Sentence:  Russian tanks and artillery parading through the streets of Havana , Russian intrigue in the Congo , and Russian arms drops in Laos ( using the same Ilyushin transports that were <WSD>used</WSD> to carry Communist agents to the Congo ) made it plain once more that the cold war was all of a piece in space and time . 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  put into service; make work or employ for a particular purpose or for its inherent or natural purpose