Download Unit 7: Cold War to the Present

Unit 7: Cold War to the Present
Vietnam to Iraq
Vietnam
• Vietnam is part of a former French colony
that in 1954 was divided into North and
South Vietnam. North Vietnam was run by
a communist government headed by Ho
Chi Minh. South Vietnam was run by a
noncommunist government headed by Ngo
Dinh Diem.
Vietnam
• The government of South Vietnam was
corrupt and often repressive. However, the
U.S. supported the government because it
was anti-Communist, in fear that if South
Vietnam fell to the communists, all of
Southeast Asia might follow.
Vietnam
• Throughout the early 1960s, communist-backed
gorilla forces known as Vietcong fought against
the South Vietnamese government. The U.S. sent
aid and support to the government.
• By the summer of 1964, the U.S. had begun
limited bombing of positions held by the
Vietcong and supported limited commando raids
on North Vietnam’s coast.
Vietnam
• In August, 1964, President Johnson
reported that the North Vietnamese had
attacked two American ships in the Gulf of
Tonkin. At the President’s request,
Congress passed the Gulf of Tonkin
Resolution, which allowed the President to
carry out a war against the Vietcong and
North Vietnam.
• Johnson quickly began bombing military
bases in North Vietnam. In February 1965,
after the Vietcong attacked an American
airbase in South Vietnam, Johnson ordered
an escalation, or military expansion, of the
war. In April 1965 he began sending U.S.
troops to fight against the Vietcong.
Vietnam
• American troops encountered difficulties in
fighting the communist rebels. Vietcong
guerrillas used hit-and-run tactics and booby
traps. They launched small-scale attacks and
then disappeared into the jungles or friendly
villages. To counter such tactics, American
troops adopted a search-and-destroy strategy.
The troops destroyed jungles and villages in an
attempt to force the Vietcong out into open
combat.
Vietnam
• The U.S. continued pouring troops into
Vietnam. During the height of the conflict,
more than 500,000 American soldiers were
serving in the country. Despite the
growing influx of U.S. troops and massive
bombing of his country, Ho Chi Minh
vowed to keep fighting, believing that his
forces would outlast the U.S. in a war.
Vietnam
• Once the U.S. had escalated the fighting,
there seemed to be no way of leaving
without damaging its international prestige.
Between 1965 and 1967, American
officials estimated that some 2,000
attempts were made to open direct
negotiations, all unsuccessful.
Vietnam
• By the end of 1967, U.S. military leaders
assured the country that the end of the war
was in sight.
Vietnam
• January 30, 1968, marked a turning point of the
war. That day, the Vietcong launched surprise
attacks on numerous towns and bases in South
Vietnam. Occurring on Tet, the Vietnamese lunar
New Year, these attacks became known as the Tet
Offensive. These attacks were quickly repelled.
However, the American people were shocked that
an enemy was supposedly near defeat could
launch such a large-scale attack. After Tet, many
citizens began to believe that the U.S. could not
win the war.
Vietnam
• In March, 1968, President Johnson
announced that he would halt nearly all
bombing of North Vietnam and try to begin
negotiations. These peace negotiations
proved fruitless, however, and the fighting
continued.
Vietnam
• Gradually, as the U.S. moved deeper into
the Vietnam War, opposition grew.
Americans divided into two groups. Those
who supported the war were called
“hawks;” those who opposed the war were
called “doves.”
Vietnam
• A - Many of those who opposed the war were
students. The antiwar movement centered on
college campuses.
• B - Many students protested the draft calling the
system unfair because it offered a deferment to
college students, which meant that a person who
could not afford a higher education was more
likely to be drafted. Many people protested the
fact that Black Americans made up a
disproportionately large number of American
soldiers fighting overseas.
Vietnam
• C - Some protests turned violent. During a
1970 protest at Kent StateUniversity in
Ohio, four students were killed when the
Ohio National Guard fired on
demonstrators. Two more students were
killed by state police at Jackson State
University in Mississippi.
