Part 32 (2/2)

Although some progress was made as a result of the Oslo Agreement, violence and unrest continued in the region and most major issues remained unresolved.

Not all of the Middle East's problems involved Israel. In 1980, Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein launched an attack on neighboring Iran. Financially drained by the war, which basically ended in a tie, Saddam demanded tribute from the small oil-rich country of Kuwait in the fall of 1990, and then invaded. But a U.S.-led coalition responded with ma.s.sive force, crus.h.i.+ng the Iraqi army in less than six weeks and forcing Saddam to sign a humiliating peace treaty. He was allowed, however, to continue in power.

In Iran, meanwhile, the corrupt-but-pro-U.S. Shah of Iran, Reza Pahlavi, had been overthrown in a 1979 coup led by a Muslim cleric, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. After the United States gave refuge to the shah, Iranian students retaliated by seizing the U.S. emba.s.sy in Tehran and holding sixty-seven Americans hostage, fifty-two of them for more than a year.

In Afghanistan, a fundamentalist Islamic group called the Taliban had ruled the country since 1996. After the September 11, 2001, attacks on American targets by members of the al-Qaeda terrorist group, U.S. officials charged that the group's leaders were being harbored in Afghanistan. When the Taliban refused to hand over the terrorists, U.S. and British forces attacked Afghanistan, forced out the Taliban, and occupied the country as part of a multinational force.

In 2003, the United States followed up by accusing Iraq of developing ”weapons of ma.s.s destruction.” After Saddam refused to acknowledge the weapons' existence, the United States and some other countries invaded Iraq.

Saddam was overthrown, eventually captured, tried for crimes against humanity by an Iraqi court, and executed. No weapons of ma.s.s destruction were found, and the country continued to be occupied by Western, mainly U.S., troops and wracked by sectarian terrorism and civil war.

United States of America:

Lonely at the Top

The United States faced two main demons as the 1960s unfolded, one foreign and one domestic. In 1963, South Vietnam's dictator, Ngo Dinh Diem, was a.s.sa.s.sinated. Although the United States had propped up Diem's dictators.h.i.+p, it wasn't really sorry to see him go. After his death, the United States stepped up its military support of the country in its fight with Communist North Vietnam.

By the time he was a.s.sa.s.sinated himself that November, President John F. Kennedy had sent sixteen thousand U.S. military ”advisors” to Vietnam. Kennedy's successor, Lyndon Johnson, accelerated the pace. By March 1965, more than one hundred thousand U.S. troops were in the country and U.S. aircraft were heavily bombing targets in North Vietnam. By the beginning of 1968, the U.S. troop count had reached five hundred thousand.

But it was a confusing war for the American people. Relatively few knew exactly what the war's objectives were, beyond defeating Communists. Watching the horrors of the war on television every night didn't help, and opposition to American involvement grew so intense that Johnson chose not to run for reelection in 1968.

All Vietnam is not worth the life of a single American boy.-U.S. senator Ernest Greuning (D-Alaska), during debate on the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution, which gave President Lyndon Johnson congressional authority to commit U.S. forces to ”defend” Southeast Asian countries threatened by communism, August 6, 1964

The country elected Richard Nixon, a veteran Communist fighter. Nixon tried several methods to force the North Vietnamese to negotiate a settlement, ranging from heavy bombing to invading Cambodia. But nothing worked. In January 1973, after years of fighting and the deaths of fifty-eight thousand American soldiers, the United States signed a ”peace treaty” with North Vietnam and pulled out. In April 1975, North Vietnam overran its southern counterpart and took control.

The demon on the home front was racial discrimination. Although the American civil rights movement had its roots in the 1950s, it picked up speed in the 1960s. Tactics borrowed from India's Gandhi supplied part of the momentum: sit-ins, marches, and strikes. Political leaders.h.i.+p-first by Kennedy and his attorney general brother, Robert, and then by Johnson, as well as by civil rights leaders such as Martin Luther King, Jr.-also played a significant role.

If physical death is the price I must pay to free my white brothers and sisters from a permanent death of the spirit, then nothing can be more redemptive.-Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., on June 5, 1964, a few months before the year he was awarded the n.o.bel Peace Prize for his work toward racial equality. He was a.s.sa.s.sinated four years later.

In 1964, Johnson pushed a bill through Congress that banned racial discrimination in public places such as hotels and restaurants and broadened federal authority to enforce civil rights laws. The following year, Congress approved another bill that safeguarded the voting rights of African Americans.

But white resistance and black impatience combined in an explosive mix. Race riots broke out across the country in 1965, 1967, and 1968. Black leaders Malcolm X and the Rev. King were murdered. The streets eventually cooled, but race relations remained one of America's most vexing problems.

If the 1960s were turbulent, the 1970s were sort of depressing in America, despite its two hundredth birthday in July 1976. Nixon was driven from office by a political scandal; the Arab-pushed oil embargo inflicted major damage on the economy, and U.S. prestige suffered a humiliating blow when the president was unable to rescue the hostages held in Tehran by Iranian students.

”WHAT I MEANT TO SAY WAS...”

