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Russiagate

"Russiagate"—the alleged collusion of the Russian government with Donald Trump ahead of the 2016 U.S. presidential election

First Intifada

("Uprising" in Arabic, 1987) uprising against Israeli rule in Palestinian Territories. It included strikes, boycotts, refusal to pay taxes and stone throwing at IDF a sustained series of protests and violent riots carried out by Palestinians in the Palestinian Territories and Israel.

Osama Bin Laden

(1957-) Founder of al Qaeda, the terrorist network responsible for the attacks of September 11, 2001, and other attacks. a Saudi Arabian-born militant and founder of the pan-Islamic militant organization Al-Qaeda. The group is designated as a terrorist group by the United Nations Security Council,

Iranian Revolution

(1978-1979) a revolution against the shah of Iran led by the Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, which resulted in Iran becoming an Islamic republic with Khomeini as its leader

Atlantic Charter

1941-Pledge signed by US president FDR and British prime minister Winston Churchill not to acquire new territory as a result of WWII and to work for peace after the war outlined the postwar world as follows 1. no territorial aggrandizement 2. no territorial changes made against the wishes of the people 3. restoration of self-government to those deprived of it 4. reduction of trade restrictions 5. global co-operation to secure better economic and social conditions for all 6. freedom from fear and want 7. freedom of the seas 8. abandonment of the use of force 9. disarmament of aggressor nations.

The Battles of Fallujah

1st: U.S. military campaign during the Iraq War to pacify the Iraq city of Fallujah, rid it of extremists and insurgents, and find those responsible for the March 31 ambush and killing of four American military contractors. 2nd: joint American, Iraqi, and British military campaign during the Iraq War that crushed the Islamic insurgents in Fallujah, Iraq, in the Sunni Muslim province of Al-Anbar. After the First Battle of Fallujah

Department of Homeland Securit

2002 works to improve the security of the United States. The Department's work includes customs, border, and immigration enforcement, emergency response to natural and manmade disasters, antiterrorism work, and cybersecurity.

John Paul II

20th century pope from Poland who is credited with helping end Communist rule in Europe and improving the Catholic Church's relations with Judaism and Islam (1920- 2005) In 1978, this Pole became the first non-Italian Pope in 400 years. He helped end Communism in Eastern Europe.

Ronald Reagan

40th president of the US first elected president in 1980 and elected again in 1984. He ran on a campaign based on the common man and "populist" ideas. He served as governor of California from 1966-1974, and he participated in the McCarthy Communist scare. Iran released hostages on his Inauguration Day in 1980. While president, he developed Reagannomics, the trickle down effect of government incentives. He cut out many welfare and public works programs. He used the Strategic Defense Initiative to avoid conflict. His meetings with Gorbachev were the first steps to ending the Cold War. He was also responsible for the Iran-contra Affair which bought hostages with guns.

George W. Bush

43rd president of the US who began a campaign toward energy self-sufficiency and against terrorism in 2001

Barack Obama

44th president 2008; Democrat; first African American president of the US, health care bill; Gulf of Mexico oil spill disaster; economy: huge stimulus package to combat the great recession, is removing troops from Iraq, strengthened numbers in Afghanistan; repeal of Don't Ask Don't Tell; New Start treaty with Russia

Donald Trump

45th president of the United States

Joe Biden

46th president of the United States

Moammar Gaddafi

A Libyan revolutionary, politician, and political theorist. He governed Libya as Revolutionary Chairman of the Libyan Arab Republic from 1969 to 1977, and then as the "Brotherly Leader" of the Great Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya from 1977 to 2011. He was initially ideologically committed to Arab nationalism and Arab socialism but later ruled according to his own Third International Theory.

Houthis

A Yemeni revolutionary Shi'a group founded in 1994. The Houthis led a rebellion against the Government of Yemen in 2004 and 2011. The Houthis belong to the Shi'a tribesmen with a separate sect of Islam, making up about 45% of the population of Yemen

Cold War

A conflict that was between the US and the Soviet Union post WW2. The nations never directly confronted each other on the battlefield but deadly threats went on for years. a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term cold war is used because there was no large-scale fighting directly between the two superpowers, but they each supported opposing sides in major regional conflicts known as proxy wars. The conflict was based on the ideological and geopolitical struggle for global influence by these two superpowers, following their temporary alliance and victory against Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan in 1945.

