Unit 13: Entering the 21st Century

Persian Gulf War

(1990 - 1991) Conflict between Iraq and a coalition of countries led by the United States to remove Iraqi forces from Kuwait which they had invaded in hopes of controlling their oil supply. A very one sided war with the United States' coalition emerging victorious.

George W. Bush

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

Norman ("Stormin' Norman") Schwarzkopf

A U.S. Army officer who commanded Operation Desert Storm, the American-led military action that liberated Kuwait from Iraqi occupation in the Persian Gulf War

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

Gulf War Syndrome

A medical condition affecting many veterans of the 1991 Gulf War, causing fatigue, chronic headaches, and skin and respiratory disorders. Its origin is uncertain, though it has been attributed to exposure to a combination of pesticides, vaccines, and other chemicals.

9/11

A series of coordinated suicide attacks by al-Qaeda upon the United States on September 11, 2001. Terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon; led to a focus on eliminating terrorism.

9/11 Planes

American Airlines Flight 11: Hit North World Trade Center Tower United Airlines Flight 175: Hit South World Trade Center Tower American Airlines Flight 77: Hit Western side of the Pentagon United Flight 93: Hit a rural field in Somerset County, Pennsylvania. Possible targets were the White House, Camp David, the Capitol building, or a nuclear power plant.

Occupation

As the US tried to help create a newly _freely elected government they were met with opposition Guerrilla forces in Iraq fought against US occupation and against _one another Leading to a "Civil War" in Iraq and the development of terror organizations US troops were withdrawn starting in 2007, with a full withdrawal in 2011 At this point, Iraq has become responsible for its stability In 2014, President Obama returned US troops to Iraq (which still remain) to help the Iraqi government in their fight against groups like ISIS.

Impacts of Iraq War

As the US tried to help create a newly _freely elected government they were met with opposition Guerrilla forces in Iraq fought against US occupation and against one another Leading to a "Civil War" in Iraq and the development of terror organizations US troops were withdrawn starting in 2007, with a full withdrawal in 2011 At this point, Iraq has become responsible for its stability In 2014, President Obama returned US troops to Iraq (which still remain) to help the Iraqi government in their fight against groups like ISIS .

Election of 1996: Clinton (D) v. Dole (R)

Bill Clinton (D) v. Bob Dole (R). Dole, Senate majority leader, faced off with Clinton. Clinton had made a comeback and took credit for a rebounding economy and depicted the Republicans as extremists while Dole pinned his hope on the appeal of a promised 15% tax cut.. Voter turnout was low, but Clinton became the first Democrat since FDR to be elected for a second term. He garnered 49.2% of the popular vote.

Election of 1992

Bill Clinton won over George H.W. Bush because of the economy's problems and the solving of foreign policy problems, Bush's greatest strength.

Oklahoma City Bombing

Bombing of Murrah Federal Building. The blast, set off by Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols, killed 168 people, including 19 children in the building's day-care center.

Taliban and Al Qaeda

Bush announced a military campaign to uproot this and its protectors, the Pakistan-trained Islamist group called this, which had seized power in Afghanistan in 1996. Battered by US bombing they soon surrendered Kabul (the Afghan capital) and other strongholds. 600+ members of this were transferred to prison facilities in Guantanamo, Cuba. Afghanistan remained violent and unstable because these insurgents carried out periodic bombings and other attacks.

Reason's Bush feared Iraq

Bush feared Iraq's potential for attack because: Iraq's continued possession of WMDs Accusations of a relationship with al-Qaeda (No evidence to support this!) Feared Saddam could give WMDs to terror groups UN demanded that Iraq allow inspectors back into Iraq Iraq complied, but US and Great Britain had complaints

Operation Desert Shield

Bush place embargo on Iraq, put military in Saudi, West Europe and Arabs now against Iraq to defend them.

Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols

Domestic terrorists responsible for the Oklahoma City attacks. Did it because they believed the government was corrupt, so they attacked buildings.

Kuwait invasion (1990)

Financially exhausted by its eight-year war with Iran, Iraq needed Kuwait's oil to pay its huge war bills. Saddam's larger design was ironfisted control over the entire Persian Gulf region, and eventually dictating the terms of oil supplies to the industrial nations. He sent his armies to overrun Kuwait on August 2, 1990.

Osama Bin Laden

Founder of al Qaeda, the terrorist network responsible for the attacks of September 11, 2001, and other attacks.

Newt Gingrich

Gingrich was the Republican speaker in the House. He pushed for more conservative legislation during Clinton's presidency.