Vietnam
• During this tumultuous period in the U.S.,
some young people rebelled against
established values and searched for a new
set of beliefs. These people made up what
was known as the counterculture because
their values and practices conflicted with
those of established society.
Vietnam
• On the other side, a large number of
conservative Americans were angered by
riots, protests, and a war that seemed to be
going nowhere. The deep anger these
Americans felt against the protesters soon
developed into a backlash against the
antiwar movement.
Vietnam
• By 1968, American society had reached a
turning point. As a result of the Tet
Offensive and the continuing protests, polls
showed that the majority of Americans had
turned against the President’s handling of
the war.
Vietnam
• A - The Democratic party also became split.
Senators Eugene McCarthy and Robert Kennedy,
both of whom opposed the war, announced they
would challenge Johnson for the presidential
nomination. In March 1968, Johnson stunned the
nation by announcing that he would not run for
reelection. Hubert Humphrey, Johnson’s VicePresident, became the administration candidate.
As the election progressed, however, it appeared
that Kennedy would gain the Democratic
nomination. Then, Kennedy was assassinated in
June 1968. In August, the Democrats
Vietnam
• B - Meanwhile, the Republicans chose
Richard Nixon as their candidate. During
the campaign, Nixon promised to bring
order to the nation and end the war in
Vietnam. Nixon won a close victory and
thus became President.
Vietnam
• To help him handle foreign policy matters,
Nixon appointed Henry Kissinger, a
brilliant political scientist, as his national
security adviser and later his secretary of
state. Wanting to be remembered as a
peacemaker, Nixon proclaimed a policy of
détente, or relaxation of tensions between
the United States and the communist block.
Vietnam
• He also visited Moscow and began arms
limitation talks with the Soviets that led to
agreements by both sides to ban biological
warfare and limit the growth of nuclear
weapons. Nixon also worked to improve
relations with China, lifting trade and
travel restrictions, and in February 1972,
he visited the country.
Vietnam
• Despite a campaign promise to end the war in
Vietnam, Nixon moved slowly. He did not want
to withdraw U.S. troops without a peace
agreement and thus become the nation’s first
President to lose a war. In June 1971, the New
York Times published a secret defense department
study known as the Pentagon Papers, which
indicated that the nation’s various administrations
had misled Congress and the public about the war
in Vietnam. The documents angered many
Americans and increased protests against the war.
Vietnam
• To quiet opposition to the war, Nixon
announced a policy of “Vietnamization.”
The policy consisted of withdrawing U.S.
troops and replacing them with South
Vietnamese soldiers. Nixon hoped that
Vietnamization, combined with saturation
bombing of North Vietnam, would allow
the U.S. to withdraw from the war “with
honor.”
Vietnam
• In January 1973, the warring sides signed a
cease-fire agreement ending the military presence
of the United States in Vietnam. The war,
however, continued. In 1975, Congress refused
President Ford’s request for funds to aid South
Vietnam in its continuing war. In January 1975,
North Vietnam launched a major offensive
against the South. In a few months, the
communists conquered South Vietnam and united
the country under communist rule.
Vietnam Myths & Facts:
– Myth: The U.S. soldiers were very young and
poorly educated.
– Fact: The average age was 23, and 79% of our
troops were high school graduates.
Vietnam Myths & Facts:
- Myth: The soldiers were mostly poor and
from minorities.
– Fact: While 30% of the 58,000 killed came
from the lowest third in income, 26% came
from the highest third; 12.5% were black.
Vietnam Myths & Facts:
- Myth: Many were jailed for draft-evasion
during the Vietnam war.
– Fact: Though 500,000 did dodge the draft,
only 9000 were convicted.
Latin America
Latin America
• Shortly after taking office, Kennedy
implemented a program of aid to Latin
America called the Alliance of Progress.
Its purpose was to develop long-term
economic growth among Latin American
nations in order to prevent communist
revolutions.
Middle East
The Middle East
• When war broke out between Israel and its
Arab neighbors, the U.S. supported Israel.
