This weekend, twenty-five years ago, it was all about The Persian Gulf and the U.S. decision to re-flag Kuwaiti Oil Tankers within the next ten days. Amid reports that Iran was mining the Gulf and the U.S. was inching closer to a shooting war. With the Iraqi bombing of the USS Stark, which claimed 37 crewmen, it would seem a showdown was inevitable.

Despite all that, there was no concrete Policy in place, with reference to our position on The Persian Gulf. This episode of Face The Nation was titled "Persian Gulf Policy: A Sea Of Confusion", and it reflected just how off the charts we were in handling crises overseas.

Joining Moderator Leslie Stahl were Under-Secretary of State Michael Armacost and Chairman of The House Armed Services Committe, Les Aspin, discussing what was becoming a fractured and and confusing policy and whether or not the re-flagging of Kuwaiti ships should be postponed.

Here is that broadcast. You get to decide.

For all intents and purposes, just a typical June day - only it's 1984.

President Reagan arrived in London on this day, as the 10th Economic Summit got started. A full slate of issues greeted the participants.

A Liberian Grain ship hit a mine in the Persian Gulf, escalating tensions in the already war-torn region. Fighting in the Iran-Iraq War was grinding along with casualties mounting by the hour.

Fighting between Sikhs and the Indian Army escalated with the Army storming the Golden Temple in the Punjab region, resulting in the deaths of 300 Sikhs as well as their leader. The battle touched off Sikh riots in New Delhi with a reported 30 dead at the time of this news report.

A joint Military exercise between the U.S. and El Salvador enraged the government of Nicaragua, who claimed it was ruse in order to stage a full-on invasion of that country. Protests were lodged.

A sailboat bound from Haiti to the U.S. capsized off the Florida coast with a reported 6 drowned and some 61 rescued. The suspicion was the sailboat was crammed with refugees seeking asylum in the U.S.

The Presidential Primaries held on Tuesday yielded sufficient delegates for Walter Mondale to secure the Democratic nomination for the November election.

Flash floods were raging around Vermont.

And it was reported that Acid Rain was more widespread than previously thought.

All this and a lot more on this June 7, 1984 as reported on The CBS World News Roundup and the 9:00 am (PDT) Network news.

May 21st, 1984 started off with a visit to Capitol Hill from Salvadoran President-elect Josè Napoleon Duartè. The reason for his visit was simple - money. In an effort to persuade Reagan and Congress to cough up $68 million in military aid, Duartè did his best to convince the powers-that-be that El Salvador was going to be a brand-spanking new country.

All this, amid the release of a report by Amnesty International claiming that El Salvador had been knee-deep in Death Squad executions since 1979 and some 40,000 were believed to be dead as the result. The report went on to say it had no reason to believe it was going to improve it's Human Rights record, since the Duartè government had been showing, maybe not direct involvement, but certainly tacit complicity.

And the sales pitch continued.

Meanwhile, news from the Persian Gulf was unsettling as Iran was continuing to attack and sink ships, most notably oil tankers. The move brought condemnation from the Arab League as the majority of ships sunk belonged to the Saudis. There were hints the U.S. would possibly play a role in this current Persian Gulf crisis, but what form the role would take remained to be seen. But nothing was ruled out.

Reports from Bombay estimated some 100 dead following rioting between Hindus and Muslims over the weekend. The violence was the latest in a series of tense confrontations between the two religious groups.

And Soviet Dissident Andrei Sakharov was celebrating his 63rd birthday while on his 19th day of a hunger strike in an undisclosed Soviet prison. The strike was in protest to Moscow's refusal to grant Sakharov's wife, Yelena Bonner a visa in order to seek medical treatment. The Soviets claimed it was Bonner who was the real dissident, manipulating Sakharov by brain-washing him.

And so it went, this May 21st, 1984 as reported on The CBS World News Roundup and the 9:00 am (PDT) Network news with Richard C. Hottelet.

No end to conflicts and potential hot spots, this February 23rd in 1975. Southeast Asia eruptions were continuing with the Mekon river blockade now effectively cutting off Phnom Penh and rebel fighting throughout Cambodia. Likewise in South Vietnam where terrorist attacks were inching closer to Saigon. All this activity triggered calls from President Ford to send military aid to the region. Congress wasn't thrilled. We'd been there. We'd done that. We got the bloodstains to prove it. Still, there were some such as Strom Thurmond who thought we should pour nothing but money into the region in exchange for their oil, if and when they found some.

Elsewhere in the Lovely Neighborhood - Secretary of State Henry Kissinger returned from a tour of the Middle East, saying he was "optimistic" that talks-about-talks-about-talks were looking up. Senator Ted Kennedy introduced legislation asking for a cut-off of military aid to the oil producing Persian Gulf nations, saying instability in the region begged for a hold-off on ordinance for at least six months. His crystal ball, it appears, was in much better shape than a lot of his colleagues.

Ethiopia was asking the U.S. for arms in the wake of increased tensions coming from the northern province of Eritrea and the separatist movement gathering steam there. New tensions in Cyprus between Greek and Turkish elements were springing up. Spain, despite a law prohibiting strikes handed down by the somewhat creaky Franco regime, went on strike over dissatisfaction with the decades-old authoritarian rule.

And back home - Judge Sirica handed down sentences for convicted Watergate figures. It went like this: Mitchell, Haldeman and Ehrlichman all got 2 1/2 years in jail and Robert Mardian got 10 months.

All that and a lot more for news ending the week of February 23rd, 1973 as reported on CBS Radio's The World This Week.

Feel better about your day now?

The latest in the seemingly endless (going into year 7 without a letup) war between Iraq and Iran hit a new milestone on this day with Iran poised to capture the Iraqi town of Basra. The fortunes of war weren't going well for Iraq and the German press were circulating rumors the U.S. was standing by to jump in. The State Department vehemently denied the report, even though U.S. warships were cruising around the Persian Gulf.

In other news this rather haywire day in 1987; a suspect in the terrorist hijacking of TWA Flight 847 in 1985 which resulted in the shooting death of a Navy Seal was being held in a cell in Bonn West Germany. With threats of extradition to the U.S. also came the threat of reprisals from terrorists and the citizenry of Bonn were understandably nervous.

On the Domestic front - the Long Island Railroad strike was heading into its second day with commuters forced to take alternate transportation. And even though it was a holiday, snarls were bad enough in Manhattan to force a run on Valium for the next day. Meanwhile, talks lumbered on.

22,000 Steelworkers were urged by their union today to accept the new contract from USX.

The U.S. entry in the Americas Cup Race won this day's round against New Zealand. They got to face Australia shortly.

The dollar sank to a new post-War low against the Yen in Tokyo. At last count, 150 Yen to the dollar and Japan was worried exports would suddenly slow to a crawl.

And 37 states celebrated Martin Luther King's Birthday today for the first time.

All this and a lot more via the CBS World News roundup for (Monday), January 19, 1987.