--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Nineteen-seventy-nine had been a year of…" description: "\"Nineteen-seventy-nine had been a year of American setbacks around the globe. Before the year began, Cuban troops were already roaming Angola, and a pro..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/68e/elliott-abrams-1577_american_nineteen-seventy-nine-had-been-a-year-of_428178.jpg" --- # Nineteen-seventy-nine had been a year of American setbacks… ![“Nineteen-seventy-nine had been a year of American setbacks around the globe. Before the year began, Cuban troops were already roaming Angola, and a pro-Communist regime ruled Ethiopia.” quote by Elliott Abrams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/68e/elliott-abrams-1577_american_nineteen-seventy-nine-had-been-a-year-of_428178.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/68e/elliott-abrams-1577_american_nineteen-seventy-nine-had-been-a-year-of_428178.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/68e/elliott-abrams-1577_american_nineteen-seventy-nine-had-been-a-year-of_428178.jpg) > “Nineteen-seventy-nine had been a year of American setbacks around the globe. Before the year began, Cuban troops were already roaming Angola, and a pro-Communist regime ruled Ethiopia.” [Elliott Abrams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elliott-abrams/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The United States faced multiple diplomatic and military setbacks worldwide in 1979, highlighting challenges to its global influence. **In simple terms:** America struggled internationally in 1979. Key Takeaway Recognize and address geopolitical setbacks. Themes foreign policy geopolitics military America Cold War Mood cautious reflective Type historical political analytical When to use this quote - policy analysis - historical research - academic coursework - government briefing - media commentary Key Concepts realism power dynamics strategic failure Questions to Reflect On - What could the U.S. have done differently? - How do these setbacks inform current policy? A Different Perspective U.S. actions were constrained by local conflicts and shifting alliances. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [American](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/american/) [American Setbacks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/american-setbacks-3779884/) [Angola](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/angola/) [Around](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/around/) [Been](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/been/) [Before](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/before/) [Began](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/began/) [Cuban](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cuban/) [Ethiopia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ethiopia/) [Failure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/failure/) [Globe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/globe/) [Had](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/had/) [Regime](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/regime/) [Regime Ruled](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/regime-ruled-3419723/) [Roaming](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/roaming/) [Ruled](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ruled/) [Setbacks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/setbacks/) [Troops](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/troops/) [Were](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/were/) [Year](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/year/) [Year American](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/year-american-3779885/) [Year Began](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/year-began-2451486/) ## Related quotes > [The new year has began but there are those who still stucked in the miseries of 2014](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simphiwe-ntuli/the-new-year-has-began-but-there-are-those-who-still-stucked-in-the/) [Simphiwe Ntuli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simphiwe-ntuli/) > [I arrived in the U.S. for graduate study in literature in the fall of 1986. 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But on other hand, Angola is also important to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joao-lourenco/the-united-states-is-a-very-important-country-to-us-in-the/) [Joao Lourenco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joao-lourenco/) > [The official independence celebration was going to be held over four or five days, and a group of journalists from all over the world…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryszard-kapuscinski/the-official-independence-celebration-was-going-to-be-held-over-four/) [Ryszard Kapuscinski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ryszard-kapuscinski/) ## More by Elliott Abrams > [President Obama has never summarized the Obama Doctrine with such clarity, but here is what it would look like: 'I will undertake any military…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elliott-abrams/president-obama-has-never-summarized-the-obama-doctrine-with-such/) [Elliott Abrams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elliott-abrams/) > [The story of the Jews in the Bible is replete with incidents of their ingratitude to God for His gifts to them: incidents that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elliott-abrams/the-story-of-the-jews-in-the-bible-is-replete-with-incidents-of-their/) [Elliott Abrams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elliott-abrams/) > [History may someday record that the Arab awakening that began with the Arab revolt of 1916 against the Ottomans ended about a century later…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elliott-abrams/history-may-someday-record-that-the-arab-awakening-that-began-with/) [Elliott Abrams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elliott-abrams/) > [From its earliest days in the nineteenth century, and until the Holocaust, the Orthodox rabbinate in eastern Europe was not enthusiastic about the Zionist…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elliott-abrams/from-its-earliest-days-in-the-nineteenth-century-and-until-the/) [Elliott Abrams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elliott-abrams/) > [The Pope is not a political figure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elliott-abrams/the-pope-is-not-a-political-figure/) [Elliott Abrams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elliott-abrams/) > [Israel and the Palestinians had been at the table together for decades until the Obama/Mitchell/Rahm Emanuel decision to demand a total end to Israeli…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elliott-abrams/israel-and-the-palestinians-had-been-at-the-table-together-for/) [Elliott Abrams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elliott-abrams/) > [Pundits are used to analyzing the gap between what our ideals suggest and what our security interests require.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elliott-abrams/pundits-are-used-to-analyzing-the-gap-between-what-our-ideals-suggest/) [Elliott Abrams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elliott-abrams/) > [The Egyptian military and the government of Israel have long had a common interest in maintaining order and fighting terrorism in Sinai.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elliott-abrams/the-egyptian-military-and-the-government-of-israel-have-long-had-a/) [Elliott Abrams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elliott-abrams/) > [In 2007, early in the improbable presidential candidacy of Barack Obama, the young first-term senator began a series of foreign-policy speeches that seemed too…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elliott-abrams/in-2007-early-in-the-improbable-presidential-candidacy-of-barack/) [Elliott Abrams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elliott-abrams/) > [Terrorists that kill Americans don't get released.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elliott-abrams/terrorists-that-kill-americans-don-t-get-released/) [Elliott Abrams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elliott-abrams/) > [Refusing to lift sanctions and adopting tougher rhetoric toward Iran would not be partisan issues. 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What the Syrians did in response, nothing. Israel has killed a number of terrorist leaders in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elliott-abrams/israel-bombed-the-syrian-nuclear-reactor-in-2007-what-the-syrians-did/) [Elliott Abrams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elliott-abrams/) [Explore all 226 Elliott Abrams quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elliott-abrams/) ## More American quotes > [I wasn't attracted to American cinema, but I fell in love with Los Angeles the minute I arrived.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agnes-varda/i-wasn-t-attracted-to-american-cinema-but-i-fell-in-love-with-los/) [Agnes Varda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agnes-varda/) > [William Maxwell's my favorite North American writer, I think. 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But it's just as important for the U.S. never to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-bauer/it-s-important-for-american-soldiers-to-be-culturally-sensitive-when/) [Gary Bauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-bauer/) [Browse all 7,717 American quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/american/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Nineteen-seventy-nine had been a year of American setbacks around the globe. 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