Bill Clinton's impeachment

Impeached for perjury, suborning perjury, and obstruction of justice stemming from his affair with intern Monica Lewinsky; he was acquitted of all charges.

Contract with America

In the 1994 congressional elections, Congressman Newt Gingrich had Republican candidates sign a document in which they pledged their support for such things as a balanced budget amendment, term limits for members of Congress, and a middle-class tax cut.

War on Terror

Initiated by President George W. Bush after the attacks of September 11, 2001, the broadly defined war on terror aimed to weed out terrorist operatives and their supporters throughout the world.

Brady Bill

Law passed in 1993 requiring a waiting period on sales of handguns, along with a criminal background check on the buyer.

Operation Desert Storm

Military operations that started on January 16, 1991, with a bombing campaign, followed by a ground invasion of February 23 and 24, 1991. The ground war lasted 100 hours and resulted in a spectacularly one-sided military victory for the Coalition.

Gulf War Impact

Millions of gallons of oil dumped in Persian Gulf and surrounding desert; Oil fields lit and burned for months. American troops being in Saudi Arabia angered al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, seemingly causing him to launch terroristic attacks on the United States. The United States would be locked in a war with Iraq for the next 15 years due to President Bush deciding not to overthrow Saddam Hussein. An estimated 20,000-35,000 Iraqi troops and civilians were killed, with only 300 coalition troops being killed in battle. The Persian Gulf War led to a higher media coverage of wars moving forward due to news stations like CNN launching live coverage of the events.

Operation Iraqi Freedom

Operation where U.S. troops invaded Iraq and Saddam's forces collapsed almost immediately. Baghdad fell, and Saddam and other Iraqi leaders went into hiding. In the months that followed Saddam and many of his supporters were captured

Impact of Afghanistan War

Osama bin Laden would be killed in Pakistan, the Taliban overthrown from power in government, al-Qaeda largely destoyed

Operation Enduring Freedom

President George W. Bush; the united states and its allies invade the country of Afghanistan in order to remove the Taliban from power after the 9/11 attacks.

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 United States and its allies in the Gulf War (1991). Defeated by US led invasion in 2003.

Overthrowing Saddam

Remove Saddam Hussein from power in Iraq Eliminate Hussein's ability to develop weapons of mass destruction and use them with terrorists. Hussein fled into hiding, was captured in 2003 and executed in 2006.

Bush's Ultimatum to Saddam Hussein

Saddam Hussein must leave Iraq within 48 hours, refusal will result in military action

Al Gore

Served as the 45th Vice President of the United States from 1993 to 2001 under President Bill Clinton. Ran for President in 2000 and won popular vote but lost Electoral College

Bush's Ultimatum to the Taliban

Taliban must do the following or face an invasion: deliver Al-Qaeda leaders (including Bin Laden) to USA, release all US citizens in jails, protect foreigners in Afghanistan, Close terrorist facilities. Taliban refuse to negotiate with Bush because he is a non-Muslim. Bush invades Afghanistan

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.

American response to invasion on Kuwait

They called for Iraq to withdraw from Kuwait, but they refused, so the U.S. coalition launched three separate attacks on the Iraqis, with all of them working.

Ross Perot

This billionaire was a third-party candidate in the 1992 presidential election won 19 percent of the popular vote. His strong showing that year demonstrated voter disaffection with the two major parties.

Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA)

U.S act that provides employees with up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave to care for family members or because of a serious health condition of the employee.

Department of Homeland Security

US federal agency created in 2002 to coordinate national efforts against terrorism

Florida's Impact on 2000 Election

Without their 25 electoral votes, neither Gore or Bush would get 270 electoral votes. Since the voting in Florida was so close. state law required a recount using a vote-counting machine. Gore asked for hand recounts in several other counties and debates started over how to conduct recounts, leading to lawsuits until it eventually reached up to the supreme court. The Supreme Court ruled that the hand recounts of votes in Florida violated the equal protection clause of the Constitution. It was determined there was not enough time to conduct a recount that would follow constitutional standard, so Bush was determined to be the winner of Florida.

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

Operation Desert Sabre

coordinated air-land offensive that retook Kuwait City

U.N. weapons inspectors in Iraq

looking for WMD's after Saddam was told to get rid of them in 1991. Found about 85%

George H.W. Bush

president during the Gulf War, ability to quickly bring the war to a conclusion while suffering relatively few casualties resulted in the second-highest approval rating of any president, 89%

Terrorism Definition

the use of violence and intimidation in the pursuit of political aims.

Afghanistan War

to find/kill Osama Bin Laden, destroy Al Qaeda, remove the Taliban from power and; help build a nation better for its citizens than what we found