Taliban

A fundamentalist Muslim movement whose militia took control of much of Afghanistan from early 1995, and in 1996 took Kabul and set up a radical Islamic state. The movement was forcibly removed from power by the US and its allies after the September 11, 2001, attacks

Camp David Accords

A peace treaty between Israel and Egypt where Egypt agreed to recognize the nation-state of Israel (1978) were negotiated at the presidential retreat of Camp David by Egypt's Anwar Sadat and Israel Menachem Begin; they were brokered by U.S. President Jimmy Carter. They led to a peace treaty the next year that returned the Sinai Peninsula to Egypt, guaranteed Israeli access to the Red Sea and Suez Canal, and more-or-less normalized diplomatic and economic relations between the two countries. This isolated Egypt from the other Arab countries and led to Sadat's assassination in 1981.

Bush Doctrine

A policy adopted by the Bush administration in 2001 that asserts America's right to attack any nation that has weapons of mass destruction that might be used against U.S. interests at home or abroad.

Hezbollah

A radical Shiʿite Muslim organization in Lebanon engaged in guerrilla warfare against Israel

Arab Spring

A series of popular revolts in several countries in the Middle East and North Africa that sought an end to authoritarian, often Western-supported regimes. A series of public protests, strikes, and rebellions in the Arab countries, often facilitated by social media, that have called for fundamental government and economic reforms.

Iraq War

A war fought to end Sadaam Hussein's influence in Iraq and disarm them of WMD's An armed conflict in Iraq that consisted of two phases. an invasion force led by the United States and a phase of fighting, in which an insurgency emerged to oppose coalition forces

AQAP

Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula. Militant Islamist organization, primarily active in Yemen and Saudi Arabia.

Edward Snowden

American computer specialist who worked for NSA contractors and said that he was an employee of the CIA and NSA before leaking details of several top-secret United States and British government mass surveillance programs to the press. exiled to russia

Warsaw Pact

An alliance between the Soviet Union and other Eastern European nations. This was in response to the NATO treaty signed in 1945 that formed an alliance of the Eastern European countries behind the Iron Curtain; USSR, Albania, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, East Germany, Hungary, Poland, and Romania

Yemen Crisis

Began with the revolution against dictator Saleh; Houthi rebels have since taken over interim government. Has become proxy conflict for Saudi Arabia and Iran; with the people suffering from cholera and famine.

Chechen Wars

Between Russia and Chechnya, over the sovereignty of Chechnya, Russia wins 1994-6 1st War, 1999-200 2nd War -The newly forming Russian government did not concede to all nationalist-minded groups, most notably those in the Caucasus Mountains. primarily Sunni Muslims. Failed jihads to establish a Chechnya independent of Russian influence occurred throughout the 20th century -the guerrilla warfare by the Chechen separatists, supported by mujahedeen forces demoralized t federal forces leading to a ceasefire and peace treaty in 1996.

Letter to America

Bin Landen's writings for his justification of the use of terror against the United States We are fighting and opposing you because you have attacked and continue to attack us The creation of Israel is one of the greatest crimes, and you are the leaders of its criminals You steal our wealth and oil at paltry prices because of your international influence and military threats 1.5 million Iraqi children have died as a result of your sanctions, and you did not show concern. Yet when 3,000 of your people died, the entire world rises The American people are the ones who chose their government by way of their own free will; a choice which stems form their agreement to its policies. Thus the American people have chosen, consented to, and affirmed their support for the Israeli oppression of the Palestinians American people are the ones who pay the taxes which fund the planes that bomb us in Afghanistan, the tanks that strike and destroy our homes in Palestine The American people are the ones who fund the attacks against us, and they are the ones who oversee the expenditure of these monies in the way they wish, through their elected candidates We are calling you to Islam

East African Campaign

British forces, consisting of colonial troops from India and Africa, along with Free France and Belgium fighters engaged the Italian military in Ethiopia. In 1941, Selassie crossed the border from Sudan into Ethiopia; on May 5 he entered Addis Ababa. The East African campaign was fought in East Africa during the Second World War by Allies of World War II, mainly from the British Empire, against Italy and its colony of Italian East Africa, between June 1940 and November 1941

Colin Powell

Colin Powell was an American military general and leader during the Persian Gulf War. He played a crucial role in planning and attaining America's victory in the Persian Gulf and Panama.. He was also the first black four star general and chairman of the Joint Chief of Staff.

