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"
The Paris Peace Conference — 1946
At the Paris Peace Conference, which lasted from July to October 1946, negotiators from the United States, Soviet Union, United Kingdom, France, and other Allied powers agreed upon the provisions of the Paris Peace Treaties, signed in February 1947 with Italy, Romania, Hungary, Bulgaria, and Finland. These agreements included monetary reparations, territorial adjustments, and political… Read More "The Paris Peace Conference — 1946"
India and Pakistan on the Brink: The 1998 Nuclear Tests
In May 1998, India conducted its first nuclear bomb tests since 1974 at the Indian Army Pokhran Test Range. Known as Pokhran-II, the tests involved five detonations and were followed by Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee declaring India a full nuclear state. India’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) had come to power in the 1998 elections… Read More "India and Pakistan on the Brink: The 1998 Nuclear Tests"
Kashmir and the 1965 Indo-Pakistani War
In the summer of 1965, India and Pakistan returned to the battlefields of Kashmir in a renewed attempt to establish their respective claims over the disputed, fertile region. On August 5th, more than 25,000 Pakistani soldiers, disguised as Kashmiris, infiltrated the area, mingling with their Muslim coreligionists and encouraging insurgency. Indian forces responded violently, launching… Read More "Kashmir and the 1965 Indo-Pakistani War"
The Overthrow of President Obote and Evacuation from Uganda
After a disputed election brought Milton Obote (at right) to power in Uganda in 1980, one of his opponents, Yoweri Museveni, led an armed resistance against the government. The subsequent Ugandan “Bush War” between Museveni’s National Resistance Army (NRA) and the government’s Uganda National Liberation Army (UNLA) lasted from 1981 to 1986. In 1983, ethnic… Read More "The Overthrow of President Obote and Evacuation from Uganda"
“You’re Outta Here!”: Getting Declared Persona Non Grata
When a nation declares a diplomat “persona non grata,” it is essentially kicking him or her out of the country. The host nation does not have to explain why it wants to PNG someone, but that person must leave the country in a given time period, often within 24-48 hours. Governments declare people persona non… Read More "“You’re Outta Here!”: Getting Declared Persona Non Grata"
An Iraq War Dissent
In 2001 Ann Wright served as the first political officer in the newly reopened U.S. Embassy in Kabul. Two years later she was one of three diplomats to publicly resign from the Foreign Service due to disagreements with the Bush Administration’s foreign policy on Iraq and other issues. Prior to her resignation Wright had a… Read More "An Iraq War Dissent"