On April 30th in US Political History
Part VII
On April 30th in 2003 US Ambassador Dan Kurtzer met with Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon to present him with an internationally backed Mideast peace plan, that envisioned Palestinian statehood within three years. Mediators presented Israeli and Palestinian leaders with a new Middle East "road map," a U.S.-backed blueprint for ending 31 months of violence and establishing a Palestinian state.
On April 30th in 2003 North Korea was reported to be a country with 1.17 million military personnel, the world's 5th largest. Its air force had more than 1,700 aircraft and the navy more than 800 ships. In March Gen. Leon J. LaPorte said "North Korea maintains a substantial chemical weapons stockpile and a production capability that threatens both our military forces and civilian population centers in South Korea and Japan." In addition, he said, North Korea has the capability "to develop, produce and potentially weaponize biological warfare agents."
On April 30th in 2004 On ABC's "Nightline" Ted Koppel read aloud the names of 721 US servicemen and women killed in the Iraq war.
On April 30th in 2004 Graphic photographs were shown on TV screens across the Middle East of naked Iraqi prisoners being humiliated by smiling US military police. President Bush condemned the mistreatment of prisoners, saying it "does not reflect the nature of the American people."
On April 30th in 2005 “With all of its liabilities in dollars and most of its assets in foreign currencies, America gets a wealth boost when the dollar drops.” The Bank of Japan and other central banks have amassed $2 trillion in foreign-exchange reserves, perhaps 70% in dollars. Should the dollar fall, these central banks will be exposed to heavy capital losses. It would be strategically possible to cause international turmoil and gain US monetary dominance by successfully devalueating the US Dollar. (Econ, 4/30/05, p.70,74)
On April 30th in 2006 Some 100,000 rallied in Washington DC, SF and other US cities to urge the Bush administration to take decisive action to stop the genocide in Darfur.
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