In August 1991, Soviet hardliners attempted to overthrow the progressive Mikhail Gorbachev, Secretary General of the Communist Party, in a desperate attempt to save the collapsing Soviet Union. Declaring a state of emergency, eight government officials named themselves the State Committee on the State of Emergency (GKChP) and forcibly detained Gorbachev in the Crimea, where… Read More "End of an Era: The August Coup and the Final Days of the Soviet Union"
It has its share of ardent supporters, who see it as a force for positive economic and social change, as well as die-hard opponents, who lament the loss of jobs and the damage done to some small towns and cities. Whatever the sentiment, it is hard to deny the tremendous effect the North America Free… Read More "The Birth of NAFTA"
The Berlin Wall Is Built — August 13, 1961
On August 13, 1961, Berlin woke up to a shock: the East German Army had begun construction on the infamous Berlin Wall. The Wall was initially constructed in the middle of Berlin, and expanded over the following months. It entirely cut off West Berlin from the surrounding East Germany, prohibiting East Germans to pass into… Read More "The Berlin Wall Is Built — August 13, 1961"
The Search for Peace in Southern Africa – Oil, Angola, and the Proxy Wars
During the Cold War, the United States and the USSR engaged in a zero-sum game throughout the globe; while mutually assured destruction prevented the two nuclear superpowers from fighting a hot war, they did conduct an extensive war of proxies on nearly every continent. In the 1970s, just as Saigon – and American influence in… Read More "The Search for Peace in Southern Africa – Oil, Angola, and the Proxy Wars"
The Birthday Party Coup Attempt on Morocco’s King Hassan II
The Arab world’s longest-ruling monarch at the time of his death, King Hassan II survived several coup attempts during his reign. By far the strangest occurred in the middle of his forty-second birthday party. The King had provoked strong opposition, protest demonstrations, and riots in response to his centrally controlled rule. He had dissolved Parliament… Read More "The Birthday Party Coup Attempt on Morocco’s King Hassan II"
Visa Fraud and GI Brides Before South Korea’s Economic Boom
As long as there are vast economic disparities between countries, there will be people desperate (and unscrupulous) enough to do whatever it takes, including fraud and false marriages, to try to immigrate. Before its economic takeoff, South Korea in the 1970s and 80s was a major source of visa fraud and so-called GI brides, women… Read More "Visa Fraud and GI Brides Before South Korea’s Economic Boom"
The Gulf of Tonkin attack on August 2, 1964 and another many believed to take place on August 4 led to an escalation of U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War. The USS Maddox was patrolling the Gulf of Tonkin, situated between North Vietnam and China, collecting intelligence in international waters when it engaged three North… Read More "The Gulf of Tonkin Resolution"
USS Vincennes Shoots Down Iran Air Flight 655
The Iran-Iraq War created turmoil in the Persian Gulf as the combatants attacked civilian oil tankers, merchant ships, and other foreign vessels in the area. This resulted in several conflicts between Iranian and American ships. In May 1987, the Iraqi Air Force killed 37 American sailors on board USS Stark, an American Navy frigate. Another… Read More "USS Vincennes Shoots Down Iran Air Flight 655"
The Vietnamese Boat People
After the United States withdrew from South Vietnam in 1975, communist North Vietnam quickly took over and established the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. The leaders of the new government then began to exact revenge against those who had been their enemies and who had sided with the U.S. to fight the North. As a result, an… Read More "The Vietnamese Boat People"
Broken Bones, Broken Dreams, Broken Homeland: The First Intifada, 1987
On December 9, 1987, the deaths of four Palestinian refugees plunged the nation of Israel into four years of strikes, boycotts, beatings, shootings, and gassings as Palestinians in Gaza, the West Bank, and East Jerusalem rebelled against their Israeli occupiers. When Palestinian fighters attacked with stones and Molotov cocktails, killing military personnel and destroying the… Read More "Broken Bones, Broken Dreams, Broken Homeland: The First Intifada, 1987"