# The Free World's clients: the West's unfree allies

The roster of regimes the Western powers backed to hold the line in the Cold War, and how few were free: the Latin American juntas and Operation Condor; the Asian allies from Park and Chiang to Marcos and Suharto; the Shah and the Middle Eastern monarchies; and the African clients from Mobutu to apartheid South Africa.

*This story parallel: Covert operations, coups, and blowback*
*This story part of: The Cold War*
*This story parallel: Neocolonialism: independence without economic freedom*
*This story parallel: Paramilitaries: the armed force between soldier and police*
*This story parallel: The Congo: from Leopold to the resource wars*
*This story part of: Client dictators: the strongmen the powers kept*
*This story part of: Ecology and environment*
*Rwanda: from colonial race-making to Kagame parallel this story*
*Moi's Kenya: the Western-backed one-party state part of this story*

## February 1945 — Saudi Arabia as pillar of Western influence in the Gulf

The 1945 meeting between Franklin Roosevelt and King Abdulaziz sealed a lasting bargain of Saudi oil for American security. The United States armed and protected the absolute monarchy for decades, and both funded anti-communist and anti-Soviet causes, from Afghanistan to Angola. Western powers kept close ties despite the kingdom's harsh internal rule.

## April 1948 — Italy's Christian Democrats and covert Cold War support

To keep NATO member Italy out of communist hands, the United States backed the Christian Democrats with covert funds beginning with the pivotal 1948 election. The CIA is documented channeling money to favored parties for years, and NATO's secret Gladio stay-behind network operated in Italy. Western support helped anchor Italy in the alliance, though claims about Gladio's later role remain contested.

## August 1948 — Syngman Rhee's South Korea

The United States installed and backed Syngman Rhee as the first president of South Korea and defended his state in the Korean War. Rhee ran an authoritarian, fiercely anti-communist government that jailed rivals and rigged votes until a student uprising forced him out in 1960. American aid and troops underwrote the young republic throughout.

## c. 1948 — Western trade and Cold War tolerance of apartheid South Africa

Through the Cold War, the United States, Britain and other Western states kept close trade and investment ties with apartheid South Africa and treated it as an anti-communist partner. Washington's policy of constructive engagement in the 1980s resisted tough sanctions until Congress overrode a presidential veto in 1986. Critics argue this Western tolerance, contested by defenders as pragmatism, prolonged white-minority rule.

## April 1949 — Salazar's Portugal in NATO

Antonio Salazar's authoritarian Estado Novo was a founding member of NATO in 1949, valued for the Azores air base that anchored the Atlantic. The United States and allies kept the partnership and gave aid even as Portugal fought brutal colonial wars in Africa. A right-wing dictatorship sat inside the Western alliance until the 1974 revolution.

## May 1949 — West Germany rebuilt as a Western anchor

The United States rebuilt West Germany with Marshall Plan aid and folded it into NATO in 1955 as the frontline of the Cold War in Europe. A defeated enemy became a democratic, prosperous anchor of the Western alliance facing the Soviet bloc. Its recovery and integration were a showcase of successful, consent-based Western rebuilding rather than propped-up dictatorship.

## December 1949 — Chiang Kai-shek's Taiwan under US protection

After losing the Chinese civil war, Chiang Kai-shek's Nationalists ruled Taiwan under a decades-long martial law known as the White Terror. The United States shielded the island with a defense treaty, the Seventh Fleet and heavy aid, and backed its claim to China's UN seat until 1971. Taiwan was a core anti-communist ally even as it jailed and killed dissidents.

## September 1951 — Japan rebuilt as the Pacific anchor

The US occupation and the 1951 security treaty made Japan the cornerstone of American power in the Pacific. Washington backed the long-ruling, pro-Western Liberal Democratic Party, kept major bases, and helped drive Japan's economic rise as a bulwark against communism in Asia. Like West Germany, Japan became a democratic anchor rather than an authoritarian client.

