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Nixon Presidency
Richard Nixon serves as the 37th Presidents of the United States. -
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Vietnam War
The United States was involved in Vietnam dating back to 1955; however, their open involvement was not declared until the 1964 Gulf of Tonkin Resolution. When Nixon became president, he inherited the Vietnam conflict and the growing tensions on the homefront. President Ford was in office the war came to an official close. -
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Cold War
Tensions between the United States (democracy and capitalism) and the USSR and other communist nations. -
Nixon Doctrine
Nixon stated that the Allies of the Untied States were responsible for their own military defense (although the US would aid when asked). -
Repeal of Tonkin Resolution
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Nixon Visits China
The previous year (October 1971), Nixon had supported Peking's administration to the United Nations; taking another step, Nixon went on a "journey for peace" by traveling to China, becoming the first US President to both visit China and visit a nation the United States had no formal diplomatic relations with (DeGregorio). -
Biological Weapons Convention Signed
The US and the USSR agreed to prohibit the production of chemical and biological weapons and destroy existing stockpiles (DeGregorio). Did not go into force until 1975, when 22 countries had also ratified it. -
Seabed Treaty
The United States, the Soviet Union, and 22 other important nations agreed to prohibit the practice of housing nuclear weapons on the ocean floor in international waters (DeGregorio). -
SALT I Treaty
President Nixon and USSR leader Leonid Brezhnev agreed to control armament through two decisions. First, both parties were limited to two antiballistic missle (ABM) sites with regulations placed on the number at each site. Second, the US and the USSR agreed to freeze the number of strategic offensive ballistic missles at their current levels (DeGregorio). -
Arab Oil Embargo
The Arab States announce an Oil Embargo on the United States shortly after the start of the Yom Kippur War begins. -
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Ford Presidency
Gerald Ford serves as the 38th President of the United States, taking over for Nixon when he resigned. -
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Communist Victories in Southeast Asia
April 17, 1975: Cambodia falls to Khmer Rouge (Communists)
30 April 1975: Fall of Saigon (Vietnam)
December 1975: Pathet Lao (Communists) overthrow government in Laos
July 1796: North and South Vietnam are united to form the Socialist Republic of Vietnam -
Mayaguez Incident
Cambodian gunboats siezed the Mayaguez, a U.S. merchant ship; it served as the last official battle of the Vietnam War. -
Helsinki Agreements
35 states, including the United States and the USSR, agreed to respect Communist bloc and Western boundaries in an attempt to ease tensions and improve relations; however, it was not binding as it was not a treaty. -
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Carter Presidency
James Carter serves as the 39th President of the United States. -
Torrijos-Carter Treaties
A treaty signed between the United States and Panama that ensured Panamanian control of the Panama Canal after 1999. -
Camp David Accords
A treaty between Egyptian President Anwar Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin, brokered by President Jimmy Carter. It led to a formal peace treaty in March 1979 (ending a 31-year state of war between Egypt and Israel and the results in the return of occupied Sinai of Egypt [done by April 1982]). This got the United States involved in future Arab-Israeli conflicts and the Middle East. -
Failure of SALT II
Jimmy Carter and Leonid Brezhnev agree to limit strategic launchers; however, the Senate never ratified the treaty and the USSR invaded Afghanistan 6 months later. -
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American Hostages in Iran Crisis
Iranian militants siezed the US embassy in Teheran, taking the Americans present hostage (DeGregorio). The conflict dragged on 444 days. In response, Carter suspended oil imports from Iran and froze Iranian assets in the United States, expelled all 183 Iranian diplomats in the United States, and dispatched a military force to rescue the hostages. -
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Soviet War in Afghanistan
The USSR invades Afghanistan; this prompts a US response and a global protest on the part of President Carter. In 1980, he suspended sales of high-technology equiptment and grain to the USSR. In addition, he boycotted the Olympic Games in Moscow and secured passage of a UN General Assembly resolution demanding Soviet withdrawal. -
Carter Doctrine
Carter's declaration that the United States would use military force if deemed necessary to defend its interests in the Persian Gulf region; it was a response to the 1979 invasion of Afghanistan by the USSR. -
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Iran-Iraq War
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Reagan Presidency
Ronald Reagan serves as the 40th President of the United States. -
US suspends aid to Nicaragua
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Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI)
Reagan unveils SDI, a plan to defend the United States with ground and space nuclear ballaistic missiles (rather than offensive). -
United States Embassy Bombing
An explosion at U.S embassy in Beirut (Iran) killed 16 Americans. -
Korean Air Lines Flight 007
A South Korean airliner that was shot down by USSR (after accidentally straying into Soviet airspace); all 269 passengers were killed including Representative Laurence McDonald (D-GA). Low point in USSR-US relations during the early 80's (DeGregorio). In response, Reagan began deploying Pershing and Cruise missles in Europe by December 1983 (DeGregorio). -
