The Iraq War (2003-2011)
He was the dictator of Iraq whose government was toppled in 2003.
.Who is Saddam Hussein
This tragic event on American soil was the primary cause for the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan.
What are the September 11th Attacks
This is the official name of the "Twin Towers" located in Lower Manhattan that were destroyed in the attacks.
What is the World Trade Center?
This oil-rich neighboring country was invaded by Iraq in August 1990, starting the crisis.
What is Kuwait
This ancient city is considered a "Holy City" by Jews, Christians, and Muslims alike, and is claimed as a capital by both sides
What is Jerusalem
The U.S. initially invaded Iraq because they believed the country was hiding these types of dangerous weapons.
what are Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMDs)?
This group was the ruling government of Afghanistan in 2001 that refused to hand over the leaders of Al-Qaeda.
Who are the Taliban
This five-sided building in Arlington, Virginia, serves as the headquarters for the U.S. Department of Defense and was hit by a third hijacked plane.
What is the Pentagon?
He was the U.S. President who built a massive international coalition to push Iraqi forces out of Kuwait.
Who is George H.W. Bush?
The United Nations proposed this 1947 plan to divide the land into two separate states, one for Jewish people and one for Arab people.
What is the Partition Plan?
The U.S. bombing campaign that began the invasion was known by this "electrifying" two-word name.
What is Shock and Awe?
The U.S. finally located and killed this leader of Al-Qaeda in 2011, ten years after the war began.
Who is Osama bin Laden?
After hearing about the other attacks, passengers on this specific flight fought back, causing the plane to crash into a field in Pennsylvania instead of its intended target.
What is United Flight 93?
This is the official codename of the combat phase that began with a massive air attack in January 1991.
What is Operation Desert Storm?
This is the specific name of the small, densely populated coastal territory bordered by Israel, Egypt, and the Mediterranean Sea
What is the Gaza Strip?
This is the specific month and year that the U.S. military officially ended its mission in Iraq.
What is December 2011
These local Afghan fighters worked alongside U.S. forces to help topple the Taliban during the initial 2001 invasion.
Who is the Northern Alliance?
This federal agency was created shortly after 9/11 specifically to increase security at airports and for travelers.
What is the TSA (Transportation Security Administration)?
As they retreated, Iraqi soldiers caused an environmental disaster by setting fire to hundreds of these.
What are oil wells?
Many Palestinians use this Arabic word meaning "Catastrophe" to describe their displacement during the 1948 war.
What is the Nakba
In 2007, President George W. Bush sent over 20,000 extra troops to Iraq to help stabilize the country in a strategy known as this.
What is The Surge?
This was the official military name for the initial U.S.-led mission launched in October 2001.
What is Operation Enduring Freedom?
These "first responders" entered the burning buildings to help others evacuate; more than 400 of them lost their lives on that day.
Who are Firefighters and Police Officers?
This was the initial defensive mission to protect Saudi Arabia from a possible Iraqi invasion before the fighting started.
What is Operation Desert Shield?
This 1967 conflict, which lasted less than a week, resulted in Israel capturing territories like the West Bank and Gaza.
What is the Six-Day War?