Deep History

Iraq invades Iran, initiating the nearly eight year Iran-Iraq War. The United States provides aid to Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein including chemical weapons and satellite guidance for attacks. The conflict costs over a million lives and ultimately results in a stalemate.

A nuclear missile at a base in Damascus, Arkansas is damaged when a technician drops a wrench on it. A repair team is called in, but fuel vapor from the missile explodes, killing one and injuring 21 others. The nuclear warhead luckily does not detonate.

The American military carries out Operation Eagle Claw, an attempt to end the Iran hostage crisis which ultimately fails.

According to numerous insiders including former Iranian President Banisadr, George Bush and other members of the Reagan team sabotage efforts by the Carter administration to secure the release of hostages in the Iran crisis. The hostages are then released minutes after Reagan is sworn into office. The Algiers Accords are signed shortly afterwards.

Following a decade of bloody conflict between U.S. and Soviet proxy forces in Turkey, top Turkish generals lead a successful coup with U.S. support, and Turkey becomes an official U.S. ally.

Following years of political upheaval, Luis García Meza leads a bloody coup in Bolivia and becomes dictator. Meza is financed by cocaine traffickers and mercenaries recruited by Klaus Barbie, a former Nazi Gestapo officer who had been recruited into U.S. intelligence.

Oscar Romero, Archbishop of El Salvador, is assassinated. Although no one is ever officially prosecuted, it is widely believed that the assassins were members of a right-wing death squad led by former Major Roberto D'Aubuisson.

John Lennon is shot to death by Mark Chapman, who later claims that he was carrying out God's will. Chapman had worked for some time for World Vision International.

The Guadalajara Cartel is formed in Mexico. It will prosper in the coming decade due to its protection by the CIA and Mexican intelligence agents loyal to the CIA. Its founders will also serve as major sponsors of the Contras.

The Mercatus Center, a free-market, anti-regulation think tank is founded. It is funded by foundations, individual donations, and businesses like Koch Industries and ExxonMobil.

The Confederation of the Associations for the Unification of the Societies of the Americas (CAUSA), an anti-communist education organization, is formed by members of the Unification Church under direction from Sun Myung Moon.

Dozens of U.S. Air Force personnel witness lights and a landed craft of unexplained origin in Rendlesham Forest, just outside of a British air base which is being used at the time by the United States. Deputy base commander Lt. Col. Charles Halt describes the incident in a memo to the Ministry of Defense.

John Hinckley, Jr. attempts to assassinate President Reagan. John Hinckley, Sr. is a close family friend and major political donor to the Bush family. He is also the president of World Vision United States.

Egyptian President Anwar Sadat is assassinated by dissident military officers. Several others are wounded in the attack including Vice President Hosni Mubarak, who will assume the presidency for the next thirty years.

As the assassination of Anwar Sadat is taking place, an Egyptian Army Major from the same unit responsible for the assassination is training with Green Berets at Fort Bragg in North Carolina. His name is Ali Mohamed,  and over the next decade and a half he will serve as a top asset for the FBI, CIA, and Al-Qaeda.

The Atlacatl Battalion, trained in the U.S. at the School of the Americas, takes part in the slaughter of over 800 Salvadorean civilians during the El Mozote massacre.

Left-wing, anti-war journalist Duong Trong Lam is assassinated in San Francisco by a member of an anti-communist organization.

Licio Gelli [33], head of the P2 Masonic Lodge, is arrested in Italy in conjunction with the Banco Abrosiano investigation. Gelli had been a member of the fascist paramilitary Blackshirts in the 1930's and during World War II served as a liaison between the Italian government and the Third Reich. After World War II Gelli had worked closely with British and U.S. intelligence, notably on Operation Gladio.

The Military Cooperation with Civilian Law Enforcement Agencies Act is passed. It grants the U.S. military the authority to assist domestic law enforcement with counterdrug operations, assistance for civil disturbances, special security operations, combating terrorism, explosive ordnance disposal, and other activities.

Libyan fighter jets fire on American fighter jets over the Gulf of Sidra and are subsequently shot down by the American jets. Libya had previously claimed the Gulf of Sidra as territorial waters whereas the U.S. considered the region to be international waters.

War-comedy film Stripes is released with Pentagon support and funding. There is a surge in recruitment in the year which follows.

AIDS is first recognized by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

NASA launches the first space shuttle.

Massive, lighted boomerang-shaped craft are witnessed by thousands of people in the Hudson Valley region of New York and surrounding areas. Sightings are reported from 1981 through 1995, with the heaviest concentration between 1982 and 1986.

