Introduction

Welcome to the second edition of the Emerging Crisis Committee of the

___ edition of ITAM Model United Nations. For this years edition you
are invited to travel into the past to 1961 and join the Presidential
National Security Council of the United States and the Soviet Union
Presidential Committee. During these three intensive days you will be
immersed in a completely different world from the one we currently
know. From one side you will represent the United States, a country
which is now lead by president John F. Kennedy and his advisors who
will face challenges that range from the spreading of communism,
nuclear weapons, the communist movements in Latin America and an
increasing tension around the globe. On the other committee you will
face a new soviet regime, which will look to expand its influence in the
world while maintaining its internal structure in order. Both committees
will have an important job ahead of them in order to guarantee their
national integrity and their spheres of influence however they must
also take into account that any action they take will have serious
repercussions on the global scenario creating unforeseen crisis that
may determine their nations future and the worlds.
It is an honor for us to welcome you to this committee and do not
hesitate to contact us if you have any doubts regarding the flow of the
debate and how the crisis committee works.

Your sincerely
Gonzalo Martinez
Gabriela Latapi

Historic Overview

The United States and the Soviet Union (1945-1960)

After World War II, the United States experienced phenomenal
economic growth. As the Cold war unfolded, the United States
positioned itself as the worlds richest country. On its part, the Soviet
Union seeked economic recovery and political control with Joseph
Stalin as its unquestionable leader.
Rivalry between the United States and the Soviet Union for control over
the postwar world emerged before World War II had even ended. U.S.
presidents Franklin D. Roosevelt and Harry S. Truman and soviet leader
Joseph Stalin never really trusted one another, even while working
together to defeat their enemies.
One source of conflict between the United States and the Soviet Union
was the fate of Eastern Europe. The United States was committed to
establish free and democratic elections inthe region, while the Soviet
Union wanted a buffer zone of friendly countries in Eastern Europe to
protect it from future attacks from the West. The Soviet Union
organized Communist governments in Bulgaria and Romania, and in
Hungary and Poland in 1947. Communists took over Czechoslovakia in
a coup d'etat in 1948.
Another source of East-West tension was control of nuclear weapons. In
1946, the Soviet Union rejected a U.S. proposal for an international
agency to control nuclear energy production and research. The Soviets
were convinced that the United States was trying to preserve its
monopoly on nuclear weapons.

A third source of conflict was post-war economic development

assistance. The United States refused a Soviet request for massive
reconstruction loans. In response, the Soviets called for substantial
reparations from Germany. The tensions begun to grow until each
nation decided to create its own economic development plan, the
United States designed the Marshall Plan in order to start the
reconstruction of a post-war Europe and the Soviet Union designed the
Molotov Plan or COMECON in order to promote reconstruction with its
allies.
The Truman Doctrine in 1947, alonside the Marshall Plan for european
reconstruction, committed the United States to providing aid to
countries resisting communist aggression or subversion and provided
the first step toward what would become known as the Containment
Policy. This policy was first established by George F. Kennan, a U.S.
diplomate, the policys main focus was to control the spread of
communism in the World. When the Soviet Union started making
movies to grow its influence in Eastern Europe, Africa, Korea, China
and Vietnam, the Defense department of the United States realized
actions needed to be taken in order to control the spread of
communism. The Creation of NATO and the support of certain
governmental regimes were the first steps of the U.S. administration
implementing this policy. In response, the Soviet Union organized the
so called Warsaw Pact. It included the Soviet Union, Albania, Poland,
Romania, Hungary, East Germany, Czechoslovakia, and Bulgaria as
members. The treaty called on the member states to come to the
defense of any member attacked by an outside force.
In 1949, NATO was created by the United States and other European
countries. The Alliances creation was part of a broader effort to serve
three purposes: deterring Soviet expansionism, forbidding the revival
of nationalist militarism in Europe through a strong North American

presence on the continent, and encouraging European political

integration.
President Truman kept the Korean War (1950-1953) limited by refusing
to use nuclear weapons against North Korea and China, aware that
doing so would force the USSR to retaliate. Moreover, President Dwight
D. Eisenhower kept his distance from the Hungarian Revolution in
1956, knowing full well that the USSR would not tolerate interference
in Eastern Europe. Likewise, the Soviet Union made sacrifices to keep
the war cold by backing down from the Cuban missile crisis in the
sixties. Both superpowers mistrusted one another but knew that a
direct conflict would have unthinkable costs.
The scenario on which the Emerging Crisis Committee will take place
focuses on a key moment in the world, it is a period where the world
has survived the situation of the Cuban Missile Crisis and is looking
with suspicion the future of the world.
The United States current situation
After a critical situation with the Bay of Pigs invasion, president
Kennedy has decided to launch an international program called the
Alliance for progress with the objective to give economic aid to
developing countries around the world. It is expected that 1.4 billion
dollars will be directed to this program, which certain critics think is a
way to stop soviet influence from reaching more Latin American and
African countries.
On the other hand the United States is looking to provide aid to a new
wave of emerging countries that are looking for independence from
world powers around the globe. However with the USSR taking the
same measures it is expected that soon wars among these influenced
nations will start creating what some analysts are now calling proxy
wars.