The Soviet Union backed and armed the
Arab states. Israel quickly won the ArabIsraeli War of 1967.
The Middle East
• In 1973, during the Jewish holiday of Yom
Kippur, Egyptian and Syrian forces launched a
surprise attack against Israel in an attempt to
regain land lost to Israel during a previous
conflict. The U.S. supported Israel, while the
Soviet Union aided the Arab states. The two
superpowers, however, also worked to end the
conflict. The combatants eventually agreed to a
cease-fire
The Middle East
• After the war, Secretary of State Henry
Kissinger worked with Israel and Egypt to
reduce tensions in the Middle East. He
engaged in shuttle diplomacy-flying back
and forth between the capitals of the two
nations in an attempt to produce a lasting
peace. Kissinger’s efforts resulted in
improved relations between Egypt and
Israel
The Middle East
• On the world stage, President Jimmy
Carter attempted to promote a foreign
policy based on morality and truth rather
than military or economic considerations.
(When the Soviet Union invaded
Afghanistan in 1979, Carter imposed a
grain embargo on the Soviets and kept the
United States out of the 1980 Olympic
Games in Moscow.)
The Middle East
• Carter’s greatest foreign policy triumph
and his greatest failure involved the Middle
East.
– Carter helped to broker peace between longtime enemies Egypt and Israel. The two sides
signed a peace agreement known as the Camp
David Accords in 1979
The Middle East
– The Iranian hostage crisis-Also in 1979, an
Islamic revolution toppled the monarchy in
Iran. A group of rebels, angry over U.S. ties
with the former rulers, seized the American
embassy in November 1979 and took hostage
more than 50 Americans. Throughout 1980,
Carter worked to win the hostages’ release.
Negotiations failed, however, as did a military
rescue in which eight Americans died in a
helicopter crash.
The Middle East
• Election of 1980-pitted Democrat Jimmy Carter
against Republican and former actor and
governor Ronald Reagan of California. Reagan
hammered at Carter’s lack of leadership and of
his failure to obtain release of the hostages sealed
his defeat. On Election Day, Reagan won
handily. On January 20, 1981, just after Reagan
was sworn in, Iran released the American
hostages after 444 days in captivity.
The Middle East
• Reagan adopted a “hands-off” attitude toward the
day-to-day operations of the presidency, giving
more responsibility to his staff. This practice
aided what would become known as the IranContra affair, a damaging scandal. In 1986,
several of Reagan’s national security advisors
arranged to sell weapons to Iranians in exchange
for American hostages, then secretly used the
profits to support anti-Communist rebels in
Nicaragua in violation of a congressional ban on
such financing.
The Middle East
• Although investigators cleared Reagan of
responsibility for the scheme, they faulted
him for allowing aides to make policy
decisions without his knowledge.
Improved Relations with the
Soviet Union
Improved Relations with the
Soviet Union
• In 1983, President Reagan announced his
Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI), nicknamed
“Star Wars.” The project involved creating a
shield of new weapons designed to intercept and
destroy nuclear missiles. In addition to Star
Wars, Reagan promoted a giant military buildup
costing about $1 trillion. This increased the debt
and left less money for housing, education, and
environmental programs. Congress responded in
1985 by passing the Gramm-Rudman Act, which
put pressure on Congress and the President to
reduce the deficit and balance the budget.
Improved Relations with the
Soviet Union
• Reagan’s desire for a strong defense was
based on his belief that the Soviet Union
was still a threat to the United States.
U.S.-Soviet relations improved, however,
when Mikhail Gorbachev became the new
Soviet premier. Gorbachev opened up
Soviet society (glasnost) and instituted
democratic reforms (perestroika).
Improved Relations with the
Soviet Union
• In 1986, Gorbachev and Reagan met to
discuss reducing their nuclear arsenals.
They eventually signed a treaty calling for
the removal of all intermediate-range
nuclear weapons from Europe. The cold
war was slowly coming to an end.