## February 1952 — Turkey in NATO and the 1980 coup

Turkey joined NATO in 1952 and became the alliance's crucial southeastern flank, bordering the Soviet Union and hosting US bases and missiles. When the military seized power in 1980 to end political chaos, Washington kept the strategic partnership and aid in place despite mass arrests and torture. Turkey's value as a frontline ally consistently outweighed concern over its coups.

## 1953 — Haile Selassie's Ethiopia in the American orbit

Emperor Haile Selassie aligned Ethiopia with the United States, which gained the Kagnew communications base at Asmara in exchange for arms and aid. For two decades Ethiopia was America's main military partner in the Horn of Africa. The tie ended when the 1974 revolution overthrew the emperor and the new regime turned to Moscow.

## 1953 — The Shah's Iran as the West's Gulf policeman

After the CIA and British-backed coup of 1953 restored his power, Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi ruled Iran as a close Western ally for a quarter century. The United States armed him heavily and cast Iran as the guardian of Gulf oil, while his SAVAK secret police crushed dissent. The alliance collapsed with the 1979 revolution that swept him away.

## September 1953 — Franco's Spain brought into the Western fold

The 1953 Pact of Madrid gave the United States military bases in Spain in exchange for aid, ending the isolation of Francisco Franco's dictatorship. Washington embraced the anti-communist general despite his fascist origins and repressive rule, valuing Spain's strategic position. The deal folded a right-wing dictatorship into the Western defense system.

## May 1954 — Stroessner's long dictatorship in Paraguay

General Alfredo Stroessner ruled Paraguay for thirty-five years as a firm Cold War ally of the United States. He received American military and economic aid and offered a reliable anti-communist base, while running a police state that jailed and tortured opponents. Paraguay under Stroessner became a hub of the regional Operation Condor network.

## October 1955 — Ngo Dinh Diem's South Vietnam

The United States backed Ngo Dinh Diem as leader of South Vietnam with aid, advisers and political cover after the country's partition. His narrow, repressive rule alienated Buddhists and peasants, and when he became a liability Washington gave a green light to the 1963 coup in which he was killed. The episode opened the way to deeper American war in Vietnam.

## c. 1957 — King Hussein's Jordan

King Hussein steered Jordan into a durable partnership with Britain and the United States, receiving aid and quiet CIA support to shore up his throne. He served as a moderate, pro-Western anchor in a turbulent region, crushing a Palestinian challenge in 1970 and later making peace with Israel. Western backing helped his small kingdom survive repeated crises.

## c. 1957 — Thailand's military governments

A run of military strongmen, including Sarit Thanarat and Thanom Kittikachorn, ruled Thailand as a firm US ally through the Cold War. The country hosted major American air bases used to bomb Vietnam and Laos and received large military aid in return. Thailand's generals offered stability and anti-communism while suppressing the left at home.

## c. 1957 — Tunisia under Bourguiba and Ben Ali

Habib Bourguiba led Tunisia to independence and steered it on a moderate, pro-Western course, favored by France and the United States. His successor Zine El Abidine Ben Ali kept the alignment while running a repressive police state, valued in the West as a stable, secular partner against Islamism. Western support held until the 2011 revolution that began the Arab Spring.

## October 1958 — Ayub Khan's Pakistan joins the Western camp

Field Marshal Ayub Khan took power in a coup and aligned Pakistan firmly with the United States, joining the CENTO and SEATO pacts. Washington gave arms and aid and used bases such as Peshawar for U-2 spy flights over the Soviet Union. Pakistan became an early and lasting military client in South Asia.

## August 1960 — Houphouet-Boigny's Cote d'Ivoire and French tutelage

Felix Houphouet-Boigny led Cote d'Ivoire to independence and tied it tightly to France in the network of postcolonial ties known as Francafrique. He welcomed French troops, business and advisers and built a stable, market-friendly, pro-Western state. His country was a showcase anchor of French influence in West Africa.