Axis of Evil

Created in 2002 by George W. Bush to show the "bad guys" which include: Iran, Iraq, and N. Korea

Fidel Castro

Cuban socialist leader who overthrew a dictator in 1959 and established a Marxist socialist state in Cuba (born in 1927) a Cuban revolutionary and politician who was the leader of Cuba from 1959 to 2008, serving as the prime minister of Cuba from 1959 to 1976 and president from 1976 to 2008.

Volodymyr Zelensky

Current President of Ukraine and currently fighting Russia in the Ukrainian-Russian war Bethany's Chicken

Muslim Brotherhood

Egyptian religious and nationalist movement founded by Hasan al-Banna in 1928; became an example for later fundamentalist movements in the Islamic world. declared war on Assad's father. Radical Jihadists who want a strict Islamic state

Eisenhower Doctrine

Eisenhower proposed and obtained a joint resolution from Congress authorizing the use of U.S. military forces to intervene in any country that appeared likely to fall to communism. Used in the Middle East. Policy of the US that it would defend the Middle East against attack by any Communist country

Haile Selassie

Emperor of Ethiopia (r. 1930-1974) and symbol of African independence. He fought the Italian invasion of his country in 1935 and regained his throne during World War II, when British forces expelled the Italians. He ruled Ethiopia as an autocrat. (809)

CIA drone war

From Somalia to Iraq and Afghanistan to Yemen, the U.S. military and the CIA have engaged in secretive drone strikes that have killed thousands of civilians and led to political blowback against the United States. Between 2004 and 2018, the United States government attacked thousands of targets in northwest Pakistan using unmanned aerial vehicles (drones) operated by the United States Air Force under the operational control of the CIA

David Petraeus

General who was a commander of US forces in Afghanistan as well as the head of the Multi-National Force in Iraq (MNF-I); oversaw all coalition forces in Iraq from 2007-2008; proponent of the surge and of the Take-Clear-Hold-Rebuild Strategy because of its success in cities in Iraq. Later became the head of the CIA.

Gamal Abdel Nasser

He led the coup which toppled the monarchy of King Farouk and started a new period of modernization and socialist reform in Egypt Arab leader, set out to modernize Egypt and end western domination, nationalized the Suez canal, led two wars against the Zionist state, remained a symbol of independence and pride, returned to socialism, nationalized banks and businesses, limited economic policies

Isis

Islamic State of Iraq and Syria a militant Islamist group and former unrecognized quasi-state that follows the Salafi jihadist branch of Sunni Islam

Boko Haram

Islamic terrorist group based in northeastern Nigeria that since 2009 has launched a violent insurgency a Nigerian militant Islamist group that seeks the imposition of Shariah law throughout all 36 states of Nigeria an Islamist militant organization based in northeastern Nigeria, which is also active in Chad, Niger, northern Cameroon, and Mali

Lebanese Civil War

Lasted from 1975 to 1990. Was a religious conflict between Christians and the PLO, Sunni Muslims and Shi'a Muslims. After war, equal seats were given in Parliament to Christians and Muslims 1975 Lebanese Civil War began with violence between Phalangists (militant Maronite Christians) and the Lebanese National Movement Muslims and Christians fighting in Lebanon

Apartheid

Laws (no longer in effect) in South Africa that physically separated different races into different geographic areas. A social policy or racial segregation involving political and economic and legal discrimination against non-whites. a system of institutionalized racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa from 1948 to the early 1990s

Libya Civil War

Libyan civilians protesting in favour of the government which was later overthrown. The First Libyan Civil War was an armed conflict in 2011 in the North African country of Libya that was fought between forces loyal to Colonel Muammar Gaddafi and rebel groups that were seeking to oust his government.

