On February 8th in U S Political History
Part IX
Part IX
On February 8th in 2010 - Iran moved closer to being able to produce nuclear warheads with formal notification that it will enrich uranium to higher levels, even while insisting that the move was meant only to provide fuel for its research reactor. The semiofficial ISNA agency said that former deputy foreign minister Mohsen Aminzadeh was sentenced to six years in prison by a Revolutionary court. The defense minister announced that Iran has launched two production lines to build unmanned aircraft with surveillance and attack capabilities.
On February 8th in 2012 - Japan and the United States agreed to proceed with plans to transfer thousands of US troops out of the southern Japanese island of Okinawa, leaving behind the stalled discussion about closing a major US Marine base there.
On February 8th in 2012 - President Obama arrived in Afghanistan to sign an agreement that ensures US financial and military support for another decade after the US officially withdraws its combat troops from Afghanistan in 2014. The strategic pact says that Washington may use “diplomatic means, political means, economic means and even military means” to help Afghanistan, with approval from Kabul. A section of this pact implies that the US will not use Afghanistan as a launchpad for attacks on other countries in the region, such as drone strikes or any attack similar to the one that killed Osama Bin Laden exactly one year ago.
On February 8th in 2012 - President Barack Obama has signed an order giving the Treasury Department power to take action against foreign individuals and companies who try to go around existing US sanctions against Syria and Iran. The order allows those individuals or companies to be publicly identified by the Treasury Department and banned from accessing US financial and commercial systems.
On February 8th in 2012 - The FBI has arrested five men on suspicion of plotting a bomb attack on the Route 82 Brecksville-Northfield High Level Bridge and other locations in the Cleveland area. The arrests, which were made late on Monday, come as a result of a sting operation. An undercover FBI agent provided fake explosives which did not represent a threat to the public. The men are due to appear in federal court in Cleveland on Tuesday on charges that include conspiracy and the attempted use of explosive materials to damage property affecting interstate commerce. The five men are self-described anarchists and have allegedly formed their own group, according to an FBI official. There is suspicion that the five were plotting to detonate the explosives during a protest in Cleveland.
On February 8th in 2013 - The US Labor Department was found to be spreading malware, or malicious code, which is thought to be the work of an intelligence-gathering operation. According to the director of AlienVault research labs, the attack matches an exploit used in previous attacks by DeepPanda, a Chinese state hacking group. According to Dark Reading, an expert IT security publication, visitors to the Labor Department’s website were infected with the malicious code, which appeared to be aimed at users from large corporations and government agencies. The malware was reportedly removed upon detection.
On February 8th in 2013 - The FBI has released the photos of three individuals who were on present at the September 11, 2012 attacks on the US mission in Benghazi. The three are suspected to have more knowledge of the attacks, the FBI’s statement said, asking “Libyans and people around the world” to help the investigation and share the information on these individuals. The Libyan government has condemned the Benghazi attack, in which four Americans, including the US ambassador to Libya was killed.
On February 8th in 2013 - Bolivian President Evo Morales said he is expelling the US Agency for International Development from the country for allegedly attempting to sabotage his government. He made this announcement outside his presidential palace during an International Workers Day rally. He added that he was protesting a recent statement by the US Secretary of State John Kerry that Latin America is the backyard of the United States. Previously the president has accused USAID of funding groups that have opposed his policies. In 2008 Morales expelled the US ambassador and agents of the US Drug Enforcement Administration for allegedly inciting opposition activities.
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