10 Things All Sternies Should Know About 2006

By Chris Lim

Gender Gap Gets Smaller Year 2006 showed positive outlook for women in politics. Female leaders took office in Chile and Liberia, while Hillary Clinton and Ségolène Royal each launched a bid for presidency in Washington and Paris. Gender gap in secondary education also improved in countries such as India, where girls’ enrollment shot up from 60 to 81 percent.
--------
2006 Israel-Lebanon Conflict In summer of 2006, Israel and the Lebanon-based Hezbollah militia fought a war that left more than 900 people dead. The military conflict that lasted from July 12 to August 14 is known as the July War in Lebanon and as the Second Lebanon War in Israel.
--------
Latin American Arms Race In 2006, a new arms race began in South America largely between Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico, Peru, Uruguay, and Venezuela. Their newest patron is Russia who sold $300 million in military equipment to Brazil, and over $1 billion of Russian jets and helicopters to Venezuela.
--------
U.S. Funds Taliban? In 2006, the Taliban reclaimed its power in Afghanistan, but this time with the help of U.S. dollars. The Institute for War and Peace Reporting revealed that Taliban fighters were using village reconstruction money issued by the U.S. government to purchase weapons, cell phones, and explosives. Local mullahs have allegedly pressing residents to fight foreign occupation by donating money to Taliban.
--------
Illegal Immigration Congress struggled to solve the influx of illegal immigrants mostly from Latin America. Politicians debated whether to implement a crackdown on illegal immigrants or to help them work toward citizenship.
--------
A Fresh Perspective? A day after the midterm elections, President Bush announced the resignation of Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld in the need for “fresh perspective” on Iraq. Former CIA chief Robert Gates was nominated to replace Rumsfeld.
--------
U.S. Helps India Helps Iran The House of Representatives voted in July to support a plan to provide India with nuclear technology. The decision came despite sanctions imposed by the Bush administration against two Indian firms for supplying Tehran with missile parts.
--------
Hussein Hanged On November, 5, 2006 judges in Baghdad sentenced Saddam Hussein to death for crimes against humanity. The former dictator was hanged at the start of the week-long Eid al-Adha holiday on December 30. Some Iraqis celebrated while others praised Hussein as a martyr.
--------
Deaths in Sudan Mass killings and gross human rights violations worsened in Darfur, Sudan as the conflict between Janjaweed militia, rebel forces and Sudanese government continued. More than 200,000 civilians were murdered along with aid workers who have become recent targets of murder and rape.
--------
War in Iraq Continues In 2006, the U.S. military’s death toll in Iraq neared 3,000 and thousands of more Iraqi civilians were killed in the midst of rising sectarian violence. Despite vast opposition from Congress, President Bush has vowed to dispatch 21,500 additional American troops to Iraq in 2007.