President Obama’s Afghanistan Strategy (2009)
On March 27, 2009, President Obama, flanked by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, announced his new strategy toward the war in Afghanistan and Pakistan. Below are the video of his announcement and the text of President Obama’s announcement. To see this page, go to: http://www.historyguy.com/obama_afghanistan_strategy_2009.htm
Posts Tagged ‘Wars’
President Obama Announces New Afghan War Plan
29
Mar
Wars of 1909 Page Update
03
Jan
The new page on the Wars of 1909 is now up at:
http://www.historyguy.com/wars_of_1909.htm
The Length of American Wars: Update for Iraq and Afghanistan
23
Mar
On March 19, 2008, the world noted the 5th anniversary of the invasion of Iraq. The Iraq War is now the third longest war in American history, after the Vietnam War and the continuing war in Afghanistan.
Below is a look at America’s major wars and their length in months. Time periods are rounded up or down for ease of comparison. Current conflicts are italicized and are colored red. The longest wars are listed first in descending order by length. The start dates reflect when the United States entered the wars.
Vietnam War–August, 1964 to April, 1975= 129 months (American involvement began in the late 1950s, but major U.S. combat forces began taking part in large-unit combat in 1964. August, 1964 is the month of the Gulf of Tonkin incident and the U.S. bombing of North Vietnamese targets.)
American Revolution–April, 1775 to September, 1783= 100 months
Afghanistan– October, 2001 to Present (as of March, 2008)= 78 months
Iraq War–March, 2003 to Present (as of March, 2008)= 60 months
U.S. Civil War–April, 1861 to April, 1865= 48 months
World War II–December, 1941 to September, 1945= 45 months
World War I–April, 1917 to November, 1918= 19 months
Korean War– June, 1950 to July, 1953= 37 months
War of 1812–June, 1812 to February, 1815= 32 months
U.S.-Mexican War– May, 1846 to February, 1848= 21 months
Spanish-American War–April, 1898 to August, 1898= 5 months
Gulf War–January, 1991 to March, 1991= 3 months
Source: http://www.historyguy.com/american_wars_by_length_of_time.html
Pakistan’s Violent Political History Continues With Bhutto’s Assassination
27
Dec
Pakistan’s Violent Political History Continues
With Bhutto’s Assassination
With the political assassination of former Prime
Minister Benazir Bhutto on December 27, 2007, Pakistan’s bloody
tradition of political violence continues to plague an already
fractured and unstable country.
A short list of significant acts of political
violence in Pakistan. Note that Pakistan has been an independent
nation only since 1947.
–1947-Independence from the British and the
violent separation from India (several million killed in Pakistan and
India)
–First Kashmir War
(1947-1948) with India
–1948–Pakistani
annexation of Baluchistan, military suppression of Baluch
nationalists.
–1951–Assassination of
Pakistan’s first Prime Minister Liaquat Ali Khan
–Pakistan’s first President, Iskandar Mirza,
throws out the constitution and declares martial law on October 7,
1958
–General Ayub Khan overthrows Iskander Mirza in a
bloodless coup d’etat on October 7, 1958.
–1958-1960–Pakistani military suppression of
Baluch nationalists
–Second Kashmir War (1965)
with India
–Bangladesh War of
Independence (1971) from Pakistan (Bangladesh had, from 1947 to 1971,
been part of Pakistan, best known as East Pakistan). India intervened
in the war to aid Bangladesh against Pakistan
–1973-1976-Rebellion in
Baluchistan, a province in southwestern Pakistan
–1977–Military coup
overthrows Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto. He was replaced by
General Zia al-Huq.
–1979–Former Prime
Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto was executed after a controversial
trial.
—Kargil
War (Kashmir Border Conflict) border
war with India
–October, 1999–General Pervez
Musharraf overthrows
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in a bloodless military coup
—Waziristan
War
(2004-Present)-against tribal rebels and al-Qaida fighters in the
Northwest border region
–2003–Two unsuccessful
assassination attempts against President Pervez
Musharraf
–July, 2003–Siege and Battle at the Red Mosque–over 100 killed.
–October 18,
2007–Assassination attempt on former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto
upon her return from exile
–December 27,
2007–Assassination of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto in
Rawalpindi