I don't give a s.h.i.+t what happens, I want you all to stonewall it, let them plead the Fifth Amendment or anything else.-President Richard M. Nixon, discussing the Watergate cover-up with aides, March 22, 1973 There is no Soviet domination of Eastern Europe.-President Gerald R. Ford, during a 1976 presidential debate with Jimmy Carter I've looked on a lot of women with l.u.s.t. I've committed adultery in my heart many times.-Democratic presidential candidate Jimmy Carter, in a 1976 Playboy Playboy magazine interview published just before the election magazine interview published just before the election Trees cause more pollution than automobiles do.-President Ronald Reagan in 1981 I'm going to say this again. I did not have s.e.xual relations with that woman, Miss Lewinsky.-U.S. President Bill Clinton, issuing a forceful denial at a White House press conference, January 26, 1998 We found the weapons of ma.s.s destruction. We found biological laboratories...and we'll find more weapons as time goes on. But for those who say we haven't found the banned manufacturing devices or banned weapons, they're wrong, we found them.-President George W. Bush to a Polish television interviewer, May 29, 2003, in justifying the U.S. invasion of Iraq

But in 1980, an improbable hero showed up in the form of a former Hollywood actor. Ronald Reagan, a charismatic B-movie star and two-term California governor, was elected president. While personally affable and self-deprecating, Reagan was steadfast and stubborn when it came to pus.h.i.+ng his political ideas. Domestically, he believed that if business thrived, the benefits would ”trickle down” to everyone. Internationally, Reagan was a ”big stick” man. He heated up the cold war by calling the Soviet Union amoral and evil, and by building up U.S. missile defenses.

But his tough talk also helped the USSR realize that America was not going to slow down in the arms race, and helped bring about the end of the cold war and the United States' emergence as the only true superpower.

As the world's cop, the United States led international coalitions into wars in Kuwait, Afghanistan, and Iraq. The actions, particularly the highly controversial decision by President George W. Bush to invade Iraq in 2003, led to a tidal wave of international criticism.

The attacks on September 11, 2001, also rammed home a chilling reminder that even the biggest dog on the block is vulnerable. Economic globalization and technological innovation challenged America's place in the world marketplace. As the twenty-first century dawned, the United States was finding that a smaller world didn't necessarily mean a better one.

Name That War!

Keeping all those wars straight can be a tough job, especially when there are so many repeat offenders. Lucky for you, here's a quick cheat sheet to the major wars since 1962.

Sudan: North Sudanese vs. South Sudanese, 19561972, 19832006. As many as 2 million dead, mainly civilians. Ended in uneasy peace between North and South, but did nothing to end violence in Western province of Darfur. North Sudanese vs. South Sudanese, 19561972, 19832006. As many as 2 million dead, mainly civilians. Ended in uneasy peace between North and South, but did nothing to end violence in Western province of Darfur.

Rwanda: Hutu vs. Tutsi, 19591994, off and on. More than 1 million killed, overwhelmingly civilian. Ended in uneasy peace between two feuding tribal groups. Hutu vs. Tutsi, 19591994, off and on. More than 1 million killed, overwhelmingly civilian. Ended in uneasy peace between two feuding tribal groups.

Vietnam: United States and South Vietnam vs. North Vietnam, 19621973. As many as 1.1 million North Vietnamese soldiers, 58,000 U.S. soldiers, and 1 million to 4 million civilians dead or missing. The United States stopped fighting in 1973; North Vietnamese took over South Vietnam in 1975. United States and South Vietnam vs. North Vietnam, 19621973. As many as 1.1 million North Vietnamese soldiers, 58,000 U.S. soldiers, and 1 million to 4 million civilians dead or missing. The United States stopped fighting in 1973; North Vietnamese took over South Vietnam in 1975.

India-Pakistan: India vs. Pakistan, 1965 and 1971. The 1965 war killed a total of about 6,500 on both sides; ended in a draw. The 1971 war's military casualties were more than 8,000; civilian deaths at more than 400,000. Resulted in East Pakistan becoming nation of Bangladesh. India vs. Pakistan, 1965 and 1971. The 1965 war killed a total of about 6,500 on both sides; ended in a draw. The 1971 war's military casualties were more than 8,000; civilian deaths at more than 400,000. Resulted in East Pakistan becoming nation of Bangladesh.

Israel I: Israel vs. Egypt, Jordan, and Syria, 1967. About 19,000 deaths on all sides. Israel ended up with triple the territory it had when the Six-Day War started. Israel vs. Egypt, Jordan, and Syria, 1967. About 19,000 deaths on all sides. Israel ended up with triple the territory it had when the Six-Day War started.

Israel II: Israel vs. Egypt, Syria, and others, 1973. About 20,000 total military deaths. Israel gained some territory, but generally it was a draw. Israel vs. Egypt, Syria, and others, 1973. About 20,000 total military deaths. Israel gained some territory, but generally it was a draw.

Afghanistan I: Afghans vs. Soviet Union, 19791989. Soviets lost about 14,500; Afghans more than 1 million soldiers and civilians. Afghan rebels won; last Soviet troops pulled out in February 1989. Afghans vs. Soviet Union, 19791989. Soviets lost about 14,500; Afghans more than 1 million soldiers and civilians. Afghan rebels won; last Soviet troops pulled out in February 1989.

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