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On This Day – January 14th, 2010
On January 14th, 2010, Yemen openly declared war on al-Qaeda. They also urged all Yemeni citizens against supporting the group. This decision came in response to international pressure, particularly from the United States and Saudi Arabia, Yemen’s key allies, following a series of attacks orchestrated by Yemeni militants. Declaring war on al-Qaeda marked the culmination of an effort to intensify the fight against the organization since 2001.
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On this day – January 23rd, 1997
On January 23rd, 1997, Madeleine Albright was sworn in as the first female Secretary of State. Madeleine Albright gained governmental power after Bill Clinton’s election as president when she was appointed as US ambassador to the United Nations. She had many great impacts as Secretary of State, some of which include expanding the reach of NATO to former Soviet bloc nations as well as expanding free-market democratization.
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On this day – January 2, 1980
On January 2nd, 1980, President Jimmy Carter asked the Senate to halt any action on the SALT II Program (nuclear weapons treaty agreement between the United States and the Soviet Union). This came in response to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in December of 1979. By postponing SALT II, Jimmy Carter and the United States made it clear that the friendly, detente relationship between America and the Soviet Union had come to an end. This also led to a halt of exports, such as grains and technology, to the USSR, as well as a boycott by American athletes of the 1980 Summer Olympics held in Moscow.