## March 1961 — Hassan II's Morocco as a Western ally

King Hassan II ruled Morocco for decades as a steady pro-Western monarch, receiving US and French arms and aid. He offered anti-communism, cooperation with Western intelligence and support in African conflicts, while ruling with a harsh hand in the period known as the Years of Lead. His war in Western Sahara drew continued Western military support.

## May 1961 — Park Chung-hee's military rule in South Korea

General Park Chung-hee took power in a coup and ruled for eighteen years, driving fast industrial growth under a hard authoritarian hand. The United States kept South Korea as a frontline ally with troops, aid and trade, and Park sent troops to fight alongside America in Vietnam. His Yushin constitution of 1972 entrenched near-dictatorial rule until his assassination in 1979.

## c. 1961 — Trujillo's Dominican Republic and the 1965 intervention

The United States long tolerated Rafael Trujillo's brutal rule as an anti-communist ally before ties frayed near his 1961 assassination. In 1965 President Johnson sent tens of thousands of troops to block a leftist-leaning return of ousted president Juan Bosch, then backed the conservative Joaquin Balaguer. The episode showed Washington's readiness to use force against feared leftist shifts in the Caribbean.

## December 1963 — Kenya as a pro-Western anchor in East Africa

Under Jomo Kenyatta and then Daniel arap Moi, Kenya chose a capitalist, pro-Western path and became a key US and British partner in the region. It offered port and military access, hosted Western business and aid, and stood against Soviet influence in the Horn of Africa. Western governments kept support flowing despite Moi's one-party repression.

## c. 1963 — Guatemala's military regimes after 1954

After the 1954 coup, a string of US-backed military governments ruled Guatemala and fought a long counterinsurgency that a truth commission later called genocide against Maya communities. Washington supplied aid, training and, under General Efrain Rios Montt, renewed support during the worst scorched-earth years. Some two hundred thousand people died over the conflict.

## 1 April 1964 — The Brazilian military seizes power with US backing

The Brazilian armed forces overthrew President Joao Goulart and opened a military dictatorship that lasted until 1985. Declassified records show Washington prepared Operation Brother Sam, a naval task force and fuel to support the coup, and recognized the new junta within a day. The generals delivered pro-Western, anti-communist government and open markets, and the United States backed them with aid and praise even as torture spread.

## November 1965 — Mobutu's Zaire as a Cold War client

Mobutu Sese Seko ruled Zaire for over three decades as one of Africa's most reliable US and Western allies. Washington and its partners gave aid, arms and cover in return for anti-communism and a base for operations, including support for rebels in neighboring Angola. His kleptocratic rule was tolerated until the Cold War ended and his usefulness faded.

## November 1965 — Rhodesia's white-minority regime and Western ambivalence

Ian Smith's white-minority government declared independence from Britain in 1965 to avoid Black majority rule. Britain and the West formally opposed the regime and backed UN sanctions, yet enforcement was weak and some trade continued, and anti-communism colored Western attitudes to the liberation war. The mixed record is debated, with critics stressing tolerance and defenders pointing to formal condemnation.

## 1967 — Nguyen Van Thieu's South Vietnam

General Nguyen Van Thieu led South Vietnam through the height of the American war, sustained by hundreds of thousands of US troops and vast aid. His government was widely seen as corrupt and dependent, and it collapsed in 1975 once US support ended and Northern forces advanced. Thieu's rule marked the last phase of the Western-backed Saigon state.

## March 1967 — Suharto's New Order Indonesia as a Western partner

Suharto took power amid the mass killings of 1965-66 and ran a pro-Western government open to foreign capital for three decades. The United States and allies supplied aid, arms and investment, and gave diplomatic cover for his 1975 invasion of East Timor. His New Order was a pillar of the anti-communist order in Southeast Asia.

## 21 April 1967 — The Greek junta of the colonels

A group of colonels seized power in NATO member Greece and ran a repressive military dictatorship for seven years. The United States kept the alliance, aid and Sixth Fleet ties largely intact, prizing Greece's strategic place over its jailed and tortured dissidents. The junta fell in 1974 after its reckless bid to seize Cyprus.

