R.G. Ainslee's Blog
July 4, 2019
Behind the Story: The Sahara Intercept
The Sahara Intercept, the fifth book in the Secret Cold War Series, was recently released on Amazon. Kindle and paperback editions are available.
The Sahara is the world's largest hot desert. It covers about 3.5 million square miles; about the size of the United States. It is about 5,000 kilometers (3000 miles) across. In 1977, I traveled from London to Nairobi, crossing the Sahara in a all-wheel drive Bedford Truck.
December 1977, I arrived in Bangui, the capitol of the Central African Empi...
June 29, 2019
The Sahara Intercept
The Secret Cold War Series continues with a fast-moving adventure filled knife-edged tension and Cold War intrigue.
1980: Ross Brannan is back and out for revenge — determined to hunt down the traitor, J. Andrew Marsden — at any cost. The Škorpion Brigade, a band of German terrorists, teams up with Libyan Dictator Gadhafi and rogue ex-CIA operatives in an explosive plot to obtain nuclear materials.
Marsden is rumored to be in Libya. Ross and a multi-national team are dispatched to find Marsde...
May 26, 2019
Memorial Day 2019
Memorial Day is a day of remembering the men and women who died while serving in the armed services. Among them were Soldiers, Sailors, and Airmen of the security services who manned the front line of the Cold War. Assigned to isolated foreign outposts, naval vessels, or flying along the Iron Curtain, they collected signals intelligence and gave an extra layer of early warning. All too many died by accident or enemy action. The first American combat death in Vietnam was a soldier of the Army...
April 1, 2019
April - This Month in the Cold War
3 April 1948 — President Harry S. Truman signed the European Recovery Program proposed by Secretary of State George C. Marshall. The Marshall Plan was intended to stop the spread of Communism and restore the economies of European countries devastated by World War II. Over four years, the program distributed $12 billion to the nations of Western Europe.
4 April 1949 — Twelve nations signed the treaty creating NATO, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, a common military alliance against the t...
March 17, 2019
March - This Month in the Cold War
4 March 1950 — US Navy PB4Y2 was shot down over the Baltic Sea by Soviet aircraft. The Soviets claimed that the plane had violated Soviet airspace. Later that year. the US claimed at least one member of this aircraft's crew had been sighted in a Soviet prison camp. The Soviets denied the claim.
26 March 1979 — Thirty years of warfare between Israel and Egypt ended with the Camp David Accord signed by Prime Minister Begin of Israel and Egyptian President Sadat.
31 March 1991 — The birthplace of...
February 3, 2019
February - This Month in the Cold War
15 February 1989 – The Soviet Union withdrew from Afghanistan after nine years of involvement in the civil war between rebel groups and the Soviet-backed Afghan government. Over 15,000 Soviet soldiers were killed in the fighting.
21 February 1972 - President Nixon arrived in China for meetings with Chairman Mao Tse-tung and Premier Chou En-lai.
21 February 1994 - CIA employee Aldrich Ames arrested on charges he spied for the Soviet Union from 1985 to 1991.
January 3, 2019
The Caspian Intercept
The Secret Cold War Series continues with a fast-moving adventure in revolutionary Iran featuring Amado Ruiz and Jack Richards of the Raven-One Team.
THE CASPIAN INTERCEPT is the fourth installment in the Secret Cold War series a new addition to the tradition of military, espionage, and adventure novels loved by fans of Alistair MacLean, Robert Ludlum, Clive Cussler, and Tom Clancy
The Caspian Intercept is a follow-up to The Iranian Intercept. It may be read as a stand-alone novel and features...
January 1, 2019
January - This Month in the Cold War
January 1, 1959 - Fidel Castro seized power in Cuba and established a Communist dictatorship.
January 23, 1968 - The American ship USS Pueblo was seized by North Koreans in the Sea of Japan.
28 January 1964 - An unarmed United States Air Force T-39 Sabreliner on a training mission was shot down over Erfurt, East Germany by a Soviet Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-19.
January 30, 1968 – The Tet Offensive in Vietnam began when North Vietnamese troops attacked provincial capitals and major cities in South Vi...
December 22, 2018
Flying in Nepal
January 1974: All flights from Lukla had been canceled because of the oil crisis. That meant we had no way to get back to Kathmandu, except to walk out. We couldn’t go back the way we came in because the passes might be snowed in by the time we get there. The only other way to walk out is to go south down the Dudh Kosi river valley, a very long trip. Our only other option is to try to fly out of Sangpoche airport at the Everest View Hotel.
We headed down the valley and went straight to the Ho...
December 2, 2018
December - This Month in the Cold War
8 December 1987 - President Ronald Reagan and Soviet Russia's General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev signed the INF Treaty eliminating all intermediate-range and shorter-range nuclear missiles.
8 December 1991 - The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics ceased to exist. The leaders of Russia, Byelorussia and the Ukraine signed an agreement creating the Commonwealth of Independent States.
21 December 1972 - East and West Germany established diplomatic ties, paving the way for international recogniti...