A satanic cult known as the Ripper Crew begins a rape, torture, and killing spree which will claim 18 lives before its members are arrested.

Banco Ambrosiano collapses amidst a massive fraud and corruption scandal tying into a wide range of conspiratorial activities from the P2 Masonic Lodge and Operation Gladio to the possible assassination of Pope John Paul I.

Graziella Corrocher, the personal secretary of Banco Ambrosiano CEO Roberto Calvi, supposedly writes a letter denouncing him before jumping to her death from her office window. Calvi himself is found hanging from the Blackfriars Bridge in London soon after.

The company Inslaw is formed from the non-profit Institute for Law and Social Research, which had been created in 1974 by former NSA analyst and CIA contractor William Hamilton. The company is primarily known for its creation of the Prosecutor's Management Information System (PROMIS), a sophisticated database management program. A contract lawsuit brought by Inslaw against the U.S. government brings to light various instances of espionage and black market deals. A journalist named Danny Casolara who is investigating these matters dies under questionable circumstances in 1991.

Reagan signs the top secret National Security Decision Directive 17, authorizing the CIA to begin secretly supporting the right-wing Contras militias in Nicaragua.

The Atlacatl Battalion, trained in the U.S. at the School of the Americas, slaughters over 200 Salvadorean civilians in the El Calabozo massacre.

Left-wing journalist Nguyen Dam Phong is assassinated in Houston by a member of an anti-communist group.

Argentina and the United Kingdom fight the Falklands War for control of the Falklands Islands. The United States, France, and Chile provide support to the U.K., which ultimately triumphs.

FEMA creates Main Core, a database of personal and financial information of Americans deemed to be a threat to national security. The information is collected without any warrants or court order, and eventually information on over eight million people will be added to the system.

Unification Church leader Sun Myung Moon is found guilty of tax fraud and conspiracy and is sentenced to 18 months in prison.

The Army of God, a Christian anti-abortion terrorist organization, is founded,

The American Foreign Policy Council, a conservative think tank, is established.

The Ludwig von Mises Institute, a libertarian think tank, is established.

The Federalist Society, a conservative law think tank, is established.

Pennies are devalued in the U.S. by changing their composition from copper to zinc.

Naval Space Command is created.

Reagan creates the Strategic Defense Initiative in a futile attempt to create a missile shield around the United States. He is widely criticized for both the technical infeasibility of the project and its potential to trigger a greater arms race with the Soviet Union.

The moderate socialist leader of Grenada, Maurice Bishop, is killed in a coup by hardline Marxists. The U.S. invades Grenada and swiftly defeats the coup leaders in an operation which the U.N. decries as "a flagrant violation of international law".

NATO carries out Able Archer 83, a war game which is so realistic that it nearly triggers a nuclear war with the Soviet Union.

American and French barracks in Beirut, Lebanon are hit with truck bombs. 241 American servicemen, 58 French servicemen, six civilians, and the two suicide bombers from the Islamic Jihad Organization are killed.

Banker Gérard Soisson dies of an apparent heart attack. Friends and colleagues suspect that he was murdered because he knew too much about the Banco Ambrosiano and Clearstream scandals.

Vaudeville promoter Roy Radin is murdered by contract killer William Mentzer on behalf of Karen Greenberger and others involved in Hollywood financing and drug trafficking. Mentzer has been named by Son of Sam killer David Berkowitz as a member of the satanic cult of which Berkowitz claimed that he himself was a member. There has also been speculation that Mentzer was the Zodiac serial killer.

The Order aka Brüder Schweigen or Silent Brotherhood, a white nationalist organization, is formed.

The National Center for Policy Analysis, a right-wing think tank, is formed.

The National Endowment for Democracy is created as a soft power projection of American interests.

CIA officer William Buckley is kidnapped by members of Hezbollah.  He will die in captivity the following year.

The U.S. sees a major sudden surge in crack cocaine use as CIA-sponsored Contras flood the country with cheap product.

U.S. counterinsurgency specialist James Steele heads a group of special forces advisers to Salvadorean military battalions which soon develop a reputation as death squads.

Journalist Henry Liu is assassinated by mob members reportedly trained by Chinese military intelligence.

Followers of Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh aka Osho poison 751 people in Oregon by deliberately contaminating salad bars at several local restaurants with salmonella. Their intention is to keep people from voting so that their own candidate can win.

The Jamestown Foundation is created to promote anti-Soviet propaganda, allegedly with help from the CIA. Zbigniew Brzezinski serves on its board for some time.

The Competitive Enterprise Institute, a libertarian think tank, is founded.

