The Gulf War
In 1990 Iraq (led by dictator Saddam Hussein) invade and annexed what neighboring country?
Kuwait – This was an oil rich area in the Persian Gulf which bordered Iraq.
What is significant about Operation Desert Storm?
In less than 100 total hours, the combined forces of the US, members of NATO, and other nations decisively defeated Hussein’s Iraqi forces, which at the time was a battle-hardened force and the 4th largest army in the world.
What was significant about 9/11?
At 8am hijackers seized control of four commercial airliners filled with passengers. Two of them collided with both twin towers at the World Trade Center in Manhattan.
2nd attack on the World Trade Center associated with Al Qaeda
What did the war in Iraq do to the Western alliance
The decision to begin the war in Iraq split the Western alliance and inspired a massive anti-war movement. In February 2003, an estimated 10-15 million people worldwide demonstrated and protested against the war.
What was the Great Recession?
In late 2007 the American economy slipped into a recession and in 2008 the banking system was on the brink of collapse.
• The roots of this crisis of 2008 was a combination of public and private policies that favored economic speculation, freewheeling spending, and “get rich quick schemes” over traditional methods of economic growth and personal advancement.
What was the fear about Saddam Hussein
There was fear that Saddam Hussein would attack or invade Saudi Arabia, which was a longtime ally of the United States and their largest supplier of oil.
What was Hurricane Katrina?
In August 2005, Hurricane Katrina slammed ashore near New Orleans, Louisiana. Because the city is below sea level, protected by levees between the Mississippi river and lake Pontchar-Train it was always vulnerable to flooding.
What was the result of 9/11?
200 passengers, pilots, and flight attendants were killed on the four
airliners, a further estimated 3,000 people were killed at the World Trade Center and nearly 400 police and firefighters were killed at the World Trade Center in an effort to rescue those still within the towers.
When did the Iraq war start and who was an ally to the US?
In March 2003 the United States went to war in Iraq with Great Britain as its sole significant ally. Bush called it “Operation Iraqi Freedom” which he declared its purpose was to “defend our freedom and bring freedom to others”.
During this time were the interest rates low or high?
low
What was president Bush's role?
President Bush dispatched American troops to defend Kuwait and warned Saddam Hussein and Iraq that if they failed to withdraw their forces from Kuwait, they would then be at war.
Effects of Hurricane Katrina?
1. Flooding
2. Abandoned civilians
3. People drowned
3. People killed in hospitals and nursing homes, unable to evacuate
4. Death toll was over 1500 people
Where else did Al Qaeda bomb on this day?
They also detonated bombs at two American embassies in Africa in 1998 that killed over 200 people. But despite this the attacks of September 11th came as a complete surprise and shocked the American public.
What happened to housing prices and consumer debt?
Both increased
Hussein refused and did not withdraw any forces from Kuwait. In response the United Sates subsequently launched what major operation?
Operation Desert Storm
What was the USA Patriot Act?
This bill was over 300 pages long and granted unprecedented powers on law enforcement agencies charged with preventing the new, and vaguely defined, crime of Domestic Terrorism.
This included
power to wiretap, spy on citizens, open mail, read emails
and communications, and obtain personal records from third parties (universities/libraries) if an individual was suspected to be part of anything deemed to be a threat to national security.