Lebanon offers interesting insights into the enemies of religious fundamentalists as well as the methods used to achieve their aims.
International History
1984 - William Buckley, the CIA station chief in Beirut, Lebanon, is kidnapped by Islamic fundamentalists and later dies in captivity.
1985 - Associated Press newsman Terry Anderson is taken hostage in Beirut. He is subsequently released on December 4, 1991. He was the best known and longest held hostage of a group of Americans believed to be captured by Shiite Hezbollah militants in an attempt to drive US military forces from Lebanon during the Lebanese Civil War.
Sunday, March 15, 2009
On this Day in History (13 Mar)
History of Southeast Asia
1954 - Viet Minh forces attack the French in the Battle of Dien Bien Phu. The aftermath of the battle would see France's withdrawal from Vietnam and its partition into North and South.
1954 - Viet Minh forces attack the French in the Battle of Dien Bien Phu. The aftermath of the battle would see France's withdrawal from Vietnam and its partition into North and South.
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
On this Day in History (12 Mar)
"Two ways of life..."
International History
1947 - US President Harry Truman proclaims what later becomes known as the Truman Doctrine to resist the spread of Communism.
1999 - Former Warsaw Pact members the Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland join NATO.
History of SE Asia
1966 - General Suharto takes over from Sukarno to become President of Indonesia.
International History
1947 - US President Harry Truman proclaims what later becomes known as the Truman Doctrine to resist the spread of Communism.
1999 - Former Warsaw Pact members the Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland join NATO.
History of SE Asia
1966 - General Suharto takes over from Sukarno to become President of Indonesia.
On this Day in History (11 Mar)
Today's blog entry poses readers a question: was the collapse of the USSR inevitable?
International History
1985 - Mikhail Gorbachev is chosen to succeed Soviet leader Konstantin Chernenko following the latter's death.
1990 - Lithuania declares its independence from the USSR.
1993 - North Korea withdraws from the NPT (Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty)
International History
1985 - Mikhail Gorbachev is chosen to succeed Soviet leader Konstantin Chernenko following the latter's death.
1990 - Lithuania declares its independence from the USSR.
1993 - North Korea withdraws from the NPT (Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty)
Monday, March 9, 2009
On this Day in History (10 Mar)
The beginning of the end...
International History
1985 - Konstantin Chernenko, Soviet leader for just 13 months, dies at age 73.
Can you remember who takes over the helm as Soviet premier?
International History
1985 - Konstantin Chernenko, Soviet leader for just 13 months, dies at age 73.
Can you remember who takes over the helm as Soviet premier?
On this Day in History (9 Mar)
Troubles in the USSR...
International History
1954 - CBS television broadcasts the See It Now episode, "A Report on Senator Joseph McCarthy", produced by Fred Friendly and presented by Edward Murrow (watch the film Good Night and Good Luck -- a good depiction of McCarthyism in the USA) .
1956 - Soviet military suppresses mass demonstrations in the Georgian SSR, reacting to Khrushchev's de-Stalinization policy.
1967 - Stalin's daughter defects to the West. Svetlana Alliluyeva is allowed to stay in Switzerland for three months before heading to the US in April 1967.
On arrival at New York, she held a press conference and astonished the world by denouncing her father's regime - much to the irritation of the Soviet leader of the time, Alexei Kosygin, who said she was a "sick person".
International History
1954 - CBS television broadcasts the See It Now episode, "A Report on Senator Joseph McCarthy", produced by Fred Friendly and presented by Edward Murrow (watch the film Good Night and Good Luck -- a good depiction of McCarthyism in the USA) .
1956 - Soviet military suppresses mass demonstrations in the Georgian SSR, reacting to Khrushchev's de-Stalinization policy.
1967 - Stalin's daughter defects to the West. Svetlana Alliluyeva is allowed to stay in Switzerland for three months before heading to the US in April 1967.
On arrival at New York, she held a press conference and astonished the world by denouncing her father's regime - much to the irritation of the Soviet leader of the time, Alexei Kosygin, who said she was a "sick person".
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
On this Day in History (5 Mar)
Today's update touches on various facets of the Cold War.
International History
1946 - Winston Churchill uses the phrase "Iron Curtain" in his speech at Westminster College, Missouri.
1953 - Soviet leader Joseph Stalin dies. His death provokes a power struggle within the ruling Politburo (Khrushchev eventually emerges as the dominant figure).
1959 - The US signs a military and economic treaty with the Shah of Iran.
1970 - The Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) goes into effect after ratification by 43 nations.
International History
1946 - Winston Churchill uses the phrase "Iron Curtain" in his speech at Westminster College, Missouri.
1953 - Soviet leader Joseph Stalin dies. His death provokes a power struggle within the ruling Politburo (Khrushchev eventually emerges as the dominant figure).
1959 - The US signs a military and economic treaty with the Shah of Iran.
1970 - The Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) goes into effect after ratification by 43 nations.
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
On this Day in History (4 Mar)
Today's update begins with an interesting event reflecting the broader (and rapid) deterioration in US-Cuban relations in the early 1960s...
International History
1960 - French freighter 'La Coubre' explodes in Havana, Cuba killing 100. Fidel Castro blames the US.
1987 - President Ronald Reagan addresses the nation on the Iran-Contra affair, acknowledging his overtures to Iran "deteriorated" into an arms-for-hostages deal.
1993 - Authorities announce the arrest of Mohammad Salameh, who is later convicted of playing a key role in the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center in New York City.
