TODAY IN HISTORYToday is Wednesday, January 17, the 17th day of 2007. There are 348 days left in the year.

ON THIS DATE<$>

In 1929, King Inayatullah of Afghanistan was forced to abdicate after a coup; he had ruled for only three days.

In 1945, Soviet and Polish forces liberated Warsaw during the Second World War.

In 1961, in his farewell address, US president Dwight Eisenhower warned against the rise of “the military-industrial complex.”

THOUGHT FOR TODAY

“If there is one basic element in our Constitution, it is civilian control of the military.” — President Truman (1884-1972).