Improved Relations with the
Soviet Union
• After winning the election of 1988, President
George H.W. Bush was confronted with a tidal
wave of change around the world. Gorbachev’s
new reform policies in the Soviet Union created
even greater demands for freedom and
independence in Eastern Europe. In 1989,
several Eastern European nations overthrew their
communist rulers and forced democratic
elections.
Improved Relations with the
Soviet Union
• Demands for democracy then erupted in the
Soviet Union itself. A failed coup left the power
to govern in the hands of Boris Yeltsin, president
of the Russian Republic, and Gorbachev resigned
as Soviet president. By December 1991, the
Soviet Union ceased to exist. In its place was a
loose federation of self-governing nations made
up of former Soviet republics, including Russia,
known as the Commonwealth of Independent
States (CIS).
Improved Relations with the
Soviet Union
• All the former Soviet and communist block states
forced serious economic troubles as they
attempted to convert state-run economies to
capitalist systems. Shortages of essential goods
such as food, fuel, medicine, and housing created
severe hardships for large numbers of people.
Ethnic rivalries flared in the newly independent
nations, complicating their transition to selfgovernment.
Improved Relations with the
Soviet Union
• On January 1, 2000, Vladimir Putin was
inaugurated as the new president of Russia,
succeeding Boris Yeltsin. While Russia is now
an ally of the United States, there are still areas of
major disagreement. In December of 2001, U.S.
President George W. Bush announced that the
United States will withdraw from the 1972
Antiballistic Missile Treaty mid-2002 in order to
build up defensive weapons. Russia disagrees
that this is the right thing to do.
The Persian Gulf War
The Persian Gulf War
• In August 1990, Iraqi President Saddam
Hussein’s troops seized control of Kuwait, Iraq’s
oil-rich neighbor. Following the invasion, Iraq
controlled 20 percent of the world’s oil reserves.
President Bush, with cooperation from more than
25 other nations, assembled a U.S.-led military
coalition that drove Iraqi forces out of Kuwait.
Saddam Hussein, however, remained a threat to
the region’s peace and stability.
The Persian Gulf War
• Observers feared that Iraq was working to
develop chemical, biological, and nuclear
weapons. The Persian Gulf War caused
Americans to rethink the military role of
the nation. Some leaders called for scaling
down U.S. military forces, arguing that the
real source of power in the “new world
order” would be economic.
The Persian Gulf War
• Other experts warned that the U.S. must
maintain a strong military to guard against
several remaining hostile and potentially
dangerous nations. Recently, it is feared
that Iraq is involved in sponsoring
terrorism around the world, thus, some
speculate that there will be more conflict
between Iraq and the United States, among
other nations of the west.
Other ethnic conflicts
• Despite the decline of communism, wars
arising from ethnic hatreds, political
boundaries, and religion plagued nearly
every world region throughout the 1990s.
Other Ethnic Conflicts
Other ethnic conflicts
• The first crisis to confront the administration of
President Bill Clinton was civil war in the East
African nation of Somalia. When Clinton took
office, thousands of U.S. troops already were in
Somalia protecting deliveries of food to those left
starving by the war. As the U.S. troops became
more involved in the conflict, President Clinton
pulled them out in 1995 rather than risk
American casualties.
Other ethnic conflicts
• The U.S. and its allies also confronted
violence in Europe’s Balkan region. In
1991, the multinational state of Yugoslavia
disintegrated as several of the country’s
ethnic groups broke away and claimed
independence. Ethnic hatreds and renewed
feelings of nationalism after decades of
totalitarian rule fueled the wars in the
Balkan region.
Other ethnic conflicts
– Serbia, the region’s largest republic, fought against
Slovenian, Croatian, Bosnian, and Macedonian
Independence, and the region descended into years of
war. As reports of Serb atrocities against various
ethnic groups mounted, Western nations took action.
– The U.S. and its NATO allies bombed Serb military
sites in the first NATO military offensive ever. In
1995, the warring sides agreed to a cease-fire and
signed an agreement known as the Dayton peace
accords.
