Monday- Perestrokia and Glasnost
symbol of the cold war- The Berlin Wall- wall coming down symbol of end of the cold war
Boris Yeltsin- first democratic president of Russia-1991-1999
Why did the US win the cold war?
We had close ties with our allies and the USSR didn't.
China started siding with us after 1972
Soviet economy was in shambles whereas the US's was flourishing
Huge deficit, High inflation, corruption, social problems, shortage of basic needs, (food, housing)
1979- Soviet Union invades Afghanistan
Gorbacgev's willingness for change and reform
- glasnost and perestrokia- admitted Soviet mistakes-took blame for the cold war-communist system had failed- allowed Eastern Europe to do what they wanted
Arms Reduction Talks
SALT, INF, Reagan-Gorbachev meetings
Soviet Mistakes- invasion of Afghanistan- asked to come in by the Afghan government- ignoring social concerns - spent everything on military
Post cold war- In the 1990's, the world seemed to be a much more peaceful place- President Clinton closed down numerous military bases around the country reducing the size of the US military
9-11 caught the US off guard
What impact did the Fall of the Soviet Union and Communism have on Europe and the world?
- New countries broke out of the USSR- Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Belarus, Ukraine, Moldova, Georgia, Armenia
No more European countries that are communist- rise of democracy and capitalism throughout Europe
Ethnic cleansing and Wars- Yugoslavia, Serbia, Kosovo, Montenegro, Macedonia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia, and Slovenia
Rise of Islamic Groups- Taliban, Al-Qaeda
US only major superpower left
Remembering 9-11
What happened? Why did they attack us? Who?
September 11, 2001 - New York, Arlington/DC- Shanksville
4 airlines were hijacked by al-qaeda
2 crash in the world trade center
2,606 people were killed that day- civilians working in the towers, firefighters, policemen
Arlington, Virginia/DC
9:37 plane crashed in the Pentagon
189 people were killed
Shanksville, Pennysylvania,
people rushed the cockpit and took over plane to stop from crashing into the Capitol
Rescue and Recovery Efforts- rescuing people for the next week, cleaning up the rubble
Tuesday-
Impact from 9/11- 3,000 kids lost a parent that day and many people lost a spouse that day- Nearly 150,000 jobs were lost as a result of the attacks- many Americans reported of having feelings of depression
- sporting events were postponed- national landmarks closed for awhile- Late night comedians took some time off- movies TV shows Video games were delayed and changed or cancelled- airports closed for a few days and became much more secure leading to longer waiting times- The Department of Homeland Security was set up- The Patriot Act was passed- designed to protect the United States to spy on the people's conversations-listening in on phone calls and looking at conversations on the internet
CIA- giving them more power
-more patriotism in the US
Bush Doctrine- US had the right to secure itself against countries that harbor or give aid to terrorist groups
Persain Gulf War- Invasion of Kuwait- annexation, trying to get more supplies for oil
Saudi a Rabia called for help- first modern war- didn't suffer a whole lot of causalities because of air strike attacks
Goal- to free Kuwait and open up trade
George H.W. Bush was the president at the time
Bill Clinton- saw as a good president-very popular- had some issues
served as Governor of Arkansas
pros- lowest unemployment rate and 22 million jobs were created-lowest crime rate
Monica Lewinsky- part of the scandal with Bill Clinton- worked at the White house as an intern
Wednesday-
History of al-Qaeda and Terrorism against the USA
--What is al-Qaeda?
Al Qaeda means "the base" it is a stateless terrorist organization
It was led and financed by Osama bin Laden, a radical Sunni Muslim
It is now led by Ayman al-Zawahiri
--When did al-Qaeda form?
The beginnings of al-Qaeda go back to the 1980's when the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan
--USSR vs. Afghanistan 1979 - 1989
--Bin Laden, and the Arab Afghans, fought the Soviet Union in Afghanistan
Soviet army left in 1988
We helped the mujahideen fight the Soviets
--Desert Storm (Gulf War 1)
In 1990, Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein invaded the tiny, oil-rich country of Kuwait
--Operation Desert Storm
The US feared they would invade Saudi Arabia too
--US and Saudi coalition
The US asked the Saudis for permission to establish military bases in their country
Thursday- Muslim- people that practice Islam
7 things why Bin Laden started attacking us
- supporting the Jewish aggression against Muslims in Lebanon- US supports Israel- The presence of US troops in Saudi Arabia- not trading with Iraq
Why did these people want to attack America?- according to Bin Laden, he has never said that the attacks were, are, or will be because of American freedoms, the rights of our citizens, or even because of our religious differences
He has said that the reasons for the attacks of the past as well as those of the future will be because of the way the US and its allies treat the Muslim World
- they think we're trying to take over their countries
USA in Somalia- Dec 4, 1992, George H.W Bush sends 28,000 American troops to Somalia- Bush wanted to help the Somali people since all attempts to send food to them were intercepted by war lords
-Black Hawk Down- 18 Americans died when helicopter was shot down
Tali Ban- government of Afganistan- ones who allowed al queada to train to attack us
Opium- Poppys- grew those for Heroin
Tali Ban did not plan the 9/11 attacks, but they let bin laden operate in Afghanistan
Fatwa- official declaration of war against the US
Embassy Bombings- two American embassies were bombed and 220 people were killed
USS Cole Attack- loaded a small ship with a bunch of bombs and ran into the ship killing 17 US sailors
Khalid Shaikj Mohammed- planned the 9/11 attack
Operation Enduring Freedom- Goals:
1.) Capture Osama bin Laden
2.) Destroy Al-Qaeda network
3.) Remove Taliban Regime
What are the Problems?
- Friend or Foe?- suicide bombers- Improvised explosive devices- Drug Trade Flourishes ( 92% of the worlds heroine)- famine- Extreme Islamic Groups
Friday- War in Iraq
- Ba'ath Party from 1968-2003 was in charge of Iraq- US occupied Iraq
Saddam Hussein
Consequences on Iraq
No Fly zone
Weapons inspectors
Operation Iraq freedom- We believed that Hussein was getting weapons of mass destruction
We invaded- no weapons, but Hussein was tried in an Iraqi court and then executed by the new Iraq government
Bush critized for not having a good post war- Iraq was a mess
- facing civil war
-al qeada
Presidents Bush's polices- Started the war in 2003- war was supported at first but no WMD's found led to war becoming very unpopular- Abu Ghraib- accused of not having an " exit strategy"- helped establish a new democratic government in Iraq
" The Surge"- it helped get the violence under control in Iraq
President Obama's Polices- opposed to war at the outset as a Senator- pulled US combat troops
Since 2011- ISIS is in charge of nNorthern Iraq and Syria- sending 1500 military adviors back
Economic sanctions remained
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