. . . or click on the link here for audio Player – CBS Radio – The World Tonight – June 24, 1980 – Gordon Skene Sound Collection.
Another day, another hornet’s nest of diplomatic wrangling – all on this June 24th 1980.
Starting with the ongoing Soviet occupation of Afghanistan. Many were wondering if there was any diplomatic movement taking place between the U.S. and the Soviet Union in attempting to resolve the crisis. It began with a call from the Kremlin to the White House, asking for a constructive and serious dialogue over the problem. At the same time, President Carter emphasized his interest in establishing a non-aligned government in Afghanistan. Soviet News agency Tass accused the U.S. of belittling Moscow’s partial withdrawal of troops from the area and said Washington was trying to distort its essence, and showed a display of narrow-mindedness and on what primitive level U.S. Foreign Policy was being pursued. Moscow had been pushing for U.S. guarantees of an end to outside interference in Afghanistan as a condition for Soviet troop withdrawals. Tass went on to say the Soviets’ withdrawal of troops was made without any negotiations and without obtaining any U.S. guarantees as a sign of Moscow’s sincere desire for peace in the region; a peace Tass said was predicated on U.S. cooperation.
Meanwhile, President Carter flew from Venice Italy to Belgrade Yugoslavia for a one day visit, stressing Yugoslavia’s non-alignment and how nice it would be if Afghanistan had the same situation. The visit also included the Carters being dragged into an impromptu Yugoslavian folk dance, which President Carter later confessed he was better at jogging than dancing. The dancing analogy seemed apt on a number of levels, particularly in the area of Foreign Policy.
Vietnam was the gift that kept on giving this day, with Vietnamese clashes on the border between Cambodia and Thailand heating up once again. Vietnamese claimed shooting down 2 of Thailand’s military aircraft on Thailand’s border with Cambodia; a military helicopter and an observation plane. It emphasized the continuing gravity of the situation, with Vietnam crossing Cambodia’s border into Thailand. As of this day, Vietnamese forces had occupied and were dug in at 2 Thai villages with no withdrawal in sight.
And the word on Inflation was looking good, with reports that consumer prices rose 9/10 of 1% in May – it was the same as the April figures. A positive sign the White House’ tough anti-inflation measures of March were starting to take hold. The Recession, as some remarked, came faster and went deeper than many expected.
Win some – lose some.
And that’s how this day went, June 24th 1980 – as reported on CBS Radio‘s The World Tonight.
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