Northeastern University - Cauldron Yearbook (Boston, MA)

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THE MIDEAST Many peace efforts have been made among Jews and Arabs, but none have ended the feuding. Over the past five years the Mideast has been in the news with reports such as the oc- cupation of the West Bank, Israel ' s desire to be recognized as a state by Arabs, Palestinians want of a separate state — while both rejected each other ' s dream. The ten-year civil war within Lebanon that has left over 100,000 dead has consistently made headlines. Moslems battling Christians and other Moslems; Christians feuding with Christians; Shiite Moslems attack- ing Palestinian refugee camps and so on. Also, the Iran-Iraq war is still going on after six years leaving one million dead. Both sides hit oil targets hard. Both being dependent on (declin- ing) oil revenues that certainly is a weak spot. Although Iraq is better equipped militarily, the Iranians under the Ayatollah Khomeini have the will to keep fighting as long as their oil reserves are plentiful. OIL CRISIS? Further inflaming the Mideast are the declin- ing oil prices. However, the oil plunge of the eighties has left many smiling at the gas pump. Recent prices are as low as the pre-oil crisis days of 1973. OPEC antics have caused oil consum- ing nations to seek alternative sources and have thus shaken up the former balance of exchange. ISRAELI RAID Israeli troops swarmed into Lebanon on the morning of June 6, 1982, in a bold move that destroyed the strength of the PLO in Beirut. While the Arab world reacted with angry denunciations, Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin proclaimed the invasion a necessary retaliation against a terrorist group that endangered the lives of Israeli citizens. Above (Left): Rescuers carry the body of a young girl from the rubble of a destroyed building after an Israeli air raid in Beirut. (Oct. 1983) (Left): A 1986 Israeli air raid on PLO headquarters in Lebanon left three dead.

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ARCHIVES 1982-1983 BREZHNEV DIES GANDHI KILLED Leonid Brezhnev, 75, General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, died of a heart attack November of 1982. He was a leader for 18 years. He led a fur- thering detente, especially with Richard Nixon. As his health worsened, Soviet policy took a radical turn including the invasion of Afghanistan. This led to a cooling off of relations between east and west, so that at his death tension was extremely high. India ' s Prime Minister Indira Gandhi was assassinated by her own guards as she walked through her gardens on Oct. 31, 1984. News of her death sparked bloody religious riots throughout the country, killing nearly 1000 persons in the week following her death. For 20 years she was the most predominent figure in her country. Her father, Jawaharlal Nehru had similarly dominated India, the 20 years prior. She was reportedly killed by militant Sikhs, who were calling for a separate state. Her son, Rajiv Gandhi, who assumed the role as Prime Minister upon her death, was shot at in October of 1986. However, he escaped without injury during a meeting to mark the 1 17th anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi ' s birth. FALKLANDS RAID British paratroopers and marine commandos stormed ashore in the Falkland Islands May 21, 1982, to free her colonial territory from an Argen- tine invasion. In the face of British military superiority, the Argentine army surrendered 24 days later. The invasion peaked a war resulting from fruitless negotiations over the Falkland ' s sovereignty. Argentina supported a sovereign Falklands, while Great Britain wanted it to remain her colony. The Argentine seizure of the Falklands on April 2, 1982 propelled the British into im- mediate action. The British death toll reached 255 with 177 wounded; the Argentines lost 746 lives. An estimated $1.4 billion worth of British ships 2 and equipment was lost in combat, but Prime e Minister Margaret Thatcher ' s popularity soared. Above: Leonid Brezhnev. Upper Left: Indira Gandhi. Lower Left: Britain ' s Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. •ERA — Despite polls showing 2 i of American men and women approved ERA (the Equal Rights Amendment), it fell short of passage by the necessary 38 states.

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ENTERTAINMENT