The Heartland Institute, a right-wing advocacy organization, is founded. They will become best known for their work for the tobacco lobby, fracking companies, and a campaign comparing those who believe in global warming to the Unabomber, Charles Manson, Fidel Castro, and Osama bin Laden.

Investigations into the McMartin Preschool in California begin following accusations of bizarre ritual and sexual abuse of children. After a length trial, all charges against the school's owners are dropped. In popular media the trial is brought up as an example of "hysteria" or "moral panic" over a "fake Satanic ritual abuse conspiracy" when other allegations of CIA involvement with secret societies or human trafficking arise.

Liberal radio host Alan Berg is murdered by members of The Order.

The Order of the Solar Temple is founded in Geneva. The cult will become notorious worldwide for their involvement in a series of mass murder/suicides between 1994 and 1997.

A Union Carbide pesticide plants leaks methyl isocyanate gas and other chemicals in Bhopal, India. From 3,700 to 16,000 people are killed and over half a million are injured in the world's worst-ever industrial disaster. 26 years later, seven executives are sentenced to two years of prison time and given a $2,000 fine apiece.

The Blackstone Group is founded by Peter Peterson and Stephen Shwarzman [322], who had previously worked together at Lehman Brothers.  It will evolve into one of the world's largest private equity firms and become involved in a wide variety of murky, quasi-legal business dealings, sometimes tied into major political events. In 2000, for example, they will acquire the mortgage of World Trade Center Building 7.

During an armed stand-off with members of the MOVE organization, Philadelphia Police use a helicopter to drop two bombs on top of the MOVE house. The explosion and ensuing fire kill 11 people, including five children and MOVE leader John Africa. The fire spreads to destroy 60 other houses on the block.

Microsoft launches Windows 1.0.

The Independence Institute, a Libertarian think tank, is formed.

French intelligence agents bomb and sink the Rainbow Warrior, flagship of the Greenpeace fleet, killing one person.

Palestinian activist Alex Odeh is assassinated with a bomb in Santa Ana, California. Three suspects affiliated with the Jewish Defense League flee to Israel.

Hezbollah is officially founded, although it has informally active for several years prior.

Members of Hezbollah hijack TWA Flight 847 over Greece.

Andrew C. Thornton II dies in a parachuting mishap over Tennessee while strapped with 40 kilos of cocaine and various pieces of military gear. Thornton had been a lead figure in a drug trafficking outfit simply known as The Company. Thornton had worked in the narcotics division of his local police force and had associates in the DEA and government including the son of Kentucky Governor Albert "Happy" Chandler. There has been speculation about but no definitive proof of links between Thornton's operation and drug trafficking in the Iran-Contra scandal.

A police standoff with members of The Covenant, The Sword, and the Arm of the Lord is resolved peacefully. Leaders of the organization are arrested and the group disbands.

The Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Ukraine suffers a catastrophic accident, releasing a massive cloud of radioactive particles over the western USSR and Europe.

The space shuttle Challenger breaks apart shortly after launch, killing the seven crew members aboard.

Secret arms deals with Iran come to the public's attention in the Iran-Contra Affair. In a deal to secure the release of hostages, the Reagan administration ships weapons to Iran with help from Israel despite an arms embargo. Part of the funds from the sale are diverted to fund the right-wing Contras militias in Nicaragua. Lt. Colonel Oliver North is convicted for his involvement but the conviction is later overturned. Eleven total convictions are made but all will be pardoned in the final days of the Bush presidency.

Barry Seal, a drug pilot for the CIA and Medellín Cartel, is gunned down in Baton Rouge. Amongst his personal possessions at the time of death are a paper with phone numbers for George H. W. Bush [322] as well as an office at Area 51.

Charlie Rogers "commits suicide" after telling family members that he feared for his life and that if anything should happen to him they should contact his attorney. Rogers had been a lover of Larry King, a rising star in the Republican party who had been accused of running a child prostitution ring catering to the rich and powerful.

Swedish Prime Minister Olof Palme is assassinated. The crime is still officially unsolved and numerous theories exist about the culprit or culprits.

The Economic Policy Institute, one of only a handful of liberal think tanks, is founded.

The Independent Institute, a libertarian think tank, is founded.

The film Top Gun is released with Pentagon support and financing. Applications for positions as Naval Aviators subsequently jump by 500%.

U.S. forces again enter disputed waters in the Gulf of Sidra and clash with Libyan forces.

In Operation El Dorado Canyon, the U.S. military bombs Libya, killing 40.

The captain and crew of Japan Air Lines flight 1628 witness three UFOs pacing their craft for 50 minutes before racing off.

