Charles Nesbitt Wilson was an American politician and naval officer who was a 12-term Democratic Representative from Texas's 2nd congressional district. Wilson is best known for leading Congress into supporting Operation Cyclone,the largest-ever Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) covert operation,which during the Carter and Reagan administrations supplied military equipment to the Afghan Mujahideen during the Soviet–Afghan War. His behind-the-scenes campaign was the subject of the non-fiction book Charlie Wilson's War:The Extraordinary Story of the Largest Covert Operation in History by George Crile III and the subsequent film Charlie Wilson's War,in which he was portrayed by Tom Hanks.
James William Gerlach is the former U.S. Representative for Pennsylvania's 6th congressional district,serving from 2003 to 2015. He is a member of the Republican Party. Gerlach retired from Congress after completing his sixth term.
The Lehigh Valley is a geographic and metropolitan region formed by the Lehigh River in Lehigh and Northampton counties in eastern Pennsylvania. It is a component valley of the Great Appalachian Valley bounded to its north by Blue Mountain,to its south by South Mountain,to its west by Lebanon Valley,and to its east by the Delaware River and Warren County,New Jersey. The Lehigh Valley is about 40 miles (64 km) long and 20 miles (32 km) wide. The Lehigh Valley's largest city is Allentown,the third-largest city in Pennsylvania and the county seat of Lehigh County,with a population of 125,845 residents as of the 2020 census.
Charles Wieder Dent is an American politician who served as a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives for Pennsylvania's 15th congressional district from 2005 to 2018.
Asa Packer was an American businessman who pioneered railroad construction,was active in Pennsylvania politics,and founded Lehigh University in Bethlehem,Pennsylvania. He was a conservative and religious man who reflected the image of the typical Connecticut Yankee. He served two terms in the United States House of Representatives from 1853 to 1857.
Leonard John Lance is an American politician and attorney who served as the U.S. representative for New Jersey's 7th congressional district,from 2009 to 2019. He ran for re-election in 2018,but was defeated by Democrat Tom Malinowski. He is a member of the Republican Party who previously served in the New Jersey Senate from 2002 to 2009 and the New Jersey General Assembly from 1991 to 2002.
Paul Francis McHale Jr. is a retired American lawyer and politician as well as a United States Marine. From 2003 to 2009,he served as the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Homeland Defense. From 1993 to 1999,he represented Pennsylvania's 15th congressional district in the United States House of Representatives.
Opposition to the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021) stems from numerous factors,including the view that the United States invasion of Afghanistan was illegal under international law and constituted an unjustified aggression,the view that the continued military presence constitutes a foreign military occupation,the view that the war does little to prevent terrorism but increases its likelihood,and views on the involvement of geo-political and corporate interests. Also giving rise to opposition to the war are civilian casualties,the cost to taxpayers,and the length of the war to date.
Frederick Bernard Rooney Jr. was an American politician from Pennsylvania who served as a Democratic member of the U.S. House of Representatives for Pennsylvania's 15th congressional district from 1963 to 1979.
Thomas Messinger Drown was the fourth University President of Lehigh University in Bethlehem,Pennsylvania,United States. He was also an analytical chemist and metallurgist.
Claudine Schneider is an American politician and executive who served five terms as a Republican U.S. representative from Rhode Island from 1981 to 1991. She was the first,and to date only,woman elected to Congress from Rhode Island.
Ben Ray Luján is an American politician who has served as the junior United States senator from New Mexico since 2021. He served as the U.S. representative for New Mexico's 3rd congressional district from 2009 to 2021 and as Assistant Speaker from 2019 to 2021. He served as a member of the New Mexico Public Regulation Commission from 2005 to 2008,where he also served as chairman. He and Senator Martin Heinrich are the co-deans of New Mexico's congressional delegation.
Brendan Francis Boyle is an American politician serving as a Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives,representing a district in the Philadelphia area since 2015. Since January 2023,he has served as Ranking Member of United States House Committee on the Budget. He represented the 13th district from 2015 to 2019,serving much of Northeast Philadelphia and most of suburban Montgomery County. Since 2019,he has represented the 2nd district,which is entirely within the City of Philadelphia,including all of Northeast Philadelphia and portions of North Philadelphia and Center City Philadelphia,largely east of Broad Street. Boyle represented the 170th district in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives from 2009 to 2015.
Steven Samuelson is a Democratic member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives. He was elected to his 13th term in November 2022 and is the chair of the Finance Committee.
David Lee Camp is a former American politician who served as a member of the United States House of Representatives from 1991 to 2015. Camp represented Michigan's 4th congressional district since 1993,and previously served one term representing Michigan's 10th congressional district. A member of the Republican Party,Camp was chairman of the House Committee on Ways and Means,serving from 2011 to 2015. In March 2014,he announced that he would not run for re-election.
Hekmat Khalil Karzai is the deputy foreign minister of Afghanistan. He was appointed as the deputy foreign minister on 21 January 2015.
The Afghan conflict is a term that refers to the series of events that have kept Afghanistan in a near-continuous state of armed conflict since the 1970s. Early instability followed the collapse of the Kingdom of Afghanistan in the largely non-violent 1973 coup d'état,which deposed Afghan monarch Mohammad Zahir Shah in absentia,ending his 40-year-long reign. With the concurrent establishment of the Republic of Afghanistan,headed by Mohammad Daoud Khan,the country's relatively peaceful and stable period in modern history came to an end. However,all-out fighting did not erupt until after 1978,when the Saur Revolution violently overthrew Khan's government and established the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan. Subsequent unrest over the radical reforms that were being pushed by the then-ruling People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan (PDPA) led to unprecedented violence,prompting a large-scale pro-PDPA military intervention by the Soviet Union in 1979. In the ensuing Soviet–Afghan War,the anti-Soviet Afghan mujahideen received extensive support from Pakistan,the United States,and Saudi Arabia in a joint covert effort that was dubbed Operation Cyclone.
The science policy of the United States is the responsibility of many organizations throughout the federal government. Much of the large-scale policy is made through the legislative budget process of enacting the yearly federal budget,although there are other legislative issues that directly involve science,such as energy policy,climate change,and stem cell research. Further decisions are made by the various federal agencies which spend the funds allocated by Congress,either on in-house research or by granting funds to outside organizations and researchers.
Ryan Edward Mackenzie is an American politician who is the U.S. Representative-elect from Pennsylvania's 7th congressional district. A member of the Republican Party,he served in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives from 2012 to 2024. Before redistricting,he represented the 134th district until his final term,when he was moved to the 187th district.
Susan Wild is an American lawyer and politician from the commonwealth of Pennsylvania. A Democrat,she is a member of the United States House of Representatives from Pennsylvania's 7th congressional district. The district is in the heart of the Lehigh Valley,and includes Allentown,Bethlehem,Easton,and Bangor. Wild spent the last two months of 2018 as the member for Pennsylvania's 15th congressional district after Charlie Dent resigned in 2018. She also co-chairs the New Democrat Coalition Climate Change Task Force and is vice chair of both the Congressional Labor and Working Families Caucus and the Subcommittee on Africa,Global Health,Global Human Rights and International Organizations. Wild is the first woman to represent the Lehigh Valley in Congress. Wild lost her re-election bid in 2024 to Republican Ryan Mackenzie.
