August 23, 1992: Hurricane Andrew—When the Madrid
Conference moves to Washington DC and the peace talks resume,
Hurricane Andrew, the worst natural disaster ever to hit
America, comes ashore and produces an estimated $30 billion in
damage and leaving 180,000 homeless in Florida.
January 16, 1994: Northridge Earthquake—President Bill
Clinton meets with Syria's President Hafez el Assad in Geneva.
They talk about a peace agreement with Israel that includes
giving up the Golan Heights. Within 24 hours, a powerful 6.9
earthquake rocks Southern California, This quake, centered in
Northridge, becomes the second most destructive natural disaster
to hit the United States, behind Hurricane Andrew,
January 21, 1998: Lewinsky Scandal—Israeli Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu meets with President Clinton at the White
House and is coldly received. Clinton and Secretary of State
Madeleine Albright refuse to have lunch with him. Shortly
afterwards on that day, the Monica Lewinsky scandal breaks into
the mass media and begins to occupy a major portion of Clinton's
time.
September 28, 1998: Hurricane George—As Secretary of State
Albright works on the final details of an agreement in which
Israel would give up 13 percent of Yesha (Judah and Samaria),
Hurricane George slams into the United States Gulf Coast with
110 mph winds and gusts up to 175 mph. The hurricane hits the
coast and stalled. On September 28, Clinton meets with Yasser
Arafat and Netanyahu at the White House to finalize this land
deal. Later, Arafat addresses the United Nations about declaring
an independent Palestinian state by May 1999, as Hurricane
George pounds the Gulf Coast, causing $1 billion in damage. At
the exact time that Arafat departs the country, the storm begins
to dissipate.
October 15-22, 1998: Texas Flooded—On October 15, 1998,
Arafat and Netanyahu meet at the Wye River Plantation in
Maryland. The talks are scheduled to last five days with the
focus on Israel giving up 13 percent of Yesha. The talks are
extended and conclude on October 23. On October 17, awesome
rains and tornadoes hit southern Texas. The San Antonio area is
deluged with rain. The rain and flooding in Texas continue until
October 22 and then subside. The floods ravage 25 percent of
Texas and leave over one billion dollars in damage. On October
21, Clinton declares this section of Texas a major disaster
area.
November 30, 1998: Market Capitalization Evaporates—Arafat
comes to Washington again to meet with President Clinton to
raise money for a Palestinian state with Jerusalem as the
capital. A total of 42 other nations were represented in
Washington. All the nations agreed to give Arafat $3 billion in
aid. Clinton promised $400 million, and the European nations
$1.7 billion. On the same day, the Dow Jones average drops 216
points, and on December 1, the European Market had its third
worst day in history. Hundreds of billions of market
capitalization were wiped out in the U.S. and Europe.
December 12, 1998: Clinton is Impeached—As Clinton lands in
the Palestinian-controlled section of Israel to discuss the
"land for peace" process, the House of Representatives
votes four articles of impeachment against him.
May 3, 1999: The Powerful Super Tornado—On the day that
Yasser Arafat is scheduled to declare a Palestinian state with
Jerusalem as the capital, the most powerful tornado storm system
ever to hit the United States sweeps across Oklahoma and Kansas.
The winds are clocked at 316 mph the fastest wind speed ever
recorded. The declaration is postponed to December 1999 at the
request of President Clinton, whose letter to Arafat encourages
him in his "aspirations for his own land." He also
writes that the Palestinians have a right to "determine
their own future on their own land" and that they deserve
to "live free, today, tomorrow and forever."