rategically
important US bases in the Pacific.

Guatemala:
Guatemala was freed of Spanish colonial rule in 1821.
During the second half of the 20th century, it experienced a variety
of military and civilian governments as well as a 36-year guerrilla
war. In 1996, the government signed a peace agreement formally
ending the conflict, which had led to the death of more than 100,000
people and had created some 1 million refugees.

Guernsey:
The island of Guernsey and the other Channel Islands
represent the last remnants of the medieval Dukedom of Normandy,
which held sway in both France and England. The islands were the
only British soil occupied by German troops in World War II.

Guinea:
Independent from France since 1958, Guinea did not hold
democratic elections until 1993 when Gen. Lansana CONTE (head of the
military government) was elected president of the civilian
government. He was reelected in 1998. Unrest in Sierra Leone has
spilled over into Guinea, threatening stability and creating a
humanitarian emergency.

Guinea-Bissau:
In 1994, 20 years after independence from Portugal,
the country's first multiparty legislative and presidential
elections were held. An army uprising that triggered a bloody civil
war in 1998, created hundreds of thousands of displaced persons. The
president was ousted by a military junta in May 1999. An interim
government turned over power in February 2000 when opposition leader
Koumba YALLA took office following two rounds of transparent
presidential elections. Guinea-Bissau's transition back to democracy
will be complicated by a crippled economy devastated by civil war
and the military's predilection for governmental meddling.

Guyana:
Guyana achieved independence from the UK in 1966 and became
a republic in 1970. In 1989 Guyana launched an Economic Recovery
Program, which marked a dramatic reversal from a state-controlled,
socialist economy towards a more open, free market system. Results
through the first decade have proven encouraging.

Haiti:
One of the poorest countries in the Western Hemisphere, Haiti
has been plagued by political violence for most of its history. Over
three decades of dictatorship followed by military rule ended in
1990 when Jean-Bertrand ARISTIDE was elected president. Most of his
term was usurped by a military takeover, but he was able to return
to office in 1994 and oversee the