How did Cold War tensions contribute to conflicts in Vietnam and in Egypt?

A couple of examples from Egypt are the Suez crisis and the aftermath of the Yom Kippur War. The Suez crisis was as much a legacy of colonialism as Cold War tensions. When Nasser nationalised the Suez Canal which previously had been controlled by the French and British, it was seen as a threat to stability in the area. Eden the British PM saw parallels with Nasser and Hitler's rise in the 1930's.

The British French and Israelis drew up a secret plan whereby an Israeli invasion of Sinai would act as a pretext to a British and French invasion and seizure of the Suez canal.

The episode was a disaster. Britain and France were playing a colonial role which they could no longer sustain. Ironically it was the Americans who were furious and forced a humiliating withdrawal.

During subsequent years the Israeli Arab question drew clearer and clear lines in Cold War politics with US support for the Israelis and Soviet support for the Arabs.

After the Yom Kippur war of 73 the Egyptian leader Sadat felt he could no longer secure Egypt with Soviet support and turned to the Americans. This culminated in the Camp David Agreements.

Taken at face value this was seen as a significant step towards Middle East peace and security. However critics argued that it was merely the US securing control over not only Israel but also Egypt. Certainly it did not bring peace as Sadat was assassinated shortly afterwards, and as other developments took place in the Middle East, alternative movements such as Hamas and Hezbollah emerged.

In Vietnam when the French were defeated at Dien Bien Phu in 1954, the country was divided into two at a peace conference in Geneva. Again very quickly clear lines were drawn within Cold War politics and tensions with the communist north supported by the Soviet Union and China and the south supported by the USA.

As the situation in the south deteriorated with the refusal of President Diem to hold elections American involvement increased. Diem was assassinated in 1963, probably by a CIA organised coup and was replaced by the military. Shortly after Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas and there are conspiracy theories that the two were linked. Certainly soon after American involvement soared to eventually 500,00 troops with significant Soviet logistical support and weapons for the north.

Cold War tensions contributed to conflicts in Vietnam and Egypt through the ideological and strategic competition between the United States and the Soviet Union. In Vietnam, the Cold War rivalry led to the division of the country into communist North Vietnam, supported by the Soviet Union and China, and anti-communist South Vietnam, supported by the United States and its allies. This division escalated into the Vietnam War, where the United States intervened militarily to prevent the spread of communism, leading to a prolonged and devastating conflict.

In Egypt, Cold War tensions manifested in the context of regional power struggles and the Arab-Israeli conflict. Egypt, under President Gamal Abdel Nasser, pursued a policy of non-alignment but received military and economic support from the Soviet Union. The United States, on the other hand, supported Israel and maintained close ties with some Arab states opposed to Nasser's leadership. This complex geopolitical environment contributed to conflicts such as the Suez Crisis of 1956, where Egypt nationalized the Suez Canal, leading to military intervention by Israel, France, and the UK, with broader Cold War implications.

Overall, Cold War tensions fueled ideological and strategic rivalries that influenced conflicts in Vietnam and Egypt, shaping the course of international relations during that era.