The defense programs started by president Eisenhower have turned

out to be more successful than expected and the Organization of the
American States is now playing a key role in the American continent
while the Southeast Asian Treaty Organization has also started to grow.
In the Middle East and certain parts of Africa and Latin America a new
movement has emerged and they have now formed a bloc known as
the Non Aligned Movement, members of these group have claimed
neutrality regarding their relations with the Soviet Union and the
United States although it is not yet clear the role neutrality will play for
these nations

the

movement has

gained importance adjoining

members like India, Egypt, Yugoslavia and Mexico.

In the Middle East the United States administration is taking a
complete focus on the current situation in Iran where recent upturns
since 1960 have created an environment of instability which needs to
be addressed. The entrance of the young Mohammad Reza Pahlavi
promises to bring stability to a strategic point in the U.S. security and
energy future, it is in the U.S. and its allies national interest to aid the
strengthening of this administration in order to deter any soviet
attempts to destabilize the region.
Regarding the international scenario two threats appear to be growing,
the first is a guerrilla type movement in Dominican Republic which
threatens to eliminate the stable regime currently in government and
the second scenario is the war in Vietnam in which the United States
has actively participated since 1959. Delegates will be expected to
consider this intelligence when taking decisions since these are current
developing situations that will definitely limit or enhance the capacity
to act.

U.S. Cabinet Members

United States Attorney General

According to the Judiciary Act of 1789, the Attorney Generals is in

charge of representing the U.S. in legal matters, and advising the
President as well as the heads of the executive departments of the
Government when needed or requested. Furthermore, within domestic
affairs, he is the main person presiding the Supreme Court in cases of
remarkable gravity and urgency, and guides the national law office and
the central agency for enforcement of federal laws.
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) is the main Chief of
Military Services, and therefore, is the principal military adviser to the
President, Secretary of Defense, and the National Security Council
(NSC). Every member of the JCS members is by law a military adviser;
however, they can only submit opinions and suggestions through the
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
Chairman of the NATO Military Committee
The Chairman of the Military Committee directs the ordinary duties of
the Committee, and is the principal NATOs military authority. When
needed he shall act on behalf of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.
Inside

NATO

each

country

is

represented

through

Military

Representative who represents each countrys armed forces. Together

these representatives conform the Military Committee an organ in
charge of recommending to NATO the necessary measures for the
defense of the NATO members and allies.

The Chairman of the

Committee is in charge of representing all the members and leading

the

conferences

.DirectoroftheCentralIntelligenceAgency(CIA)

meetings.

As its name suggests, the Director of the CIA is the head of the Central
Intelligence Agency, and is in charge of managing the operations,
personnel, and budget of this Agency. He acts as the National Human
Source Intelligence (HUMINT), works very closely with the Director of
National Intelligence as well as the President. In fact, the latter is the
one who nominates the Director of the CIA, who then has to be
confirmed by the Senate.
Secretary General of NATO
The Secretary General of NATO is the Alliances highest ranked
international civil servant. His first duty is to overlook, pilot, and lead
the members consultation and decision-making process in order to
guarantee that decisions are implemented secondly. Inside NATO the
Secretary general is in charge of the most important decisions for the
branches of NATO. He also chairs the Defense Planning Committee and
the Nuclear Planning Committee. In an administrative role the
Secretary General is in charge of directing the international staff of the
organization and the General Secretariat Office. All the personnel
reports to him, which means the Secretary General, must coordinate
carefully all the agency actions.
Secretary of Defense
The secretary of defense is the main political advisor regarding
defense policy to the President of the United States and is the main
leader in the formulation of defense policy and also manages the
Department of Defense and the execution of its policy. The Secretary is
also am ember of the Presidential Cabinet and is also a key member in
the National Security Council. The military power this position has is
second only to the President and in other countries it is known as
Defense Minister. The secretary is appointed by the President and is
ratified by the Senate of the United States.

