Glossary
6 Americans held hostage in Lebanon
A situation in the mid-1980s where several American citizens were kidnapped and held by pro-Iranian groups in Lebanon, becoming a key factor in the Iran-Contra Affair.
Example:
The desire to free the 6 Americans held hostage in Lebanon was a primary motivation for the Reagan administration's secret arms sales to Iran.
American embassies (Kenya and Tanzania)
The targets of simultaneous terrorist bombings by al Qaeda in August 1998, which killed hundreds and injured thousands, prompting U.S. retaliatory strikes.
Example:
The bombings of the American embassies in Kenya and Tanzania highlighted the growing threat of international terrorism.
Ayatollah Khomeini
The supreme leader of Iran from 1979 until his death in 1989, who led the Iranian Revolution and established an Islamic republic, often hostile to the United States.
Example:
The Reagan administration hoped that selling arms to Iran would influence Ayatollah Khomeini's regime to help secure the release of American hostages.
Boris Yeltsin
The first President of the Russian Republic, who played a crucial role in the dissolution of the Soviet Union and attempted to implement democratic and free-market reforms in Russia.
Example:
Boris Yeltsin stood on a tank to defy the coup plotters, becoming a symbol of resistance against Soviet hardliners.
Brandenburg Gate and Berlin Wall
Iconic symbols of the Cold War division of Germany and Europe; the Brandenburg Gate is a famous landmark in Berlin, and the Berlin Wall was a barrier that physically and ideologically separated East and West Berlin.
Example:
Reagan's challenge to Gorbachev at the Brandenburg Gate and Berlin Wall became a powerful symbol of the impending end of the Cold War.
CIA
The Central Intelligence Agency, a U.S. government agency responsible for collecting, processing, and analyzing national security information from around the world, often engaging in covert operations.
Example:
The CIA secretly supplied the Contras in Nicaragua, bypassing congressional restrictions on aid.
Contras
Various U.S.-backed rebel groups that were active from 1979 to the early 1990s in opposition to the Sandinista government in Nicaragua.
Example:
The Contras received covert funding from the Reagan administration, leading to the Iran-Contra Affair.
Desert Shield
The initial phase of the U.S. military operation in the Persian Gulf, beginning in August 1990, which involved deploying troops to Saudi Arabia to protect it from potential Iraqi invasion and prepare for a counter-offensive.
Example:
Operation Desert Shield was designed to deter further Iraqi aggression and build up forces for a potential liberation of Kuwait.
General Colin Powell
General Colin Powell, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff during the Persian Gulf War, who advised President Bush to halt the advance into Iraq after Kuwait's liberation. He later became the first African American Secretary of State.
Example:
General Colin Powell's strategic advice was crucial in the decision to end the Persian Gulf War after Kuwait was liberated.
General Schwarzkopf
General H. Norman Schwarzkopf Jr., the commander of U.S. Central Command and the overall commander of coalition forces during the Persian Gulf War (Operation Desert Storm).
Example:
General Schwarzkopf famously led the ground assault that quickly routed Iraqi forces from Kuwait.
Intermediate Nuclear Forces (INF) treaty
A 1987 arms control agreement between the United States and the Soviet Union that eliminated all ground-launched ballistic and cruise missiles with ranges between 500 and 5,500 kilometers.
Example:
The Intermediate Nuclear Forces (INF) treaty was a landmark agreement that significantly reduced the threat of nuclear war in Europe.
Iraq
A Middle Eastern nation that invaded Kuwait in 1990, leading to the Persian Gulf War, and was later a focus of U.S. foreign policy due to concerns about its leadership and weapons programs.
Example:
The invasion of Kuwait by Iraq prompted a swift international response led by the United States.
Kosovo
A region in the Balkans, formerly part of Yugoslavia, where a conflict erupted in the late 1990s due to Serbian repression of its Albanian majority, leading to NATO intervention.
Example:
The humanitarian crisis in Kosovo prompted the Clinton administration to authorize air strikes against Serbia.
Mikhail Gorbachev
The last leader of the Soviet Union, whose reform policies of glasnost and perestroika, along with his improved relations with the U.S., significantly contributed to the end of the Cold War.
Example:
President Reagan developed a surprising rapport with Mikhail Gorbachev, leading to significant arms reduction treaties.
Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall
A famous line from a speech given by President Ronald Reagan at the Brandenburg Gate in 1987, challenging Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev to demonstrate his commitment to reform by dismantling the Berlin Wall.
Example:
The phrase Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall encapsulated the U.S. demand for greater freedom and an end to Soviet oppression.
National Security Council (NSC)
The principal forum used by the President of the United States for consideration of national security and foreign policy matters with his senior national security advisors and cabinet officials.
Example:
Oliver North, working for the National Security Council, played a central role in orchestrating the illegal diversion of funds during the Iran-Contra Affair.
Nicaragua
A Central American nation where the U.S. became involved in supporting anti-communist forces during the Cold War, particularly against the Sandinista government.
Example:
The Reagan administration's covert actions in Nicaragua aimed to destabilize the leftist Sandinista government.
Oliver North
A Marine Corps lieutenant colonel who served on the National Security Council staff during the Reagan administration and was a key figure in the Iran-Contra Affair, orchestrating the illegal diversion of funds.
Example:
Oliver North famously testified before Congress about his role in the Iran-Contra Affair, describing the funding scheme as a 'neat idea.'
Operation Desert Storm
The combat phase of the Persian Gulf War, launched in January 1991, which involved a massive U.S.-led coalition air campaign followed by a swift ground assault to liberate Kuwait from Iraqi occupation.