International History
1960 - French freighter 'La Coubre' explodes in Havana, Cuba killing 100. Fidel Castro blames the US.
1987 - President Ronald Reagan addresses the nation on the Iran-Contra affair, acknowledging his overtures to Iran "deteriorated" into an arms-for-hostages deal.
1993 - Authorities announce the arrest of Mohammad Salameh, who is later convicted of playing a key role in the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center in New York City.
Monday, March 2, 2009
On this Day in History (3 Mar)
It's interesting to see how regional and international politics intersected, as shown in the Indo-Pakistani conflict...
International History
1971 - Beginning of Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 and India's official entry to the Bangladesh Liberation War. The war ended with the surrender of the Pakistani military to the forces of India and Bangladesh and Bangladesh became an independent nation, the world's third most populous Muslim state.
The United States supported Pakistan both politically and materially. Nixon, backed by Henry Kissinger, feared Soviet expansion into South and Southeast Asia. Pakistan was a close ally of the People's Republic of China, with whom Nixon had been negotiating a rapprochement and where he intended to visit in February 1972. Nixon feared that an Indian invasion of West Pakistan would mean total Soviet domination of the region, and that it would seriously undermine the global position of the United States and the regional position of America's new tacit ally, China.
The Soviet Union sympathized with the Bangladeshis, and supported the Indian Army and Mukti Bahini during the war, recognizing that the independence of Bangladesh would weaken the position of its rivals - the United States and China. The USSR gave assurances to India that if a confrontation with the United States or China developed, it would take countermeasures. This assurance was enshrined in the Indo-Soviet friendship treaty signed in August 1971.
1991 - In two concurring referendums, 74 % of the population of Latvia and 83% of the population in Estonia vote for independence from the Soviet Union.
International History
1971 - Beginning of Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 and India's official entry to the Bangladesh Liberation War. The war ended with the surrender of the Pakistani military to the forces of India and Bangladesh and Bangladesh became an independent nation, the world's third most populous Muslim state.
The United States supported Pakistan both politically and materially. Nixon, backed by Henry Kissinger, feared Soviet expansion into South and Southeast Asia. Pakistan was a close ally of the People's Republic of China, with whom Nixon had been negotiating a rapprochement and where he intended to visit in February 1972. Nixon feared that an Indian invasion of West Pakistan would mean total Soviet domination of the region, and that it would seriously undermine the global position of the United States and the regional position of America's new tacit ally, China.
The Soviet Union sympathized with the Bangladeshis, and supported the Indian Army and Mukti Bahini during the war, recognizing that the independence of Bangladesh would weaken the position of its rivals - the United States and China. The USSR gave assurances to India that if a confrontation with the United States or China developed, it would take countermeasures. This assurance was enshrined in the Indo-Soviet friendship treaty signed in August 1971.
1991 - In two concurring referendums, 74 % of the population of Latvia and 83% of the population in Estonia vote for independence from the Soviet Union.
Sunday, March 1, 2009
On this Day in History (2 Mar)
Key developments in regional history today...
History of Southeast Asia
1946 - Ho Chi Minh is elected the President of North Vietnam.
1962 - In Burma, the army led by General Ne Win seizes power in a coup.
International History
1969 - Soviet and Chinese forces clash at a border outpost on the Ussuri River.
History of Southeast Asia
1946 - Ho Chi Minh is elected the President of North Vietnam.
1962 - In Burma, the army led by General Ne Win seizes power in a coup.
International History
1969 - Soviet and Chinese forces clash at a border outpost on the Ussuri River.
On this Day in History (1 Mar)
International History
1947 - The International Monetary Fund (IMF) begins financial operations.
1950 - Klaus Fuchs is convicted of spying for the Soviet Union by disclosing top secret atomic bomb data.
1953 - Joseph Stalin suffers a stroke and collapses. He dies four days later.
1954 - The United States detonates a 15-megaton hydrogen nomb on Bikini Atoll in the Pacific Ocean. This is America's second H-bomb test in the area and results in the worst radioactive contamination ever caused by the US. It is believed the H-bomb was 1000 times more powerful than the atomic bomb that destroyed Hiroshima.
1973 - Gunmen from the Palestinian terrorist group Black September storm the Saudi embassy in Khartoum, Sudan resulting in the 1973 Khartoum diplomatic assassinations. At the 1972 Munich Olympics, members of Black September seized nine Israeli athletes who were killed along with five hostage takers and a German policeman in a gun battle.
1992 - Bosnia and Herzegovina declares its independence from Yugoslavia.
1947 - The International Monetary Fund (IMF) begins financial operations.
1950 - Klaus Fuchs is convicted of spying for the Soviet Union by disclosing top secret atomic bomb data.
1953 - Joseph Stalin suffers a stroke and collapses. He dies four days later.
1954 - The United States detonates a 15-megaton hydrogen nomb on Bikini Atoll in the Pacific Ocean. This is America's second H-bomb test in the area and results in the worst radioactive contamination ever caused by the US. It is believed the H-bomb was 1000 times more powerful than the atomic bomb that destroyed Hiroshima.
1973 - Gunmen from the Palestinian terrorist group Black September storm the Saudi embassy in Khartoum, Sudan resulting in the 1973 Khartoum diplomatic assassinations. At the 1972 Munich Olympics, members of Black September seized nine Israeli athletes who were killed along with five hostage takers and a German policeman in a gun battle.
1992 - Bosnia and Herzegovina declares its independence from Yugoslavia.
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