Jonathan Pollard, an American civilian intelligence contractor, is found guilty of passing classified information to Israel.

Journalist Tap Van Pham is assassinated in California by members of VOECRN, an anti-communist organization.

The FCC ends the Fairness Doctrine, a policy which had required news agencies to present controversial public issues in an honest and balanced manner.

The James Madison Institute, a conservative think tank, is founded. Jeb Bush serves on its board for some time.

October 19th becomes known as Black Monday when the Dow Jones Industrial Average loses the greatest percentage of its value in a single day in history.

David Miscavige formally assumes leadership of the Church of Scientology. Due to L. Ron Hubbard's declining health, Miscavige had been running the organization in everything but name for several years prior to this.

Police in Tallahassee, Florida respond to reports of abused-looking children being transported around by two well-dressed Caucasian men in a van. The U.S. Customs service and other police jurisdictions become involved and the investigation leads to a set of warehouses in Washington, D.C. owned by a cult known as The Finders. The warehouses contain evidence of child pornography, an international human trafficking organization, and also bizarre ritual activities including animal sacrifice. At this point the CIA takes over. The children are returned to the custody of the adults who had evidently been abusing them and if any further investigation is pursued there are no public records of it.

The U.S. launches Operation Earnest Will to protect Kuwaiti oil tankers from Iranian attack during the Iran-Iraq War. Earnest Will is an umbrella operation for several other operations which involve both overt and covert attacks on Iranian naval assets and oil platforms.

The First Intifada, a widespread Palestinian uprising against the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories, begins.

The Iran-Iraq War ends in stalemate.

In a case of mistaken identity, the U.S. Navy shoots down Iran Air Flight 655, a civilian passenger plane, killing 290. Although the U.S. pays a settlement to the families of the victims, it never admits responsibility or apologizes.

In California v. Greenwood, the Supreme Court rules that a warrant is not required to search garbage bins left outside of a home.

Fires and a series of explosions at the PEPCON plant in Nevada kill two people and injure 372.

The Franklin Credit Union in Omaha, Nebraska, is closed after investigators find that millions have been embezzled from it. A trial results in a prison sentence for manager Larry King, a once-prominent figure in local Republican circles who had also been accused of running a child prostitution ring for the rich and powerful.

An oil tank ruptures at a facility owned by Ashland Oil Company in Pennsylvania spilling 10,000 tonnes of oil.

An oil tanker explodes off the coast of Canada, killing 27 people and spilling 132,000 tonnes of oil.

Pakistani President Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq and several of his top advisors are killed in a plane crash. Various parties are accused of sabotaging the plane, but no decisive conclusion is reached.

The Alexis de Tocqueville Institution, a right-wing think tank, is founded.

The Goldwater Institute, a right-wing think tank, is founded.

The Council of Conservative Citizens, a right-wing and white nationalist organization, is formed.

In blatant violation of international law, the U.S. invades Panama. Dictator, drug lord, and former CIA asset Manuel Noriega is captured and Guillermo Endara assumes the presidency.

Two U.S. fighter jets shoot down two Libyan fighter jets over the Gulf of Sidra.

A radical liberalization of East Germany politics leads to opened relations with West Germany and the tearing down of the Berlin Wall.

The Atlacatl Battalion, trained in the U.S. at the School of the Americas, murders six Salvadorean Jesuit priests along with their housekeeper and her daughter.

A coup attempt against the government of Philippine President Corazon Aquino is thwarted with U.S. intervention.

A sudden, massive invasion of medflies descends on California. Scientists believe that the plague is the result of bioterrorism, and eventually an ecoterrorist group calling itself  "The Breeders" claims responsibility. No one is ever arrested for the crime, however, and solid proof that this person or group was indeed responsible is never produced. Regardless, the outbreak requires an eradication program costing the state upwards of $60 million.

Black Panthers co-founder Huey Newton is killed by a member of the Black Guerrilla Family.

Adolfo Constanzo dies in an apparent murder-suicide pact with other members of his Matamoros Cult in Mexico City as police are preparing to storm his apartment. The cult is trafficked drugs and performed black magic rituals for local drug lords, and is responsible for at least 25 murders.

During the Savings and Loan Crisis, a group of senators known as the Keating Five are accused of corruption for improperly intervening on behalf of a savings and loan institution which was under investigation.

Nelson Hunt is fined $10 million for attempting to manipulate the silver market.

The Exxon Valdez hits a reef near Alaska and spills between 260,000 and 760,000 barrels of oil, contaminating 1,300 miles of coastline and over 11,000 square miles of the ocean.

The Progressive Policy Institute, a moderate Democratic think tank, is founded.