Syrian Proxy War

Many people were unhappy about the high levels of unemployment, widespread corruption and lack of political freedom. Inspired by the 'Arab spring' uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt, peaceful protests started in March. However, the peaceful demonstrations were met by swift government opposition. When the government used deadly force to crush the dissent, protests erupted nationwide. The violence rapidly escalated, eventually giving way to a brutal war. The conflict began as a Syrian uprising against the Government of Syria and its leader, President Bashar al-Assad. Since then, many groups have joined the fighting, with many fighting each other. These groups include the Free Syrian Army (FSA), Kurdish Rebel Fighters, so-called Islamic State, Jabhat Fath al-Sham, Hezbollah and the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).

NATO

North Atlantic Treaty Organization; an alliance made to defend one another if they were attacked by any other country; US, England, France, Canada, Western European countries an international organization created in 1949 by the North Atlantic Treaty for purposes of collective security

Benghazi Scandal

On September 11, 2012, at 9:40 pm local time, members of Ansar al-Sharia attacked the American diplomatic compound in Benghazi resulting in the deaths of both United States Ambassador to Libya J. Christopher Stevens and U.S. Foreign Service Information Management Officer Sean Smith.

PLO

Palestine Liberation Organization a political movement uniting Palestinian Arabs in an effort to create an independent state of Palestine

Ba'ath Party

Political Party in Power in Iraq (Saddam is a Baathist) wanted strong independent Iraq "Free of Western Influence" believes in free religious practice but needs to support Syria militarily religiously diverse (NOT backed by the US) From its very beginning, the party was a manifestation of Arab nationalist thought, with the party itself self-describing as "The Party of Arab Unity" (most widely supported by the people)

Saddam Hussein

President of Iraq from 1979 to 2003. Waged war on Iran in 1980-1988. In 1990 he ordered an invasion of Kuwait but was defeated by the United States and its allies in the Gulf War (1991). Defeated by a US-led invasion in 2003. Was a dictator in Iraq who tried to take over Iran and Kuwait violently in order to gain land and resources. He also refused to let the UN into Iraq in order to check if the country was secretly holding weapons of mass destruction.

black sites

Secret prisons operated by the CIA outside the U.S. territories a black site is a location at which an unacknowledged black operation or black project is conducted. A 2021 Associated Press news story defined black sites as "clandestine jails where prisoners generally are not charged with a crime and have no legal recourse, with no bail or court order."

Ayatollah Khomeini

Shiite religious leader of Iran, led the 1979 Islamic Revolution in Iran and ordered the invasion of the US Embassy. led the overthrow of the shah of Iran in 1979 and created an Islamic Republic of Iran.

Nelson Mandela

South African statesman who was released from prison to become the nation's first democratically elected president in 1994 (born in 1918) a South African anti-apartheid activist and politician who served as the first president of South Africa from 1994 to 1999. He was the country's first black head of state and the first elected in a fully representative democratic election

Ron Paul

Texas Representative, ran for president under libertarian platform. Spoke out against the war on terror The interventionists will do anything to prevent Americans from seeing that their foreign policies are perpetuating terrorism and inspiring others to seek to harm us. The neocons know that when it is understood that blowback is real -- that people seek to attack us not because we are good and free but because we bomb and occupy their countries -- their stranglehold over foreign policy will begin to slip.

Cuban Missile Crisis

The 1962 confrontation between US and the Soviet Union over Soviet missiles in Cuba. The Cuban Missile Crisis of October 1962 was a direct and dangerous confrontation between the United States and the Soviet Union during the Cold War and was the moment when the two superpowers came closest to nuclear conflict

Vietnam Syndrome

The belief that the United States should be extremely cautious in deploying its military forces overseas emerged after the end of the Vietnam War. reluctance to use military force abroad because of the psychological trauma caused by different aspects of the Vietnam War

Polish Solidarity

The first non-communist party-controlled trade union in a Warsaw Pact country. In the 1980s it constituted a broad anti-bureaucratic social movement, using the methods of civil resistance to advance the causes of workers' rights and social change. Is a Polish trade union federation founded in September 1980 at the Gdańsk Shipyard, and originally led by Lech Wałęsa. Solidarity was the first non-communist party-controlled trade union in a Warsaw Pact country. In the 1980s it constituted a broad anti-bureaucratic social movement. The government attempted to destroy the union during the period of martial law in the early 1980s and several years of political repression, but in the end, it was forced to start negotiating with the union.

