Thirty-nine years ago today, on January 25, 1986 (December 16, 1985 lunar calendar), the United States broke diplomatic relations with Libya and froze assets. On January 25, 1986, the Reagan administration accused Colonel Muammar el-Qaddafi of supporting international terrorism and further exerted economic and military pressure on Libya. The United States, believing that Libya had supported terrorist attacks on Rome and Vienna airports last month, imposed trade and economic sanctions on Libya, ordered all Americans to evacuate the country, and froze Libyan assets. These measures were followed by threats of force against Libya. A US Navy task force, including two aircraft carriers, was ordered to conduct a week of military exercises in the Mediterranean Sea in northern Libya. The State Department said it wanted to show: "The United States remains determined to control international waters and air." During the naval task force's exercises north of the Gulf of Sidra, the United States government hinted at the possibility of aircraft carrier planes flying over the gulf that Libya claims as its own. When the possibility of a military conflict increased, Gaddafi, wearing a solemn blue parachute suit and a captain's hat, took on the task force in what he called a Libyan patrol boat.