Word: praetorians
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Dates: during 1970-1979
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...countermanding government directives and intervening in day-to-day administration. The Council directs the revolutionary tribunals that have already put to death by firing squad more than 630 of the Shah's supporters and others. It also controls the Islamic militias and the Islamic Guard, a sort of praetorian security unit for the mullahs...
...army and secret police of nearby South Yemen have been learning the latest security techniques from some 2,000 East Germans, assisted by about 4,000 Cubans, some of whom also seem to serve as a kind of Praetorian Guard for the country's repressive Premier Ali Nasser Mohamed. East Germany is also believed to be running three training camps in South Yemen for radical Palestinian commandos. East Berlin has dispatched "Brigades of Friendship," consisting of military, ideological, security and medical cadres, to Angola; in Mozambique, the East German "diplomatic" mission has become the largest in the country, exceeding...
...Nixon had hoped, Dole worked hard to put some bite into the Republicans, strengthening the party apparatus and averaging a speech a day. But to his frustration, he discovered that he could not often get through the Praetorian Guard of the White House staff to see the President. In The Making of the President 1972, Theodore White recounts how Dole once got a call from a White House staffer who asked him if he wanted to see Nixon. "When?" Dole asked eagerly. Answer: "Tune in on Channel 9. He's coming up on the tube in ten minutes...
...Emperors was Commodus, a vice-ridden brute who enjoyed fighting in the arena as a gladiator and was murdered by his favorite concubine and a wrestler. He was succeeded by the aged Pertinax, who tried to institute reforms, only to be murdered after 86 days by the unreformable Praetorian Guard. This garrison of swaggerers, who for a time held the real power in Rome, then insolently auctioned off the imperial throne to a wealthy Senator named Didius Julianus, who offered each guard the equivalent of some ?200 in silver. He ruled in increasing confusion for 66 days before being beheaded...
...Golan raids, which would provoke Israeli retaliation against Syria, increasing the danger of renewed war. At least, however, Assad has effectively stifled all meaningful opposition at home. As one diplomat puts it, his "instincts for survival are impressive." To ensure the safety of his regime, the President has a Praetorian Guard, consisting of 25,000 men under the command of his brother Rifaat Assad, 34. In any case, Washington hopes the guard remains vigilant long enough for Assad to provide further proof that Syria, despite its trumpeting of the Palestinian cause, is genuinely willing to make peace with Israel...