All Flashcards
Who was Ronald Reagan?
US President who intensified the Cold War competition with the Soviet Union and initiated the Strategic Defense Initiative.
Who was Mikhail Gorbachev?
Soviet leader who introduced Glasnost and Perestroika, seeking to improve relations with the US and reform the Soviet Union.
Who was Oliver North?
NSC staffer who was put in charge of soliciting donations from wealthy right wing Americans. In what North later described as a “neat idea”, he could use profits from the sale of weapons to Iran to finance the Contras.
Who was Boris Yeltsin?
President of the Russian Republic who disbanded the Communist party and attempted to establish a democracy and free market economy.
Who was Saddam Hussein?
The leader of Iraq who invaded Kuwait in 1990, leading to the Persian Gulf War.
Who was General Schwarzkopf?
The general who led the combined forces troops directly into Kuwait City during the ground assault.
Who was General Colin Powell?
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs who advised President Bush to halt the advance and agree to an armistice with Iraq.
Who was Vladimir Putin?
Yeltsin's elected successor who took office in 2000.
Who was Slobodan Milosevic?
Serbian leader who ended Kosovo’s autonomy within Yugoslavia and imposed Serbian rule.
Who was Ayatollah Khomeini?
The leader of Iran during the Iran-Contra affair, when Americans were held hostage in Lebanon.
What is 'Glasnost'?
Gorbachev's policy of political openness to end political repression and move toward greater political freedom for Soviet citizens.
What is 'Perestroika'?
Gorbachev's policy of restructuring the Soviet economy by introducing some free-market practices.
What was the Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI)?
An antimissile system using lasers and particle beams to destroy incoming missiles in space; dubbed 'Star Wars'.
Who were the Contras?
Exiles fighting against the Sandinistas in Nicaragua, based in Honduras and Costa Rica, and supported by the CIA.
What is a coup?
A sudden, violent, and illegal seizure of power from a government.
What was Desert Shield?
The initial US troop buildup in Saudi Arabia to deter Saddam Hussein from advancing beyond Kuwait.
What was Operation Desert Storm?
The military operation to liberate Kuwait from Iraqi occupation in 1991.
What is ethnic cleansing?
The systematic forced removal of ethnic or religious groups from a given territory.
What was the Iran-Contra Affair?
A scandal involving the Reagan administration's secret sale of arms to Iran in exchange for the release of American hostages and the use of the profits to illegally fund the Contras in Nicaragua.
What was the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty?
An agreement between the US and the Soviet Union in 1987 to remove and destroy all intermediate-range missiles in Europe.
When was the Tiananmen Square protest?
Spring of 1989; pro-democracy students demonstrated in Beijing, but the Chinese government crushed the protest.
When did the Soviet Union dissolve?
December 1991; the remaining republics dissolved the Soviet Union after a failed coup against Gorbachev.
When did Iraq invade Kuwait?
1990; Iraq invaded Kuwait, leading to the Persian Gulf War.
When was Operation Desert Storm?
January 17, 1991; the US unleashed an aerial assault on Iraq, followed by a ground assault to liberate Kuwait.
When did the US launch air strikes at al Qaeda training camps?
After al Qaeda tried to blow up the World Trade Center in 1993, attacked two American embassies (Kenya and Tanzania), and attacked the USS Cole in 2000.
When was the INF Treaty signed?
1987; the US and the Soviet Union agreed to remove and destroy all intermediate-range missiles in Europe.
When did the Baltic republics declare independence?
1990; Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania declared independence from the Soviet Union.
When did Clinton order an aerial assault in 1999?
When diplomatic efforts failed, Clinton and the heads of NATO governments ordered an aerial assault in 1999 after Milosevic stepped up the ethnic cleansing in response.
When did the US get involved in Yugoslavia?
Largely through air power after ethnic cleansing occurred during a civil war between various ethnic and religious factions.
When was the Rwandan genocide?
1996; Clinton controversially did not intervene during the 1996 Rwandan genocide.