9/11
This terrorist group carried out the September 11 attacks using hijacked commercial airplanes.
What is Al Qaeda
The presence of U.S. troops in this Middle Eastern country after the Gulf War was one reason cited by bin Laden for hostility toward the U.S.
What is Saudi Arabia?
This capital city fell to the Taliban in August 2021, signaling their full return to power.
What is Kabul?
What year did the Afghanistan War start?
What is 2001?
Why did the U.S. begin the War on Terror?
What is to prevent future terrorist attacks?
What law increased security after 9/11?
What is the Patriot Act?
Who led the group?
Who is Osama bin Laden?
How did U.S. involvement change the Taliban’s power over time?
What is removed from power → regrouped → returned in 2021?
This key difference explains why the U.S. initially focused on Afghanistan in 2001 but shifted attention to Iraq in 2003.
What is Afghanistan was linked to Al-Qaeda/9/11, while Iraq was suspected of WMDs?
This structural feature of terrorist organizations makes them difficult to defeat, since eliminating one part does not destroy the whole network.
What is a decentralized (cell-based) network?
The creation of this U.S. department in 2002 was a direct response to prevent future attacks like 9/11.
What is the Department of Homeland Security?
What attack are they most known for?
What is 9/11?
This type of terrain in Afghanistan helped the Taliban resist foreign armies for decades.
What are mountains (rugged terrain)?
Who was Iraq’s leader?
Who is Saddam Hussein?
What important resource has made the Middle East strategically valuable?
What is oil?
Where did the fourth plane crash?
What is Pennsylvania?
Where were they mainly based?
What is Afghanistan?
Why did the United States demand action from the Taliban after 9/11?
What is they were sheltering Osama bin Laden?
What was the reason for invading Iraq?
What is weapons of mass destruction (WMDs)?
Why is fighting terrorist groups more difficult than fighting a country?
What is they can hide, move, and blend into civilian populations?
The global reaction to 9/11, including alliances and military cooperation, demonstrates this concept in international relations.
What is collective security?
This attack on a U.S. naval ship in 2000, linked to Al-Qaeda, occurred in a harbor in Yemen.
What is the USS Cole bombing?
One criticism of Taliban rule is its strict interpretation of this system of religious governance.
What is Sharia law?
What happened in 2021 in Afghanistan?
What is U.S. withdrawal?
The War on Terror is difficult to define as a traditional war because it targets this type of enemy rather than a single country.
What are non-state actors?