## c. 1967 — Israel as a strategic US ally

After the 1967 war, Israel grew into the United States' closest Middle East ally and the largest long-term recipient of American aid. Washington supplies advanced arms, an annual military package and steady diplomatic cover, including vetoes at the UN Security Council. The partnership is a central and much-debated feature of the Western alliance system.

## March 1970 — Lon Nol's Cambodia and the American war

General Lon Nol overthrew Prince Sihanouk and set up a pro-US republic that Washington backed with aid and a massive bombing campaign against communist forces. The weak, corrupt government could not hold the countryside, and its collapse in 1975 opened the way for the Khmer Rouge. American support could not save a client with little base of its own.

## August 1971 — Banzer's coup and rule in Bolivia

Colonel Hugo Banzer seized power in a coup and ruled Bolivia for seven years with US support. Washington backed him as an anti-communist bulwark and continued aid as his government banned parties and unions and joined Operation Condor. Bolivia's later cocaine-linked coup of 1980 strained ties, but the Banzer years marked a clear US-backed authoritarian turn.

## c. 1971 — The Gulf monarchies under Western protection

As Britain withdrew east of Suez, the small Gulf monarchies of Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Oman stayed firmly in the Western orbit. They hosted British and later American bases and fleets and traded oil for arms and security guarantees. These conservative states were reliable, oil-rich anchors against both Soviet influence and radical Arab nationalism.

## September 1972 — Marcos and martial law in the Philippines

Ferdinand Marcos declared martial law and ruled for over a decade as a close US ally hosting the strategic Clark and Subic bases. Washington kept aid and warm ties despite mass corruption, jailings and killings, valuing his anti-communism and the bases. The United States only distanced itself when the People Power revolt swept him out in 1986.

## June 1973 — Uruguay's military rule

The armed forces dissolved parliament and ran Uruguay until 1985, jailing so many that the country gained one of the highest political prisoner rates in the world. The regime took part in Operation Condor and received US military training and aid during the crackdown on the Tupamaro left. Washington treated it as part of the anti-communist front in the Southern Cone.

## 1975 — Backing Savimbi's UNITA in Angola

The United States and apartheid South Africa backed Jonas Savimbi's UNITA against the Soviet- and Cuban-supported Angolan government. After the 1985 repeal of the Clark Amendment, Washington sent covert aid including Stinger missiles to the rebels. The proxy war ran for years and helped keep Angola's civil conflict burning long after independence.

## 1975 — Operation Condor links the Southern Cone dictatorships

Argentina, Chile, Uruguay, Paraguay, Bolivia and Brazil built Operation Condor, a shared system to track, seize and kill exiled opponents across borders. Declassified US records show Washington knew of the network and gave intelligence and communications support while treating the regimes as Cold War partners. The scheme killed and disappeared thousands across the region and beyond.

## 24 March 1976 — Argentina's junta and the Dirty War

A military junta under Jorge Videla seized power and waged a Dirty War that disappeared an estimated thirty thousand people. The United States kept aid and diplomatic ties through the worst years, and Secretary of State Henry Kissinger is documented telling the generals to move quickly against opponents. Human rights pressure under President Carter later cooled the relationship.

## July 1977 — Zia-ul-Haq and the Afghan war effort

General Zia-ul-Haq seized power, hanged elected leader Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and imposed hardline Islamist military rule. After the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, the United States made Zia a central ally, channeling billions in arms and CIA money to the mujahideen through his intelligence service. Cold War need overrode Western concern about his repression and nuclear program.

## September 1978 — Egypt realigns to the West under Sadat

Anwar Sadat broke with the Soviet Union and, through the Camp David Accords and 1979 peace with Israel, turned Egypt into a major US ally. In return Egypt became one of the largest recipients of American aid, most of it military. The realignment reshaped the balance of the Middle East in the West's favor.

## c. 1978 — Somalia's Siad Barre switches to the West

After falling out with Moscow over the Ogaden War, Somalia's dictator Siad Barre switched sides and became a US client in the Horn of Africa. Washington gained access to the port of Berbera and sent arms and aid in return. The Cold War swap left Somalia awash in weapons that fed its later collapse into civil war.

