Global assertivness (oct 10, 1980 – nov 17, 1991)

Description:

1980 November - Republican Party's Ronald Reagan elected president. Reagan goes on to adopt a tough anti-communist foreign policy and tax-cutting policies which lead to a large federal budget deficit.
1981 January - Iran frees the 52 US embassy hostages, on the same day as President Reagan's inauguration.
1983 - US invades Caribbean nation of Grenada, partly prompted by its concerns over the island's ties with Cuba.
1984 - Ronald Reagan re-elected president, beating Democratic Party candidate Walter Mondale.
1986 January - Space shuttle Challenger explodes shortly after take off from Cape Canaveral. All seven crew members are killed. Manned space flights are suspended until September 1988.
1986 - US warplanes bomb Libyan cities. "Irangate" scandal uncovered, revealing that proceeds from secret US arms sales to Iran were used illegally to fund Contra rebels in Nicaragua.
1988 - Reagan's vice-president, George Bush, elected president.
1989 - US troops invade Panama, oust its government and arrest its leader, one-time Central Intelligence Agency informant General Manuel Noriega, on drug-trafficking charges.
1991 - US forces play dominant role in war against Iraq, which was triggered by Iraq's invasion of Kuwait and ended with the expulsion of Iraqi troops from that country.

Added to timeline:

Date: