actually surrounded", says Veteran Gerald Gowing on the Kapyong Battle (Canada Remembers The Battle Of Kapyong). This proved that the Canadians were put in a compromising situation but managed to hold the line and then negotiate for a truce after they had effectively fought back the …show more content…
The Security Council eventually approved Resolution 660, which stated that Iraq was a threat to peace and asked for it retract its forces from Kuwait. Political and economic sanctions were placed on Iraq, with the United Nations strongly objecting to the annexation of Kuwait (Dorosh). Operation Friction, which was the intervention put in place by the UN, saw approximately 4,500 canadian soldiers deployed to the Persian Gulf. Canada supported the action and as a part of the UN force sent on a naval task force. Allied warships arrived at the conflicted area to help protect Kuwait from Iranian attacks after the hostilities had stopped between Iraq and Kuwait. The Canadians, with over 500 personnel, were based in Qatar and conducted air combat missions. An air transport group supplied cargo plans for personnel and cargo and over 500 more Canadians served with the British Division as field hospital support. Once the American forces started to intervene, the Iraqi forces collapsed and from then, the war lasted 100 hours. Canada had once again helped the UN in protecting countries and kept its reputation as an international peacekeeper. They helped defend countries in need and helped also to intimidate and overpower the armies of threatening countries (countries that were a threat to