Civil War in Yugoslavia:
· At the conclusion of the war, Pres. Clinton sent 20,000 U.S. troops to Bosnia in order to help keep the peace.
Iran-Contra deal:
· During the 1980’s, Pres. Reagan gave aid to anticommunists in Nicaragua and El Salvador.
· However, Congress passed a law banning future aid to be sent to the anticommunist rebels in Nicaragua, known as the Contras.
· To get around the ban, members of Pres. Reagan’s staff secretly sold weapons to Iran and used the profits to fund the Contras.
· These deals were illegal, and Pres. Reagan claimed their were done without his knowledge.
Invasion of Grenada:
· Communist extremists seized power in this small island nation with the help of Cuba.
· In 1983, U.S. troops seized control of the island and stayed until the people elected a government friendly to the U.S.
Clashes in Panama:
· Panamanian leader Manuel Noriega was accused by the U.S. of helping South American drug lords smuggle cocaine into the U.S.
· In 1989, U.S. troops were sent to Panama. Noriega was arrested and brought back to the U.S. where he stood trial and was imprisoned.
A Meeting at Camp David:
· In 1977, President Jimmy Carter met with Egyptian President Anwar el-Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin at Camp David, Maryland.
· The leaders signed the Camp David Accords in 1979, bringing peace between Egypt and Israel.
Changes in Iran:
· In 1979, a revolution occurred in Iran in which the Muslim religious leader Ayatollah Khomeini overthrew the Shah of Iran and took control of the nation.
· Later that year, the American embassy in Tehran was seized and 53 Americans were taken as hostages.
· The hostages were not released until January 1981, after Ronald Reagan took over as President.
Persian Gulf War:
· In 1990, Iraq invaded their oil rich neighbor of Kuwait.
· In 1991, the U.N. sent troops from 28 nations to attack Iraq and force their troops out of Kuwait. The entire war lasted only six weeks.
