February 15

1898 - The U.S.S. Maine exploded in Havana Harbor, killing two officers and 258 crew members:  Spanish-American War.

Did the Spanish blow up the ship? Maybe, maybe not...Either way, the result was the U.S. soon declared war on Spain, beginning the Spanish-American War, which set America on a course of future greatness.

It's hard to believe the whole war was put together by a spunky 'Undersecretary', who would have never had so much power if the 'Secretary' wasn't such a pathetic loser...No one remembers who the 'Secretary of the Navy' was (John Davis Long).  Everyone has heard of the 'Undersecretary of the Navy':  Teddy Roosevelt.

That said, the Spanish-American War also put the final nail in the coffin of what was formerly a strong and proud Spanish Empire...And it's just as well, because being a European weakling allowed Spain to stay out of WWI and WWII.

1944 - Allied forces heavily bombed the monastery atop Monte Cassino in Italy:  WWII.

The U.S. has been ripped for destroying the monastery - by the same fools who hate religion and wish the USSR were still around.

General Clark felt it was the only way to break the German lines, which were using the monastery as a fortress, and he did what he thought was best...He was correct, even though it turned out the monastery's rubble created serious impediments to the Allied advance.  If nothing else, the Allied troops passed a mental obstacle.

1950 - Joseph Stalin and Mao Tse-tung signed a mutual defense treaty in Moscow.

What a dynamic duo...I think it’s safe to say, never in history have two men with so much blood on their hands been in the same place at one time.

1987 - ABC broadcast the first segment of 'Amerika,' a controversial miniseries about a Soviet takeover of the United States which was criticized by some as potentially damaging to superpower relations.

Forget 'superpower relations,' ABC was wishful thinking...SOB’s.

1989 - The Soviet occupation of Afghanistan ended.

It's hard to believe this is where the likes of Osama bin Laden got started, but at the time there was no doubt the U.S. was supporting the right side.

2011 - Protests against Muammar al-Gaddafi's rule in Libya began.

Much like the Soviet-Afghanistan war, it's likely we'll find we supported a future enemy...The difference is, Gaddafi wasn't nearly the enemy the USSR was.

Getting rid of him has proven much more disastrous than when he was around.

It also played a large roll in Hillary Clinton losing the 2016 Presidential Election.