## December 1979 — Arming the Afghan mujahideen against the USSR

After the Soviet invasion, the United States, Britain, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan ran a huge covert program to arm the Afghan mujahideen. Operation Cyclone funneled billions in weapons, including Stinger missiles, to guerrillas fighting the Red Army. The effort helped drive out the Soviets but left a flood of arms and hardened fighters behind.

## 1980 — El Salvador's government in the civil war

The United States poured billions in aid and advisers into the Salvadoran government during its twelve-year war against leftist guerrillas. American-backed forces and allied death squads killed tens of thousands of civilians, including the massacre at El Mozote and the murder of Archbishop Oscar Romero. Washington kept the aid flowing while pressing for reforms that came slowly.

## April 1980 — Liberia's long tie to the United States

Liberia was a close US partner hosting vital Cold War facilities, including a major relay station and communications sites. Washington kept support flowing to Samuel Doe after his violent 1980 coup, valuing the bases and his anti-communism despite his brutal rule. American aid propped up his government through much of the 1980s.

## May 1980 — Chun Doo-hwan and the Gwangju crackdown

General Chun Doo-hwan seized power and crushed the Gwangju uprising, killing hundreds of protesters. The United States kept its alliance and aid intact, and critics argue Washington did too little to restrain a general whose forces operated under a joint command structure. Chun's rule lasted until popular protests forced democratic reform in 1987.

## 1981 — Honduras as a base for the Contra war

Honduras became the staging ground for the US-backed Contra war and a hub of American military buildup in Central America. Aid multiplied and US ambassador John Negroponte worked closely with a military whose Battalion 316 death squad, trained with US help, disappeared dissidents. The civilian government held office while the army and Washington set security policy.

## 1981 — The Contras against Sandinista Nicaragua

The Reagan administration organized, armed and funded the Contra rebels to fight the leftist Sandinista government. The CIA trained the force and mined Nicaraguan harbors, which the International Court of Justice ruled unlawful in 1986. When Congress cut off funds, officials ran the secret Iran-Contra scheme to keep the war going.

## October 1981 — Mubarak's Egypt as a Western anchor

Hosni Mubarak ruled Egypt for thirty years as a cornerstone US ally, keeping the peace with Israel and cooperating on regional security. Washington sent about a billion and a half dollars a year, mostly military aid, and largely overlooked his emergency-law police state. Support held until the 2011 uprising forced Western governments to let go.

## 1982 — The US tilt toward Iraq in the Iran-Iraq War

During the Iran-Iraq War the United States tilted toward Saddam Hussein's Iraq, restoring relations and providing intelligence, credit and dual-use technology. Washington kept support flowing even as Iraq used chemical weapons, seeing Iran as the greater threat. The tilt is a documented case of backing a strongman for reasons of the moment, before the reversal of the 1990s.

## June 1982 — Chad's Hissene Habre, backed by Washington and Paris

Hissene Habre took power in Chad with US and French support and was armed as a bulwark against Libya's Muammar Gaddafi. The CIA helped build his forces, and France provided direct military backing against Libyan intervention. His government killed and tortured thousands, and he was later convicted of crimes against humanity, making him a documented case of a Western-backed strongman brought to justice.

## 1983 — Noriega's Panama, backed then invaded

Manuel Noriega worked for years as a paid CIA asset and pro-US strongman in Panama even as he ran drugs and rigged votes. When he turned unreliable and was indicted in the United States, the relationship collapsed, and in 1989 US forces invaded to remove and capture him. Panama shows the full arc from useful client to target.

## October 1999 — Musharraf's Pakistan in the war on terror

General Pervez Musharraf seized power in a coup and, after the 2001 attacks, became a key US partner in the war on terror. Washington lifted sanctions and gave billions in aid in return for cooperation against al-Qaeda and the Taliban, despite doubts about Pakistan's double game. Musharraf's rule shows the pattern renewed in a new era.