Example:
Operation Desert Storm achieved its objective of expelling Iraqi forces from Kuwait with minimal coalition casualties.
Russian Republic
The largest and most populous of the Soviet Union's constituent republics, which became the Russian Federation after the USSR's collapse, with Boris Yeltsin as its first president.
Example:
The Russian Republic emerged as the dominant successor state after the breakup of the Soviet Union.
Rwandan genocide
A mass slaughter of Tutsi people by Hutu extremists in Rwanda in 1994, during which the international community, including the U.S., largely failed to intervene effectively.
Example:
The Rwandan genocide stands as a tragic example of the international community's failure to prevent mass atrocities.
Saddam Hussein
The authoritarian president of Iraq from 1979 to 2003, whose invasion of Kuwait led to the Persian Gulf War, and who was later overthrown by a U.S.-led invasion in 2003.
Example:
Saddam Hussein's regime was known for its brutality and its pursuit of weapons of mass destruction.
Sandinista
A socialist political party and revolutionary movement in Nicaragua that overthrew the authoritarian Somoza regime in 1979 and established a government that the U.S. viewed as pro-Soviet.
Example:
The Sandinista government's ties to Cuba and the Soviet Union led to significant U.S. opposition and intervention.
Slobodan Milosevic
The President of Serbia and later Yugoslavia, who was a key figure in the Balkan Wars of the 1990s and was indicted for war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide.
Example:
Slobodan Milosevic's policies of ethnic cleansing in Kosovo led to NATO intervention.
Star Wars (SDI)
A proposed missile defense system, officially known as the Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI), envisioned by President Reagan to use ground- and space-based systems to protect the U.S. from attack by ballistic strategic nuclear weapons.
Example:
Critics of Star Wars argued it was technologically unfeasible and would escalate the arms race, while supporters saw it as a way to end the threat of nuclear deterrence.
Tiananmen Square
A large public square in Beijing, China, that was the site of pro-democracy student protests in the spring of 1989, which were brutally suppressed by the Chinese government.
Example:
The violent crackdown in Tiananmen Square shocked the world and highlighted the Chinese Communist Party's intolerance for dissent.
USS Cole
A U.S. Navy guided-missile destroyer that was attacked by al Qaeda suicide bombers in October 2000 while refueling in Yemen, killing 17 American sailors.
Example:
The attack on the USS Cole was a precursor to the larger-scale terrorist attacks that would follow on September 11, 2001.
Vladimir Putin
The current President of Russia, who took office in 2000 after Boris Yeltsin, and whose leadership has seen a more assertive Russian foreign policy and a crackdown on dissent.
Example:
Under Vladimir Putin, Russia has reasserted its influence on the global stage, often challenging Western interests.
Yugoslavia
A former country in the Balkans that dissolved into several independent states in the 1990s, marked by ethnic conflicts and civil wars, including those in Bosnia and Kosovo.
Example:
The breakup of Yugoslavia led to a series of brutal ethnic conflicts that required international intervention.
al Qaeda
A militant Sunni Islamist multi-national organization founded by Osama bin Laden, responsible for numerous terrorist attacks against Western targets, most notably the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States.
Example:
The U.S. launched air strikes against al Qaeda training camps in response to their attacks on American embassies and the USS Cole.
coup (against Gorbachev)
An attempted overthrow of Mikhail Gorbachev's government by Communist hard-liners in August 1991, which ultimately failed but accelerated the dissolution of the Soviet Union.
Example:
The failed coup against Gorbachev demonstrated the deep divisions within the Soviet leadership and weakened his authority.
ethnic cleansing
A euphemism for the systematic forced removal of ethnic or religious groups from a given territory by a more powerful ethnic group, often involving violence and intimidation, as seen in the Balkan Wars.
Example:
The horrific practice of ethnic cleansing was widely documented during the conflicts in the former Yugoslavia.
evil empire
A term used by President Ronald Reagan to describe the Soviet Union, reflecting his strong anti-communist stance and belief in the moral superiority of the United States.
Example:
Reagan's speech calling the Soviet Union the evil empire signaled a more confrontational approach to the Cold War.
glasnost
A Soviet policy introduced by Mikhail Gorbachev meaning 'openness,' which aimed to increase transparency in government activities and allow for greater freedom of information and expression.
Example:
Under glasnost, Soviet citizens experienced a loosening of censorship and greater political discussion.
illegal and unconstitutional
Describes the nature of the Iran-Contra Affair, specifically the diversion of funds to the Contras, which bypassed congressional authority over spending and foreign policy.
Example:
The Iran-Contra Affair was deemed illegal and unconstitutional because it usurped Congress's power of the purse and violated a ban on aid to the Contras.
invaded Kuwait
The act by Iraq, under Saddam Hussein, of militarily occupying its smaller, oil-rich neighbor Kuwait in August 1990, triggering the Persian Gulf War.
Example:
Saddam Hussein's decision to invade Kuwait was a direct challenge to international stability and oil supplies.
neat idea
A phrase used by Oliver North to describe his scheme of diverting profits from illegal arms sales to Iran to fund the Contras in Nicaragua, highlighting the clandestine and unauthorized nature of the operation.
Example:
North's description of the funding diversion as a neat idea underscored the controversial and legally dubious nature of the Iran-Contra scheme.
perestroika
A Soviet policy introduced by Mikhail Gorbachev meaning 'restructuring,' which involved economic reforms aimed at decentralizing economic decision-making and introducing some market-like practices to improve the struggling Soviet economy.
Example:
Perestroika sought to revitalize the stagnant Soviet economy by allowing limited private enterprise and foreign investment.