Word: gulf
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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From the 1983 bombing of the Marine barracks in Beirut to the mine blast that ripped the hull of the U.S.-reflagged tanker Bridgeton in the Persian Gulf last July, the U.S. has been humiliated by acts of violence that were almost certainly plotted by Iran. But persuasive proof remained frustratingly elusive. Ronald Reagan's threats of retaliation against any terrorists found with American blood on their hands carried a hollow ring on the all-too- frequent occasions when no evidence could be produced. But last week a carefully coordinated military operation in the gulf swiftly altered the image...
...sentiment grew for a Security Council move to embargo arms shipments to Iran. Speaking to the U.N. General Assembly shortly before the Iran Ajr was seized, President Reagan declared that the council "has no choice" but to take action if Iran refused to accept a cease-fire in the gulf war. Yet the U.S. was having trouble persuading the Soviets to endorse the embargo; a Soviet veto could kill the proposal...
Nonetheless, the week's events strengthened the once lonely American military position in the Persian Gulf. Although the bloodshed led to renewed efforts in Congress to invoke the 1973 War Powers Resolution, the incident suggested that the U.S. finally seems able to muster both the will and the means to protect shipping against primitive but effective mining. That was an improvement from the summer days when American sailors could only stand futile watch with rifles as a defense against mines. Since the Bridgeton debacle, the U.S. has safely escorted nine U.S.-reflagged tanker convoys past Iranian missile batteries...
Increasingly, once reluctant allies are applauding and even joining in the American determination to keep the gulf's international waters open. Since mid-August the U.S. fleet of 40 ships in the region has been joined by British, French, Belgian, Dutch and Italian warships and minesweepers...
...first drawing of Iranian blood by American forces produced sharp warnings from Iran that the Great Satan would be punished. As regular troops and Revolutionary Guards paraded through Tehran to mark the seventh anniversary of the gulf war, Khamenei vowed in New York that the "United States shall receive a proper response for this abominable act." U.S. military and diplomatic posts were placed on a worldwide alert against terrorist assaults...