Other ethnic conflicts
– In 1999, violence flared up again in the Balkans, as
Kosovo, a province of Serbia, sought its
independence. To put down the rebellion, Serbs
marched into Kosovo, where again reports surfaced of
atrocities against ethnic Albanians. Serb forces
rounded up and executed more than 8,000 Muslim
men and boys. After diplomatic relations failed,
NATO launched air strikes against Serbia, which
eventually agreed to remove its forces and permit
NATO troops to restore order in Kosovo.
Other ethnic conflicts
– Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic was
forced from power in 2000 and was deemed a
war criminal by Western leaders and the
international war crimes tribunal in The
Hague, the Netherlands. Prosecutors say
Milosevic held ultimate responsibility for at
least 900 ethnic Albanians and the eviction of
800,000 civilians from their homes.
Other ethnic conflicts
• The United States played the role of peacemaker
in Northern Ireland. For many years, sectarian
violence between the Protestant majority and
Roman Catholic minority had torn Northern
Ireland apart. Roman Catholics wanted to reunite
with the predominantly Catholic Irish Republic.
Protestants insisted that Northern Ireland remain
part of Great Britain. In 1997, the U.S.
persuaded both sides to disarm and accept a
cease-fire. A year later, Catholics and Protestants
agreed to a peace plan.
Other ethnic conflicts
• The U.S. also worked to end years of
fighting between Israelis and Palestinians,
an Arab people living under Israeli rule.
Under a peace agreement reached in 1995,
Israel agreed to significant Palestinian selfrule and the removal of Israeli forces from
other Palestinian areas. Implementation of
the plan, however, went slowly.
Other ethnic conflicts
• In 1998, with Clinton’s help, both sides
signed the Wye River Memorandum,
which detailed the steps needed to
implement the peace agreement.
Unfortunately, a new round of conflict
developed in 2000 and the two sides have
never been more divided.
Conflict with China
Conflict with China
• In April of 2001, China held 24 Americans for a
short period of time after a mid-air collision
between a U.S. Air Force jet and a Chinese jet.
The Chinese jet crashed killing the pilot and the
Americans made an emergency landing on
Chinese soil. Although the Chinese blamed the
U.S. for the collision, the U.S. government has
strongly rejected responsibility for the incident.
Conflict with China
• President George W. Bush has been given
credit for decisive leadership in the quick
release of the Americans. Bush also
pledged military aid for Taiwan in the
event of aggressive force from China.
Many suggest the Cold War continues
between the U.S. and China.
Peacemaker
• As 2000 began the United Nations was directing
peacekeeping operations in 17 countries from
Africa to the Middle East to Asia, at an estimated
cost of around $900 million. Why is the United
States, more than other countries, playing the role
of peacemaker around the world? The U.S. is
widely seen as the only remaining superpower,
and as such, has the respect and authority needed
to negotiate peace agreements.
America’s War on Terror
America’s New War on Terror;
9-11-2001
• On the beautiful morning of September 11, 2001,
4 planes left 3 major airports to begin what
would be the deadliest single day in modern
American history. At 7:59 a.m., American
Airlines Flight 11 with 92 people left Boston’s
Logan Airport for Los Angeles; at 8:01 a.m.,
United Flight 93 with 45 people left Newark
Airport for San Francisco; at 8:10 a.m., American
Flight 77 with 64 people left Washington’s Dulles
Airport for Los Angeles; and, at 8:14 a.m.,
United Flight 175 with 65 people left Boston for
L.A.
• The next day, Attorney General John
Ashcroft would say the planes “were
hijacked by between three and six
individuals per plane, using knives and box
cutters, and in some cases making bomb
threats.” He also says a number of
suspected hijackers were trained as pilots
in the United States.
Sept. 11, 2001
• 8:48 a.m.-Hijacked American Airlines Flight 11
crashed into the north tower of the World Trade
Center.
• 9:06 a.m.-Hijacked United Airlines Flight 175
crashed into the south tower of the World Trade
Center. Soon, the Federal Aviation
Administration would shut down all New York
City-area airports. The Port Authority of New
York and New Jersey ordered all bridges and
tunnels into Manhattan closed. The American
Stock Exchange, the Nasdaq, and the New York
Stock Exchange will close.