Beirut Barracks Bombing
Part of the Lebanese Civil War; Iranian radicals drove drove trucks packed with explosives into the US Marine headquarters at Beirut (Iran) airport, killing more than 241 servicemen. -
Invasion of Grenada
US forces invaded Grenada (an island in the West Indies) to rescue Americans that were threatened amidst a military coup. The Grenadian residents welcomed the US troops as liberators; the island was rid of the Marxist regieme and Cuban support (DeGregorio). -
TWA Flight 847
An international Trans World Airlines flight was hijacked by members of Hezbollah and Islamic Jihad; a US Navy diver was tortured and murdered. Passengers were held hostage (104 of which were American) (DeGregorio). -
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Iran-Contra Affair
Reagan administration officials secretly particpated in the sale of arms to Iran (who was, at the time, under a weapon embargo). This was in exchange for the release of hostages while also allowing the US to fund the Nicaraguan Contras (which had been prohibited under the Boland Amendment). -
MS Achille Lauro Hijacking
Members of the Palestine Liberation Front (PLF) hijacked of a cruise ship and murder American couple. The hijackers surrendered to Egyptian authority after a grant of transportation out of the country; US hijacks that plane, forces it to land in Sicily, where Italian authorities arrested the PLF members. -
Rome and Vienna Airport Attacks
Palestinian terrorists open fire in the Rome and Vienna airport terminals, killing 20 (including 5 Americans) (DeGregorio). -
Berlin Discotheque Bombing
A bomb kills an American servicemen and injures 60 other Americans (DeGregorio); Libya was blamed for the bombing. -
Bombing of Lybia
Codenamed Operation El Dorado Canyon, Reagan ordered a airstrikes against Libya in response to the Berlin Discotheque Bombing. It was a very controversial move and only Britain, Israel, and South Africa openly supported it (DeGregorio). -
Comprehensive Anti-Apartheid Act
A Congressional act (vetoed by Reagan but ultimately passed) that imposed sanctions against South Africa due to the system of apartheid. Two conditions of lifting the sanctions were the release of Nelson Mandela and the elimination of apartheid laws. -
Intermediate Range Nuclear Forces Treaty
US and USSR agree to destroy medium- and short-range missiles and allow inspections of each other's soil until the end of the century (DeGregorio). Ratified by the US Senate on May 27, 1988. -
Pam AM Flight 103
A bomb hidden in an audiocasette player on a Pan Am passenger jet explodes over Scotland killing all 259 onboard and several residents on the ground (DeGregorio); Lybia was blamed for the attack. -
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H. W. Bush Presidency
George H. W. Bush serves as the 41st President of hte United States. -
NATO, Warsaw Pact sign Non-Agression Pledge
Bush, Gorbachev, and the leaders of NATO and the Warsaw Pact signed a non-agression pledge; this marked the diplomatic end of the Cold War (Lama). -
Iraq Invasion of Kuwait
Iraq invades Kuwait, promting H. W. Bush to mount Operation Desert Shield (DeGregorio). -
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Persian Gulf War
A war (albiet waged by the UN, led by the United States) agains Iraq. This war began because Iraq invaded and annexed Kuwait. -
Operation Desert Storm Begins
Bush launches a military offensive on Iraq due to the failure of Saddam Hussein to surrender unconditionally. -
Dissolution of the Soviet Union
The Soviet Union was dismanteled into fifteen independent states; marked the end of the Cold War. -
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Bosnian War
A war due to the breakup of Yugoslavia; the US was heavily involved. -
START
H. W. Bush and Gorbachev signed START (Strategic Arms REduction Treaty) that promised significant cuts in nuclear arsenals over seven years (DeGregorio) -
Aid to Somalia
President Bush dispatched US troops to Somalia during the Somalian Civil War to help feed the starving (DeGregorio). -
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Clinton Presidency
William Clinton serves as the 42nd President of the United States. -
World Trade Center Bombing
Raical Islamist terrorists bomb the New York World Trade Center. Six people were killed and more than one thousand were injured. -
US aids Bosnian Muslims
Before the outbreak of the Bosnian War (April 19, 1993), the United States provides Bosnian Muslims with food and medical supplies. -
Sale v. Haitian Centers Council
The Supreme Court rules that the practice of forcible return of Haitian refugees is acceptable. -
Sudan is Designated a Terrorist State
The US Department of State identifies Sudan as a terrorist state. -
Clinton asks UN to limit peacekeeping but promote free trade
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US Troops leave Somalia
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End of Trade Embargo with Vietnam
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End of Arms Sale Restrictions with Tiwan
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Iran Trade Embargo
The United States imposes a trade embargo on Iran. Clinton does this in an attempt to dissuade Iranians from assisiting terrorism and seeking nuclear weapons. -
Helms-Burton Act Signed
Clinton signed the act, which restircted third nation trade with Cuba. -
Khobar Towers Bombing
A bomb in a Saudi Arabian apartment block explodes, killing 19 Americans. -
Clintion predicts that US troops will stay in Bosnia indefinately
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US sanctions on India and Pakistan
The United States imposes sanctions on both India and Pakistan because of nuclear tests. -
United States Embassy Bombings
US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania are bombed; on August 20, 1998, Clinton orders cruise missles to be fired into terrorist camps in Afghanistan in retaliation. -
Panama gains full control of Panama Canal
