Purpose
WorldMonitor.info was born on 17 January 2000. Its purpose is to provide accurate, objective information on political and military developments around the world, in a way that is useful and user-friendly.
Editorial policy
WorldMonitor.info endeavors to provide accurate information, and to achieve balance, objectivity and utility in its coverage and manner of coverage.
At the same time, WorldMonitor.info does not refrain from occasionally making value judgements about the meaning or significance of events or information even when such judgements could be controversial. Such judgements tend to be particularly apparent with respect to norms of international law, widely held conceptions of human rights, and other basic issues related to war and peace and treatment of human beings. Such judgements can become apparent in many different ways. For example, certain events may be covered and others not, or the use of emotionally charged terms such as 'terrorism', 'genocide' or 'aggression' may be used or not used in a given context. The user must judge for himself or herself what the values of this site add to or detract from one's ability to use the site. For its part, WorldMonitor.info strives to make a reasonable effort to respect competing viewpoints, and to limit value judgements to those considered necessary for providing context for information and appropriate reaction to events.
Contact
This site is maintained by C. Andrew Christensen III, who is responsible for its content, including any and all errors. Feel free to email me with any questions or comments you may have.
Acknowledgements
The style of the chronology owes much to the one presented in The World Almanac Book of World War II, edited by Brigadier Peter Young. The chronology in that book was largely prepared by Donald Sommerville.
Abbreviations of sources
Dates for sources are shown as: day/month/year.
- AP: Associated Press
- CNN: Cable News Network
- IAEA: International Atomic Energy Agency
- IFES: International Foundation for Electoral Systems
- IISS: International Institute for Strategic Studies
- JIR: Jane's Intelligence Review
- NHJL: The News Hour With Jim Lehr
Other abbreviations
- ABM: anti-ballistic missile
- ASEAN: Association of South East Asian Nations
- ASW: anti-submarine warfare
- AUC: United Self-Defense Forces of Columbia
- bpd: barrels per day
- CIA: Central Intelligence Agency
- DDG: guided-missile destroyer
- DPRKN: Democratic People’s Republic of Korea Navy
- DRC: Democratic Republic of Congo
- ETA: Euskadi ta Askatasuna (Basque Homeland and Freedom)
- EU: European Union
- FARC: Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia
- FBI: Federal Bureau of Investigation
- FGA: fighter, ground-attack
- GDP: gross domestic product
- IAEA: International Atomic Energy Agency
- ICTY: International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia
- ISAF: International Security Assistance Force
- LTTE: Liberation Tigers of Tamil Elam
- MDC: Movement for Democratic Change
- MRBM: medium-range ballistic missile
- NATO: North Atlantic Treaty Organization
- OPC: Odua People's Congress
- OPEC: Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries
- OSCE: Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe
- PA: Palestinian Authority
- PFLP: Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine
- PGM: precision-guided munition
- ROKN: Republic of Korea Navy
- SADC: Southern African Development Community
- SAM: surface-to-air missile
- SLCM: sea-launched cruise missile
- SS: conventionally-powered attack submarine
- SSM: surface-to-surface missile
- SSN: nuclear-powered attack submarine
- UN: United Nations
- UNAMSIL: United Nations Mission in Sierra Leone
- UNMOVIC: United Nations Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission