World Events in the 1990's

 

Persian Gulf War -       After Saddam Hussein captured Kuwait, American troops were sent to defend Saudi Arabia from possible Iraqi attack in late 1990 in an effort referred to as Desert Shield. Once a massive force was built up (along with a coalition of other nations) Operation Desert Storm began with aerial attacks against Iraqi troops in Kuwait and finally a ground assault which took only 100 hours to complete. UN forces continue to enforce a “no-fly zone” over Iraq and continually attempt to monitor chemical, biological, and nuclear weapons development in Iraq.

 

War in Yugoslavia-      Americans were faced with this crisis in the Balkan region of Europe as this small, multiethnic country divided into six separate republics. Croatia first fought against Serbia for its independence and then Bosnia followed suit. As a member of NATO and the UN, the United States attempted to bring about a peaceful solution to the crisis. An unsteady peace currently exists in the region

 

Ethnic Cleansing-         America and the world was faced with the problem of genocide during the Yugoslavian Civil War when it became apparent that the Serbs had been forcibly exiling and massacring innocent civilians in Bosnia. War criminals have recently been identified and a tribunal has been established (similar to the Nuremburg trials which followed World War Two) to deal with war crimes.

 

NATO Bombing of Kosovo-      American planes were used to bombard Serbian positions in Kosovo after reports of atrocities against ethnic Albanians there came to the attention of the world. The Serbs appeared to be carrying out mass executions and expulsions of these Albanians. Peace was eventually restored and the Albanians were allowed to return to their homes, yet the area remains as a concern to NATO and the United States.

 

Reunification of Germany-       With the fall of the Berlin Wall in November of 1989 and the collapse of communist governments in Eastern Europe the Cold War came to a standstill. Eventually, the two Germanys (East and West) were reunified under the direction of the West German government.  America supported this reunification as it provided a strong ally in the central area of Europe.

 

Israeli-PLO Accord 1993-          Signed in Washington D.C. in September 1993, the two partied agreed to continue negotiating with each other in an effort to achieve and maintain peace. Yitzak Rabin and Yasir Arafat shook hands in a highly symbolic gesture thanks to the encouragement of President Clinton. In 1995, the two sides signed a second set of accords which were denounced by some extremists on both sides. Later in 1995,  Rabin was assassinated by an Israeli extremist for “selling out” to the Palestinians.

 

China Given “Most Favored Nation Status”-    As China continued to adopt some capitalistic measures in its economy, their relationship with the United States has slowly grown closer. China was granted MFN status in the late 1990’s as a symbol of American commitment to continue working with the Chinese government in an effort to bring about an improvement of China’s human rights record. President Clinton sold technological secrets to the Chinese in an effort to improve relations with China and was criticized for giving away too many secrets to a possibly hostile communist power. American concerns with China include the possible takeover of Taiwan which China considers to be a “lost province”.

 

North Korean Nuclear Potential-          Also of concern in Asia is the development of a nuclear weapons arsenal in North Korea. As one of the world’s remaining communist countries, America is gravely concerned about how far the Koreans have developed these weapons, and in what capacity they  might choose to use them. The American 8th army is stationed in South Korea (and has been since the Korean War) to help defend the south against any encroachments by the north.

 

Normalizing relations with Vietnam: America resumed normal diplomatic relations with Vietnam in 1995 in an effort to heal some of the wounds of the Vietnam War and to help America put that war to rest.

 

Missile Strike on Osama Bin Laden-    In retaliation for terrorist bombings on two American embassies in Africa, the United States launched a large missile strike against the supposed mountain training center for Osama Bin Laden’s terrorist group. While the “base” was destroyed, Bin Laden was not, and his whereabouts and plans continue to concern the American government and Defense Department.

 

US Intervention in Haiti-          US soldiers were landed in Haiti in 1994 to return Jean-Bertrand Arisitide (the rightfully elected leader of Haiti) to power after he was ousted by military leaders in 1991. Arisitide was returned to power and Preval took over for him after his own election in December of 1994. Haiti’s economic problems continued under Preval and remain a problem for Haiti.

 

Peacekeeping in Somalia-      US troops were sent into Somalia as part of a UN mission to establish peace between warring factions of warlords in the nation. The peacekeepers were withdrawn when it became apparent that casualties would continue to rise and that the mission would ultimately be a failure- a classic example of post Vietnam foreign policy.

 

START I and START II- signed in 1991 and 1993, these were agreements between the US and Russia to reduce existing stockpiles of nuclear weapons including submarine based, long range and MIRV missiles.

 

Atlantis Docks With Mir-           An example of American and Russian cooperation in space missions when the American shuttle Atlantis docked with the Soviet space station Mir in 1995.

 

Washington Summit 1994-       Summit meeting between Yeltsin and Clinton to speed up the START agreements and to further discuss nuclear disarmament.

 

Helsinki Summit 1997- Yeltsin and Clinton agreed to disagree on the expansion of NATO (the addition of Hungary, Poland and Czechoslovakia to NATO) but Yeltsin agreed to not forcefully oppose it in exchange for economic assistance to Russia.

 

Free Elections in South Africa 1994-    The first free elections in South Africa’s history took place in 1994 as blacks (who were formerly disenfranchised under apartheid) took part in the election of Nelson Mandela, an anti-apartheid leader. This election  marked the end of economic sanctions against South Africa and the beginning of true democracy in that country.

 

Rwandan Civil War-     During the 90’s, two rival ethnic groups battled against each other in a bloody civil war which included genocidal actions .