African Union

The organization that replaced the Organization of African Unity in 2001; designed to bring about increased political and economic integration of African states. organization formed in 2002 to promote unity among African states and to foster development and end poverty

Blowback

The propensity for actions undertaken for national security to have the unintended consequence of provoking retaliatory attacks when relations later sour. the unintended adverse results of a political action or situation

Iran-Iraq War

The war began when Iraq invaded Iran on September 22 1980 following a long history of border disputes and fears of Shia insurgency among Iraq's long suppressed Shia majority influenced by Iran's Islamic revolution. Fought over religious differences, this war lasted many years, from 1980 to 1988.

Dwight Eisenhower

Thirty-fourth President Became Allied military commander during WWII and led forces in North Africa, Italy, and England Signed the truce in 1953 to end Korean War Sent troops into Little Rock, Arkansas, to ensure desegregation Gave momentum to the desegregation movement

John McCain

This Arizona Republican senator was a prisoner of war during the Vietnam War and is seeking the Republican nomination in the 2008 presidential election

PATRIOT Act

This law passed after 9/11 expanded the tools used to fight terrorism and improved communication between law enforcement and intelligence agencies The Patriot Act is a U.S. law granting law enforcement more powers to prevent terrorist attacks. The act, USA PATRIOT, is an acronym for "Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism

Dick Cheney

This vice president under George W. Bush is regarded as one of the most powerful vice presidents in U.S. history. He oversaw the War on Terror and the 2nd Persian Gulf War.

James Mattis

US Secretary of Defense he commanded forces in the Persian Gulf War, the War in Afghanistan, and the Iraq War.

Wikileaks

Unaffiliated online source that posts secret government and corporate documents. Designed to correct abusive practices and promote public dialogue and involvement

NATO bombing of Serbia

What NATO decided to do when the Yugoslavian civil war created too many deaths. The US reluctantly supported (fearing another Vietnam). Eventually, there was enough destruction that both sides agreed to peace talks carried out an aerial bombing campaign against the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia during the Kosovo War. The air strikes lasted from 24 March 1999 to 10 June 1999

Hilary Clinton

Wife of President Clinton and later a woman member of the United States Senate. Most prominent First Lady. Had a prominent career of her own as a lawyer. Secretary of State under Obama

AQI

Zarqawi formally joined Al Qaeda and renamed his organization Tanzim Qaidat al-Jihad fi Bilad al-Rafidayn Zarqawi, known as Al Qaeda in Iraq (AQI) in English. Despite the official pledge of allegiance to Osama bin Laden, Zarqawi and Al Qaeda leadership still differed on some key strategic and tactical issues. Disagreements included AQ's willingness to cooperate with other opposition groups and its focus on the United States and the West rather than "near enemies."

AbuMusab al-Zarqawi

a Jordanian jihadist who ran a terrorist training camp in Afghanistan formed the AQI He became known after going to Iraq and being responsible for a series of bombings, beheadings, and attacks during the Iraq War, reportedly "turning an insurgency against US troops" in Iraq "into a Shia-Sunni civil war

Yasser Arafat

a Palestinian political leader. He was Chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization from 1969 to 2004 and President of the Palestinian National Authority Nasser and other Arab leaders established the Palestinian Liberation Organization PLO in Cairo and in the early 1960a, two dozen African nations gained independence. The argument against Israel was that there was a need for decolonization Palestinian statesman who is chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization (born in 1929)

Vladimir Putin

a Russian politician and former intelligence officer, serving as the current president of Russia. Putin has served continuously as president or prime minister since 1999: as prime minister from 1999 to 2000 and from 2008 to 2012, and as president from 2000 to 2008 and since 2012 elected president of Russia in 2000, launched reforms aimed at boosting growth and budget revenues and keeping Russia on a strong economic track.

Thabo Mbeki

a South African politician who was the second black president of South Africa from 14 June 1999 to 24 September 2008, when he resigned at the request of his party, the African National Congress he took power after Mandela, poverty was an issue, crime skyrocketed, the gaps between rich and poor widened, and despite all the assistance given by the government, change has been slow.

Bashar al-Assad

a Syrian politician who has served as the 19th president of Syria since 17 July 2000. In addition, he is the commander-in-chief of the Syrian Armed Forces and the secretary-general of the Central Command of the Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party, which nominally espouses a neo-Ba'athist ideology

Ghouta Chemical attacks

a chemical attack carried out by the forces of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, in the early hours of 21 August 2013 in Ghouta, Syria during the Syrian civil war. Two opposition-controlled areas in the suburbs around Damascus were struck by rockets containing the chemical agent sarin. Estimates of the death toll range from at least 281 people to 1,729. The attack was the deadliest use of chemical weapons since the Iran-Iraq War

Timber Sycamore program

a classified weapons supply and training program run by the United States CIA and supported by some Arab intelligence services, including Saudi intelligence. Launched in 2012 or 2013, it supplied money, weaponry and training to Syrian opposition militias of the Free Syrian Army fighting Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in the Syrian civil war.

Fort Hood Massacre

a mass shooting took place at Fort Hood, near Killeen, Texas. Nidal Hasan, a U.S. Army major and psychiatrist, fatally shot 13 people and injured more than 30 others

Al Qaeda

a network of Islamic terrorist organizations, led by Osama bin Laden, that carried out the attacks on the US embassies in Tanzania and Kenya in 1998, the USS Cole in Yemen in 2000, and the World Trade Center and the Pentagon in 2001

Julian Assange

an Australian editor, publisher and Founder of WikiLeaks whose goal is to bring important news and information to the public. They provide safe and anonymous ways for sources to leak information to their journalists

Winter Soldier: Iraq & Afghanistan

an event at which more than 200 U.S. military veterans and active duty soldiers, as well as Iraqi and Afghan civilians, provided accounts of their experiences in Iraq and Afghanistan. The event was inspired by the Winter Soldier Investigation of 1971

United Nations

an organization of independent states formed after WW2 in 1945 to promote international peace and security an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and serve as a centrer for harmonizing the actions of nations.

Color-Coded Revolution

anti-government protests encouraged directly or indirectly by the US and NATO

Ayman al-Zawahiri

bin Laden's right hand man, Egyptian, doctor, has led Al Qaeda ever since bin Laden's death

the Redirection

by Seymour Hersh In the past few months, as the situation in Iraq has deteriorated, the Bush Administration, in both its public diplomacy and its covert operations, has significantly shifted its Middle East strategy. The "redirection," as some inside the White House have called the new strategy, has brought the United States closer to an open confrontation with Iran and, in parts of the region, propelled it into a widening sectarian conflict between Shiite and Sunni Muslims. To undermine Iran, which is predominantly Shiite, the Bush Administration has decided, in effect, to reconfigure its priorities in the Middle East. In Lebanon, the Administration has coöperated with Saudi Arabia's government, which is Sunni, in clandestine operations that are intended to weaken Hezbollah, the Shiite organization that is backed by Iran. The U.S. has also taken part in clandestine operations aimed at Iran and its ally Syria. A by-product of these activities has been the bolstering of Sunni extremist groups that espouse a militant vision of Islam and are hostile to America and sympathetic to Al Qaeda.

Shia Crescent

crescent-shaped region of the Middle East where the majority population is Shia or where there is a strong Shia minority in the population. In recent years the term has come to identify areas under Iranian influence or control, as Iran has sought to unite all Shia Muslims under one banner. On the other hand, this concept shows the increasing political weight of Shia in the Middle East Lebanon, Syria, Bahrain, Iraq, Iran, Azerbaijan, Yemen, and western Afghanistan

Suez Crisis

crisis in which Britain and France attempted to seize control of the Suez canal from Egypt July 26, 1956, Nasser (leader of Egypt) nationalized the Suez Canal, Oct. 29, British, French and Israeli forces attacked Egypt. UN forced British to withdraw; made it clear Britain was no longer a world power

