America's war in Afghanistan

In Russia, foreboding about America's war in Afghanistan

Thirty years ago this week, the Red Army began its invasion of Afghanistan, a move that sank the Soviet Union in a decade of guerrilla war and hastened the collapse of the Cold War empire.

Today, as former Soviet soldiers watch American troops trying to pacify the same stretches of Afghan land they once fought for, aging Soviet generals and grunts alike are reminded of a war they'd rather forget....>>>>>

NATO's Dual-Track Decision

Thirtieth Anniversary of NATO's Dual-Track Decision

A U.S. Army photograph of the mobile Pershing II deployed in an unidentified woodlands location. (Photo from U.S. Army Redstone Arsenal Web site)

The Road to the Euromissiles Crisis and the End of the Cold War

Washington, D.C., December 10, 2009 - Thirty years ago, on 12 December 1979, NATO defense and foreign ministers made a landmark decision designed to unify the alliance, but which also contributed to the collapse of détente and helped provide an agenda for the end of the Cold War. On the anniversary of the NATO "dual-track" decision that linked deployments of U.S. long-range theater nuclear forces (LRTNF) to proposals for negotiations with Moscow over those and Soviet forces, the National Security Archive publishes for the first time a selection of declassified U.S. documents that record some of the key developments in the U.S. and NATO decision-making processes.

NATO leaders saw the "dual-track" decision as a response to Soviet long-range forces targeting Europe and as a way ultimately to roll them back, yet the Soviet leadership saw the NATO plan as a threatening escalation of the nuclear arms race. Indeed, some in Moscow saw the NATO decision as the "last drop" that made them feel they had nothing to lose by invading Afghanistan...>>>>>

Today, March 30, In History

This Day in History 1891:

"Sockless" Simpson rallies populist farmers

Angered over low crop prices, high-interest bank loans and unaffordable shipping rates, farmers began to unite in self-help groups like the Grange and the Farmers' Alliances. Initially, these groups primarily provided mutual assistance to members while agitating for the regulation of railroads and grain elevators. Increasingly, though, they became centers of support for more sweeping political change by uniting to help form the nationwide third-party movement known as the Populists.

This Day in History 1948:

Henry Wallace criticizes Truman's Cold War policies

Wallace and his supporters were among the few Americans who actively voiced criticisms of America's Cold War mindset during the late 1940s and 1950s.

Today, March 30, is Palestinian Land Day.

Since 2004, the U.S. has stated support for a viable Palestinian state but at the same time has done little to check Israeli government activities that have fragmented the occupied West Bank. Expanded settlements, Israeli-only bypass roads, checkpoints, and the separation barrier cut deep into the Palestinian territory.

We believe the U.S. government must play a more constructive and even-handed role in Israel and Palestine.

AFSC has produced a new two-minute video about the fragmentation of the West Bank. With a new administration in Washington and the possibility of a fresh diplomatic approach in the Middle East, it’s an important time to raise this issue and to make our voices heard.

AFSC Westbank Action Site