Secretary of State
The secretary of State is one of the main members of the Presidential
Cabinet, the secretary is in charge of the United States foreign policy
with the Senate, it is the main foreign affairs adviser to the President.
The secretary is in charge of carrying out the Presidents foreign
policies and is the director of the State Department, which includes
different branches of the U.S. government including the Foreign
Service and the U.S. Agency for International Development. The
secretary of State plays a key role in this committee since it will be in
charge of managing diplomatic relations among allied countries and
moving the pieces in the international scenario to fit the U.S. interests
abroad.
Secretary of the Treasury
The Secretary of the Treasury is the director of the United States
department of treasury which is the main branch regarding monetary
matters and financial aid for the United States. This position is also a
member of the Presidents Cabinet and is also a member of the
National Security Council advising the President on the financial
perspective of the policies he decides to take. He is considered one of
the most important members inside the cabinet and his decisions will
play a key role in the debate where the secretary must decide how to
balance the economy and the presidents decisions.
Representative of Great Britain
By the 1950s the government of the United Kingdom tried to distance
itself from the government of the United States. The Marshall Aid Plan
created tensions within both administrations that were not able to
maintain the original friendship both nations had had after World War
II. The United States has been pressuring for Europe to create a
western bloc with all European countries and the United Kingdom has

remained doubtful whether a European integration is the best option to

protect its interests. World War II left the United Kingdom at a loss of
global leadership and the governments main focus is to become the
European leader inside the conflict. The British kingdom is also
concerned with their colonial assets which the United States consider
vital to contain the spread of communism.
Representative of France
After settling the conflict in Algeria the French administrations main
focus has been to create a position in the global sphere for France that
is completely independent from the United States, even though the
French government is completely in favor of the occidental values the
administration also believes that bipolarity is not how the global stage
should be considered. There have been serious talks inside the
Presidential cabinet of leaving NATO and the U.S. alliance blocs to
defend the French international position however this information has
been classified as rumors.
Representative of West Germany
The Berlin Wall has just been built without any notice from the East
Germany government or the Soviet Union and the country has suffered
the deads of some citizens who tried to cross. The event has shocked
the international sphere since until now the German leaders thought it
was a political speech. All the political leaders inside Germany are now
in an emergency state debating which should be the path to take. Even
though tensions between East and West Germany had been rising in
recent years this has taken the relation into a new level. German
leaders in the Western bloc have established democracy will continue
to be the main value inside the recently divided country.
United States Ambassador to the United Nations

The U.S.A. Ambassador to the United Nations is the permanent

representative of the U.S. in the U.N. and is also a member of the
Presidential Cabinet. At the United Nations the main mission of the
ambassador is to protect U.S. interests and defend universal values
among the other member countries, portraying the U.S. agenda to
other world governments and participate in global challenges such as
peace and security. The ambassador is in charge of participating in the
Security Council meetings and the General Assembly.
National Security Advisor
The National Security Advisor is the main official in the Executive
Office of the President, the office is the immediate staff of the
President and has a structure defined to give support to the
President and the policies he decides to implement. It is the main
advisor regarding national security issues and is in constant
communication with the secretary of Defense and the CIA

director.

The U.S.S.R. Current Situation

The death of Stalin has brought a new era of transformation inside the
Soviet Union, the arrival of the recently appointed First Secretary of the
Communist Party, Nikita Khrushchev promises a wave of changes
which begun in the Twentieth Party Congress where he condemned the
actions taken by Stalin and his followers.
After the arrival of First Secretary Khrushchev the defense program
was modified and its main focus is now on nuclear weapons as the
principal method of defense. If the U.S.S.R has a competitive stock of
nuclear materials it is almost impossible that the United States will try
to attack the Soviet Union or its allies. A peaceful coexistence with the
capitalist world will become permanent and eventually the inherent
superiority of the socialist system will emerge to a complete economic
and cultural competition with the western bloc.
Internationally there are different scenarios that the U.S.S.R needs to
focus on in order to maintain its power. The Warsaw Pact has been
recently created and is in need of leadership in order to maintain the
Soviet National Security program, which guarantees the entrance of
troops to our allied countries.
The U.S.S.R. has decided to establish a foreign policy that will help
expand the socialist revolution towards other regions of the world with
a special focus in Latin America and Asia. The Chinese government led
by Mao Zedong has proved to be an invaluable ally and it seems that
their social and economic programs are raising Chinas position in the
world.
Latin America is now the main focus of the U.S.R.R. foreign policy
program. The ideological movement of Ernesto Che Guevara has
shown Latin American countries that the socialist system will allow
their citizens to grow with freedom and wealth. The arrival of Fidel

Castro to the government of Cuba has proved to be of an insuperable

value to the U.S.S.R, which now has a strategic ally close to the United
States. However since the PBSUCCESS program was used in 1954 in
Guatemala the Soviet Union must be prepared to support countries
that take in a socialist government since an intervention of the United
States government will be inevitable.

