Scenes: Treaties and crises Americans had little notion of the magnitude of the Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi's leaving of Iran on Janua ry 15, 1979. The greatest concern of the moment was on what affect the' act ion would have on United States oil supplies. The concern about oil was not unfounded as Iranian oi l workers went on strike under the strict rule of Ayatullah Ruhollah Khomeini, causing the country's production to be cut nearly in half. The result was soaring gasoline prices in America before students scu rried home fo r the summer. In March, after working out the initial document at Camp David in November 1978, Egypt and Israel finally signed a peace treaty in Washington D. C. The treaty ended hos tilities between the nations which had existed since the founding of Israel as an independent state. As a result of the treaty, however, Egypt came under increasing denunciation by neighboring Arab nations . After.Jvlay graduation, when more than 100 Harding students were in Europe, South America and Australia involved in campaign work, an American Airlines jet crashed on takeoff from Chicago's O'Hare Airport, the world 's busiest. The left engine fell away from the wing of the plane, causing it to turn belly up and crash almost on top of a trailer park, and killing everyone on board. The crash, the worst in American aviation history, caused the subsequent grounding of all American and U.S.-bound DC-lO's, June 6. The groundings, which lasted into August while official s investigated the pylon mounts on all DC-I0 wing engines, forced some campaigners to make hasty adjustments in thei r travel plans to find a return flight home. May also brought President Carter and Soviet President Leonid Brezhnev together for the signing of the second Strategic Arms Limitations Treaty. The signing was a formality which would have no real effect until the U.S. Senate ratified the treaty . With the end of summer in sight , ratifica tion was not coming easily for the treaty, and a new crisis with Cuba caused the Senate to balk. After months of investigation , the Administration revealed that a Soviet combat brigade of be tween 2000 and 3000 men was stationed in Cuba, just 90 miles from the United States . The situat ion seemed unnervingly simila r to the 1962 Cuban missile crisis. The Soviets an4 . Cubans denied that the forces had any attack capabilities. Constantly buffered by ass urances from Moscow that America was making something ou t of no thing and that the Soviet soldiers were only military advi sers, President Carter hacked down on his demands that the troops be withdrawn. The Soviets s tayed. (continued on page 40) 1. THE NUCLEAR PLANT at Three Mile Island is sllown in a line drawing as reflected into the river. 2. PRESIDENT CARTER is flail ked by Egyptian President Anwar Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister MellacIJ em Begill as tile tll ree leaders shake hands fo llowing th e signing of til e Middle East peace treaty . Marcil 27. 1979. 3. FIREMEN extinguish wreckage of AmeriCQlI Airlines fligllt 191 sllortl y after the DC- I0 crashed 0 11 ta keoff from Chicago 's O 'Hare Airport i,1 May of 1979. .,i 39 World Scenes
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