Address to the Nation on Syria

given by President Obama Over the past two years, what began as a series of peaceful protests against the repressive regime of Bashar al-Assad has turned into a brutal civil war. Over 100,000 people have been killed. Millions have fled the country. In that time, America has worked with allies to provide humanitarian support, to help the moderate opposition, and to shape a political settlement. But I have resisted calls for military action, because we cannot resolve someone else's civil war through force, particularly after a decade of war in Iraq and Afghanistan. The situation profoundly changed, though, on August 21st, when Assad's government gassed to death over a thousand people, including hundreds of children. we know the Assad regime was responsible. In the days leading up to August 21st, we know that Assad's chemical weapons personnel prepared for an attack near an area where they mix sarin gas. They distributed gasmasks to their troops Let me explain why. If we fail to act, the Assad regime will see no reason to stop using chemical weapons. I determined that it is in the national security interests of the United States to respond to the Assad regime's use of chemical weapons through a targeted military strike. The purpose of this strike would be to deter Assad from using chemical weapons, to degrade his regime's ability to use them, and to make clear to the world that we will not tolerate their use.

Somalian Civil War

in 1992 , hundreds of thousand have dies when warring militants stole food sent to Somalia from international relief agencies an armed conflict in Somalia that started in 1991, following the overthrow of the dictator, Siad Barre. The former British Empire of Somaliland, which had merged with Italian Somalia in 1960, declared unilateral independence in 1991, but has not attracted international recognition

Chelsea Manning

is a United States Army soldier who was convicted in July 2013 of violations of the Espionage Act and other offenses, after releasing the largest set of confidential documents ever leaked to the public.

Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi

leader of ISIS and "Self Proclaimed" Caliph Baghdadi directed the use of extremely controversial tactics, including the mass use of suicide bombings and the execution of prisoners of war.

Margaret Thatcher

leader of conservatives in Great Britain who came to power. Pledged to limit social welfare, restrict union power, and end inflation. Formed Thatcherism, in which her economic policy was termed, and improved the British economic situation. She dominated British politics in the 1980s, and her government tried to replace local property taxes with a flat-rate tax payable by every adult. Her popularity fell and resigned. "Soviet Marxism is ideologically, politically, and morally bankrupt, but militarily, the soviet union is a powerful and growing threat" Wanted to go after Communism

Seymour Hersh

reporter who breaks news of My Lai Massacre. News breaks under Nixon even though it occurred under Johnson, and Nixon gets the blame for it. this event was a big push for the end of the war an American investigative journalist and political writer. He gained recognition in 1969 for exposing the My Lai massacre and its cover-up during the Vietnam War

Backdraft

short term-immediate backlash EX: you killed my brother so I will not immediately go attack the US

Neoconservatism

the belief that, rather than exercising restraint, the United States should aggressively use its might to promote its values and ideals around the world Perspective advocating military strength and the promotion of American values abroad.

Military Industrial Complex Speech

this was Eisenhower's farewell address, in which he warned the nation about the increasing power of the military-industry complex. Eisenhower first coined this phrase when he warned Americans against it in his last State of the Union Address. He feared that the combined lobbying efforts of the armed services and industries contracted with the military would lead to excessive Congressional spending.

Soviet-Afghan War

war between Afghanistan and USSR. Afghanistan wins with the help of the US. Big defeat for the USSR. The Soviets invade Afghanistan, many people support Afghanistan through the context of the Cold War and to prevent the spread of Communism.

al-Nusra

was a Salafi-Jihadist militant organization fighting against Syrian government forces in the Syrian Civil War Its aim was to overthrow Bashar al-Assad's Ba'athist government and establish an Islamic state in Syria

Che Guevara

was an Argentine Marxist revolutionary, physician, author, intellectual, guerrilla leader, diplomat, military theorist, and Fidel Castro's chief lieutenant in the Cuban Revolution. Since his death, his stylized visage has become a ubiquitous counter-cultural symbol.

Mohammad Mosaddegh

was the democratically elected Prime Minister of Iran from 1951 to 1953 when he was overthrown in a coup d'état backed by the United States Central Intelligence Agency