A Brief History On April 6, 2017, President Trump ordered an attack against Shayrat Airbase in Syria. The 59 Tomahawk cruise missiles sent by the US impacted early on April 7th and killed about 16 Syrian troops while destroying between 9 and 20 aircraft and a SAM missile battery. Digging Deeper Those cruise missiles cost a cool $2 million apiece to deliver 1,000 pounds of explosives as far as 2,500 km away. Modern weapons are not cheap, and even private citizens are aghast at the cost of rifle and pistol ammo at their local sporting goods stores. Some weapons’ prices…
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A Brief History On April 4, 2023, Finland became the 31st member of the NATO alliance, a pact originally meant to counter the threat from the USSR, consisting of 12 European and North American nations. NATO continued to grow after the dissolution of the USSR in 1991, and several more nations are awaiting acceptance into the alliance, including Ukraine, with more nations considering applying for membership. Digging Deeper Back when the Cold War was still a thing, the communist bloc countered NATO with the Warsaw Pact, an alliance of the USSR and seven other communist states. The Warsaw Pact dissolved…
A Brief History On March 30, 1855, pro-slavery raiders called “Border Ruffians” poured into Kansas from Missouri to sway elections in Kansas to pro-slavery. Digging Deeper Kansas became a state in 1861 that did not permit slavery. The admission of Kansas as a “free” state was a cause of the US Civil War, a topic that has become political kryptonite during the 2024 election year. Why did the US fight the Civil War? This question still baffles some of our contemporary politicians, and so today, we list some of the reasons. First, slavery was not the only issue, although it…
A Brief History On March 21, 1801, French forces fought the British outside of Alexandria, Egypt in one of the many epic battles that have taken place at Alexandria over the centuries. Digging Deeper This 1801 battle is one of 13 major engagements fought at or near Alexandria, starting in 169 BC and most recently in 1941. Many cities or locations have been the scene of frequent battles through history, including: Jerusalem is probably the most fought over city in the world, with over 50 attacks on the city starting in 1000 BC when King David captured the place and as…
A Brief History On March 16, 1945, the battle for the island of Iwo Jima supposedly was won by the US, although fighting would continue for another two weeks. Famous as a heroic battle won by US Marines, Iwo Jima has history often overlooked. Digging Deeper While 22 Marines earned the Medal of Honor, another five US Navy sailors also earned this highest honor. Of the Navy Corpsmen that landed on Iwo Jima, 332 were killed and 659 wounded. The aircraft carrier USS Bismarck Sea was sunk, killing 318 of her crew, the last US carrier sunk in World War…