” ‘When the invasion of Afghanistan started [on December 25, 1979], I was enraged and went there at once,’ he [Osama bin Laden] told British journalist Robert Fisk… ‘I arrived within days, before the end of 1979.’ ” – Richard Miniter, Losing Bin Laden, Page 9 […]
12/25/1979
“…in December [25] 1979, the Soviet Union toppled its own puppet regime in Afghanistan with a massive invasion of airborne special forces, paratroopers, tanks, and self-propelled artillery.” – Richard Miniter, Losing Bin Laden, Page 9 […]
12/25/1979
"After Russian tanks rolled into the Afghan capital of Kabul on Christmas Day 1979, the incoming Reagan administration strategized that a surrogate battle against the Soviets might hasten an end to the Cold War. The same president who turned tail in the face of Islamic terrorists in Beirut [Lebanon], now began arming their spiritual 'brothers,' […]
12/25/1979
"In one of the tragic ironies of history, the enemy we know today as al-Qaeda was brought together largely by the actions of the United States. In December [25] 1979, Soviet forces invaded Afghanistan, fearful that their puppet Communist government was falling, and that, should it fall, the United states would be able to step […]
12/24/1979
“Today’s jihadist movement in the Sunni Muslim world has its roots in Afghanistan in the resistance to the massive Soviet invasion launched in December [24] 1979. Elements of the Soviet Fortieth Army marched in after the Soviet intelligence service, the KGB, had the country’s communist dictator assassinated for failing to deliver a stable Marxist government. […]
11/20/1979
“In 1979 Saudi Arabia experienced its first open rebellion by Wahhabis [hardline Islamists]. On 20 November [1979] several hundred zealots, headed by the radical imam Guhiman al-Utaibi, seized the Grand Mosque in Mecca, accusing the Al Saud of decadence and corruption. It was eleven days before they could be dislodged. The Al Saud were obliged […]
11/15/1979
“On November 15, 1979, Iran canceled all of its contracts with U.S. oil companies, including Standard Oil of New Jersey (ExxonMobil), Standard of California (Chevron), and Gulf (BP).” – Antonia Juhasz, The Bush Agenda, Page 155 […]
11/6/1979
On November 6, 1979, “in Islamabad [Pakistan]‘s serene diplomatic quarter near the university, local Iranians draped their embassy with provocative banners denouncing the United States and calling for a global Islamic revolution against the superpowers.” – Steve Coll, Ghost Wars, Pages 26-27 […]
11/5/1979
“…on November 5, 1979, Iranian students stormed the U.S. embassy in Tehran, sacked its offices, and captured hostages.” – Steve Coll, Ghost Wars, Page 26 […]
11/4/1979
“On November 4 [1979], student radicals in Iran stormed the U.S. embassy in Tehran. Officials in the State Department at first declared that the takeover was ‘a peaceful demonstration’ and denied that the captive U.S. personnel were ‘hostages.’ Within days, though, newspapers began carrying photographs of the captive Americans, blindfolded and with their hands bound […]