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| 175998669 | Venezuela | This South American country is currently led by the left-wing "president" hugo Chavez. Chavez has been highly critical of American foreign policy and has attacked President Bush as a Fascist. | 0 | |
| 175998670 | Argentina | This South American country attempted to take the Falkland Islands from the British in the 1980's. The British reacted swiftly, proving that the Western European powers could and would defend their political positions even far from European borders. | 1 | |
| 175998671 | Mexico | North American nation with a long history of variable relations with the United States, tis most immediate nation to the north. Today the issue of illegal aliens is probably the most tense aspect of the relationship with the United States. | 2 | |
| 175998672 | Cuba | This island nation, led by Fidel Castro since 1959, has been one of the most consistent thorns in the side of the United States for the last 35+ years. Castro's health decline in recent years has again led to speculation about the US role in the post-Castro years. | 3 | |
| 175998673 | Mexico | This large nations shares a long border with the United States. US relations with them have always been difficult because of cultural and economic differences between the neighbors. Illegal immigration from this country is a major political issue in both countries. A member of NAFTA, the difference between their economy and that of Canada and the United States have made the success of that organization questionable. | 4 | |
| 175998674 | Nicaragua | This central American nations is one of many where the United States has become embroiled in the internal political conflicts during the 20th century. in the 1980's, President Reagan sent aid to counterrevolutionaries trying to overthrow the Sandinista government. | 5 | |
| 175998675 | South Africa | This African nation has the natural resources and technological development that led the African world into the 21st century. However, radical division held the nation back for many years. The minority (white) controlled government backed a policy of radical separation called apartheid until the early 1990's. Nelson Mandela became the first black President in the early 1990's and he was able to maintain relative calm and avoid the race based bloodbath that many African states experienced during the independence movements. | 6 | |
| 175998676 | Rwanda | This tiny central African state experienced one of the worst 20th century examples of ethnic cleansing between the two of its traditional tribal groups. | 7 | |
| 176020222 | Libya | This North African state, led by Muammar alQaddafi, was linked to a terrorist attack on a passenger flight in Scotland in the 1980;s. President Reagan ordered an air strike against the Presidents' complex and Libya's role in terrorist activity seemed to be reduced afterward. Spring of 2011, Libya is one of the Muslim nations experiencing revolutions, with the NATO's support. | 8 | |
| 176020223 | Algeria | This North African states saw one of the bloodiest anti-colonial battles in the post-war period (1950's). The French were forced to give them their independence leading to a political crisis in France in 1958. | 9 | |
| 176020224 | Ghana | This Western African colony, known as the Gold Coast, became one of the first sub-Saharan African states to gain their independence in 1957. Took their modern name from the Ancient West African trading empire of the Middle Ages. President Kwame Nkrumah became a leading continental spokesman for African independence and the unity of the African states. | 10 | |
| 176020225 | Sudan | This African nation has been most in the news in recent years because of the conflict in Darfur. The United States has tried to negotiate a peaceful end to the conflicts in this country, but elections are to be held which could divide the Muslim and non-Muslim sections of the country. This could very well led to further civil war. | 11 | |
| 176020226 | Lebanon | This Middle Eastern states on the eastern end of the Mediterranean Sea has been plagued by internal religious strife, conflict with Israel and has become a pawn in the Arab-Israeli(western) conflicts of the modern era. the US participated in a short-lived peace-keeping mission in the 1980's. Two summers ago, Israel invaded this country trying to weaken Muslim military groups, backed by Iran and Syria. | 12 | |
| 176033309 | Israel | Country created by the United States and Britain in 1948, this state became the long-desired Jewish homeland of the Zionist movement. Formerly known as Palestine, this state has been the symbol of Arab/Muslim anger toward western involvement in the region. | 13 | |
| 176033310 | Turkey | This non-Arab Islamic state is the modern successor to the old Ottoman Empire. Has remained an ally of the United State since WWII, it is seen by many of the Arab Islamic states as an enemy because of its western ties and its historical links to the conquering Ottoman Empire. | 14 | |
| 176033311 | Iraq | The United States has been almost constantly involved in the affairs of this state's since its long war with Iran in the 1980's. the US backed them against the Iranians, but since the early 1990's, beginning with their invasion of Kuwait, the US has seen them as an enemy. Currently, Us involvement in this country is the most expensive and political divisive issue in US politics. | 15 | |
| 176033312 | Iran | This modern state in the heir to the ancient Persians. An ally of the United States until the late 1970's when a fundamentalist Islamic revolution overthrew the Shah's government, held the Us embassy hostage and installed a "revolutionary" government with strong clerical ties, in the last few years, this nation;s attempt to build nuclear weapons as again put them at the forefront of the US foreign policy. | 16 | |
| 176033313 | Palestinians | These people live within the borders of Israel but long for an independent Muslim state for themselves. Their plight and continued conflict with Israel keeps them in the news and a constant threat to the security of the region. | 17 | |
| 176033314 | Afghanistan | This state became the site of a Soviet military disaster in the 1980's (their Vietnam). in more recent times, the radical government of the Taliban allowed Islamic terrorist groups to use the nation as a staging area. The US invaded the country following 9/11 in an attempt to eliminate terrorist activity and overthrow he Taliban. | 18 | |
| 176033315 | Vietnam | This former French colony gained its independence from France in the 1950's led by Ho Chi Minh. However, Minh's links to communism led to Us involvement in the region attempting to prevent the spread of communism. The long US involvement ended in the mid-1970's with US diplomacy and military in tatters and the country under communist control. | 19 | |
| 176033316 | North Korea | This country was a Soviet "mandate" after WWII. Their invasion of the southern regions led to a US backed UN action in this country (1950-53). In recent years, the crumbling communist dictatorship has reentered the news with its nuclear program. The US military, stretched thin in the war against terrorism, worries about the program and its treat to stability in east Asia. | 20 | |
| 176033317 | Taiwan | This US backed nation is led by the remnant of the pre-communist government of China. Although China claims the island, the US continues to ensure the independence of the state. | 21 | |
| 176033318 | The Philippines | The US became involved in this former Spanish colony in 1898. Site of a major US retreat from a Japanese assault on December 7th, 1941. In modern times, the US backed government of Ferdinand Marcos was extremely corrupt leading to his ouster. In recent years, this Asian "tiger", along with Taiwan, South Korea and others, has seen its economy dominated by the production of mass produced inexpensive items for western markets. | 22 | |
| 176033319 | Japan | This small island nation benefitted from the Us rebuilding effort in he post-War world. They were not allowed to recreate a military and have used this advantage to regain a position in the world economy. By the 1970's they had the 2nd largest economy in the world. They continue to be one of the world's great economic powers, but have fallen behind from their greatest days of the 1980's. | 23 | |
| 176033320 | China | The nation became the 2nd major communist dictatorship in 1949 and the most important threat to the security of the US backed democracies of Asia. In recent years, they have abandoned many of their "communist/socialist" tendencies ad have become one of the most important players in the world economy. They remain a totalitarian dictatorship and are often at odds with the democratic nations on issues such as human rights, trade policy and carious other political issues. They remain a country with a large poverty stricken population despite their enormous economic growth. | 24 | |
| 176033321 | India | This former British colony gained its independence after WWII. In recent years, they have become one of the nations, along with China and Brazil, that seem to be making the transition from 3rd world to economic powers. Like China and Brazil, the population remains divided by poverty and wealth. Unlike China, this nation is a "republic in progress." | 25 |