Soviet Cabinet Members

Chairman of the KGB

Komitet Gosudarstvennoy Bezopasnosti (KGB) is a Russian language

abbreviation. In English it means State Security Committee. This
agency evolved from the soviet secret police. The organization was
given in charge of: conducting foreign intelligence activities, counter
intelligence and the elimination of anti USSR organizations form the
country. The hierarchy of KGB consisted of a chairman who headed the
agency, up to two first deputy chairmen and 4 to 6 deputy chairmen.
It was controlled directly by the Politburo which selected the chairman.
The KGB monitored political sentiments and ensured that security
arrangements were up to standard
Chief of Combined Staff of the Unified Armed Forces of the
Warsaw Treaty Organization
The Soviet General Staff in Moscow housed the alliance's Joint
Command and Joint Staff and, through these organs, controlled the
entire military apparatus of the Warsaw Pact as well as the allied
armies. Although the highest ranking officers of the alliance were
supposed to be selected through the mutual agreement of its member
states, the Soviets unilaterally appointed a first deputy Soviet minister
of defense and first deputy chief of the Soviet General Staff to serve as
Warsaw Pact commander in chief and chief of staff.
Chief of the General Staff of the Soviet Armed Forces
The Soviet General Staff posted senior colonel generals as resident
representatives of the Warsaw Pact commander in chief in all East
European

capitals.

Serving

with

the

"agreement

of

their

host

countries," these successors to the wartime and postwar Soviet

advisers for the allied armies equaled the East European ministers of
defense in rank and provided a point of contact for the commander in
chief, Joint Command, and Soviet General Staff inside the national
military establishments.

Defense Minister of the USSR

The

Defense

Minister

was

responsible

for

defense

of

the

communist Russian Soviet Federative Socialist. The Soviets considered

the national ministers of defense, with the rank of colonel general,
equivalent only to Soviet military district commanders. The Chief of the
Combined Staff of the United Forces of the Warsaw Treaty and the
Chief of the General Staff of the Soviet Armed Forces ranked below the
Soviet Minister of Defense.
The Defense Ministry directed and monitored the military training and
political indoctrination programs of the national armies to synchronize
their development with the Soviet Army, clearly indicated the
subordination of the East European allies to the Soviet Union.
Minister of Finance
Starting on March 1946 the Ministry of Finance was created in order to
manage the financial situation inside the USSR. The minister of Finance
is in charge of setting the prices inside the USSR and also establishing
the setting of salaries in order to achieve the goals established by the
Five Years Plans with the State Bank of the USSR and the State
Planning Committee. The Finance ministry is also in charge of receiving
all the relevant information to establish the yearly budget for the
administration.
Foreign Minister of the USSR
Established since 1923 the main duty of the ministry is to direct foreign
policy, it is in charge of representing the USSR abroad and participating
on the different diplomatic forums always protecting and advancing
the

USSR

interests.

It

is

in

charge

of

the

USSR

diplomatic

administrative body (not ambassadors) and works jointly with the

ministry of Foreign Trade and the Committee of the Council of Ministers
on Cultural Links with Foreign Nations in order to protect soviet citizens
and ideology abroad.

General Secretary of the Communist Party

The General Secretary is the leader of the Communist Party, even
though historically this position represented the leader of the party and
the leader of the USSR in the ECC committee the position is only for
the party. The General Secretary is in charge of the administrative
functions of the party as well as the promotion of the communist
ideology abroad. The general secretary is also in charge of the
memberships inside the USSR to the party and the nominations to
certain key positions.
Procurator General of the USSR
It is one of the most important positions inside the USSR cabinet; the
procurator is in charge of the offices of public procurators and
supervision of their activities. It is in direct control of the execution of
laws inside the Soviet Union and the Supreme Soviet of the USSR
appoints the position. One of the most important tools at its disposal is
the resolution of legal conflicts, if such arises the Procurator can
present the cases to the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet in order to
solve the problem in a legislative manner or seek further interpretation
of the legal code.
Supreme Commander of the Unified Armed Forces of the
Warsaw Treaty Organization
The U.S.S.R First Deputy Minister of Defense is also the Supreme
Commander of the troops of the Warsaw Treaty Organization; he is in

command of the military forcers of the Warsaw Pact countries. He is in

charge of taking all the military decisions with the Cabinet in order to
promote the territorial ambitions of the USSR and its defense. He is
also the leader of the military actions and is involved in the process of
creating a military strategy and executing it, his advice is vital to the
USSR cabinet.
Czechoslovakia Alexander Dubcek
They were part of the Warsaw Pact in 1955, under the leadership of the
USSR. However, in 1968 the Prague Spring, an uprising against the
USSR, triggered the soviet army to invade Czechoslovakia. Students
and civilians joined against communism.
national

autonomy,

pluralism

and

They were looking for

republican

freedom.

Dubcek was in favor of antiauthority, anti statist and individual

freedoms,

including

equality

and

solidarity.

He was looking for a political liberation, socialism with a human face.

He showed solidarity to the Warsaw Pact, although his reforms, that he
considered just an internal issue, created a general discontent with the
popular

democracies

and

the

Kremlin.

His reform ideas were supported by Czech intellectuals and even the
media.
There was an extensive reform program in the political area (free party
creation, as long as they accepted the socialist model, national
equality between Czechs and Slovaks, release of political prisoners)
and in the social area (right to protest, independent labor unions,
religious

freedom).

In the foreign affairs area the changes were relatively small,

maintaining the link with the URSS and the Warsaw Pact. The only
novel

was

the

recognition

of

Israel

as

state.

The reform ideas didnt extinguish until 1970, when the Russians
banished Dubcek from Czechoslovakia.

East Germany: Walter Ulbricht/Erick Honecker

In 1961 it closed its frontiers to return the economic stability; it gave
the industries more autonomy and it promoted work incentives to
increase productivity. In 1967 it was declared the second industrial
power of the socialist countries and the fifth in Europe.
Honecker:
Honecker allowed more cultural and political freedom, which allowed
the negotiations to have international recognition by the DDR
(Deutsche Demokratische Republik) possible. The DDR became the
face of international solidarity. They had achieved social conquests like
free health services and education, labor was a constitutional right,
therefore

there

was

no

unemployment).

The DDR created a help network for political refugees and their
families, giving them education health services, housing and jobs.
In the 1970s large industrial centers were created in order to facilitate
the exchanges between the productive branches (to decrease costs
and speed up bureaucratic processes).
Poland -> Gomulka
Poland enjoyed a period of relative stability in the next decade, but in
the mid-60s economic and political difficulties started to increase. After
brief, but intense negotiations with the USSR, the soviets granted
permission to Gomulka to stay in command along with some other
concessions that reflected a more extensive autonomy for the polish
government. For polish citizens, this meant the temporal liberation of
life in Poland. In time, the hopes of a total liberation turned out to be
false

when

Gomulkas

regime

became

more

conservative.

Once he was in command, he alleviated the most hated aspects of the

dictatorship, stopping the persecution of the Catholic Church and
abandoning collective agriculture. However, Gomulka didnt dare to go
further and maintained the essential features of the system and

subordination

to

Moscow.

He signed the treaty in 1970 with West Germany (Willy Brandt).

Supreme Commander of the Unified Armed Forces of the
Warsaw Treaty Organization
The Warsaw Treaties organization was made up by the Political
Consultive Committee, which handled political affairs, and the Joint
Command of the Armed Forces Control Pact, with headquarters in
Warsaw, Poland. However, the Supreme Commander of the Unified
Armed Forces of the Warsaw Treaties Organization was also the First
Viceminister of Defense of the USSR, and the chief of the Mayor
Combined State of the Warsaw Pact was a First assistant Chief of the
General Major State of the USSR Armed Forces. Although it appeared to
be an international alliance for collective security, the USSR clearly
dominated the Warsaw Pact Armed Forces. Its slogan was Union and
Peace

of

Socialism.

The pact gave the appearance of equality. However, it was designed to

preserve the military and political supremacy of the USSR over central
and eastern European countries. The Breznev doctrine that proclaimed
the right to invade those countries if socialism were in danger only
confirmed the soviet supremacy.

CabinetMission
As a final reminder we would like to remind delegates that as members
of each cabinet you are entitled to the powers related to your position
inside the government. It is very important for the delegate to always
maintain its position in order to advice the President in the best
manner possible. When debating whether to take an executive action
or release a press statement take into account all the topics that need
to be covered which include but are not limited to foreign policy,
economy, health and education. As a member of the cabinet the
President is counting on your insight to take the best decision possible
in order to advance your countries interests in the global scenario.

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