On this day in 2009, former Arizona senator John McCain was sworn in as the 44th president of the United States.

On this day in 2009, at Cape Canaveral ceremonies marking the 40th anniversary of the launch of Apollo 11, President John McCain signed into law the Space Commerce & Business Act, a legislative initiative that aimed to encourage private companies to take greater interest in the economic possibilities of spaceflight by offering tax incentives to businesses that spent more than 15% of their annual R&D budgets on space technology.

On this day in 2010, British prime minister Gordon Brown stated that he would back the McCain Administration in its efforts to defend Guyana against invasion by the Hugo Chavez regime in Venezuela.

On this day in 2010, President John McCain received word from his intelligence advisors that the CIA had obtained credible evidence suggesting Venezuelan ruler Hugo Chavez was making plans to invade Guyana before the end of the year.

On this day in 2010, President John McCain met with the Guyanan ambassador to the US and gave his personal guarantee the United States would use all the resources at its disposal to defend Guyana against threats of invasion by Hugo Chavez's Venezuela.

On this day in 2010, Vice-President Sarah Palin appeared on 'Meet the Press' to denounce Hugo Chavez's refusal to back off his threat to invade Guyana.                        

On this day in 2010, Defense Secretary and former C-in-C of US forces in Iraq David Petraeus convened an emergency meeting of the Joint Chiefs of Staff to map out a military strategy for opposing Hugo Chavez's plans to invade Guyana.

On this day in 2010, Cuban president Raul Castro declared that his country stood firmly behind Venezuela in Hugo Chavez's showdown with the McCain Administration over Guyana.

On this day in 2010, the Organization of American States voted unanimously to suspend Venezuela's membership in the regional body.

On this day in 2010, Russian leader Dmitri Medvedev condemned the McCain Administration's stance on Guyana.

On this day in 2010, French president Nicholas Sarkozy announced that his country would support a US-sponsored United Nations resolution calling for Hugo Chavez to immediately cancel his plans to invade Guyana.

On this day in 2010, two Venezuelan army divisions attempted to cross the Guyanan border and were turned back by Guyanan troops.

Within minutes of that thwarted attack, US planes were launching airstrikes against major military and command/control targets across Venezuela.

On this day in 2010, US and Guyanan troops crossed the border into Venezuela.

On this day in 2010, US Secretary of Defense David Petraeus held a press conference at the Pentagon to report that US forces were engaging the Venezuelan army near Angel Falls.

On this day in 2009, the US Senate voted unanimously to confirm former C-in-C of US forces in Iraq Gen. David Petraeus as Secretary of Defense.