Sept. 11, 2001
• 9:31 a.m.-President George W. Bush,
speaking to elementary school children in
Sarasota, Florida, is informed of the
tragedy and says the country has suffered
an “apparent terrorist attack.”
Sept. 11, 2001
• 9:43 a.m.-Hijacked American Airlines Flight 77
crashed into the Pentagon; the U.S. Capitol and
White House’s West Wing were evacuated.
Eventually, all federal office buildings in
Washington, D.C. would be evacuated. The FAA
halts all flight operations at U.S. airports, the first
time in U.S. history that national air traffic has
been halted. All inbound transatlantic aircraft
flying into the U.S. are being diverted to Canada.
Sept. 11, 2001
• 9:55 a.m.-The south tower of the World Trade
Center collapses. Soon after, President Bush
departs from Florida.
• 10:10 a.m.-A portion of the Pentagon collapses.
At the same time, Hijacked United Airlines Flight
93 crashes in a field in Somerset County,
Pennsylvania, brought down by passengers who
attempted to thwart the plans of the hijackers.
Later, officials say this plane could have been
headed for three possible targets: Camp David,
the White House, or the U.S. Capitol Building.
Sept. 11, 2001
• 10:29 a.m.-The north tower of the World Trade
Center collapses.
• 10:57 a.m.-New York governor, George Pataki,
announces that all state government offices are
closed.
• 11:02 a.m.-New York City mayor, Rudolph
“Rudy” Giuliani, urges New Yorkers to stay at
home and orders an evacuation of the area south
of Canal Street. Later in the day, Guiliani will
urge New Yorkers to stay home Wednesday.
Sept. 11, 2001
• 12:15 p.m.-The Immigration and
Naturalization Service says U.S. borders
with Canada and Mexico are on the highest
state of alert.
Sept. 11, 2001
• 1:04 p.m.-From Barksdale Air Force Base in
Louisiana, President Bush announces U.S.
military is on high alert worldwide, saying that
all appropriate security measures are being taken.
He asks for prayers for those killed or wounded
in the attacks and says, “Make no mistake, the
United States will hunt down and punish those
responsible for these cowardly acts.” The
president later leaves for the U.S. Strategic
Command at Offutt Air Force Base in Nebraska.
In ½ hours, he will leave to return to Washington,
D.C. Air Force One is traveling with a threefighter jet escort.
Sept. 11, 2001
• 2:49 a.m.-At a news conference, Mayor
Giuliani says that subway and bus service
are partially restored in NYC. Asked about
the number of people killed, the mayor
says, “I don’t want to speculate about
that—more than any of us can bear.” For
his handling of this crisis, Guiliani will be
awarded “Person of the Year” by Time
magazine.
Sept. 11, 2001
• 4:10 p.m.-Building 7 of the WTC complex
is reported on fire.
• 5:25 p.m.-The 47-story Building 7 of the
WTC complex collapses.
• 6:54 p.m.-President Bush arrives back at
the White House.
Sept. 11, 2001
• 7:45 p.m.-The New York Police
Department says that at least 78 officers
are missing. The city also says that as
many as half of the first 400 firefighters on
the scene were killed.
Sept. 11, 2001
• 8:30 p.m.-President Bush addresses the nation,
saying “thousands of lives were suddenly ended
by evil” and asks for prayers for the families and
friends of Tuesday’s victims. “These acts
shattered steel, but they cannot dent the steel of
American resolve,” he says. The president says
the U.S. government will make no distinction
between the terrorists who committed the acts
and those who harbor them. He adds that
government offices will reopen Wednesday.
Sept. 12, 2001
• 9 survivors (3 policemen and 6 firefighters)
are found amidst the rubble of the WTC.
• Mayor Giuliani warns the death toll will be
in the thousands.
• President Bush labels the attacks “acts of
war” and asks Congress to find $20 billion
to help rebuild and recover.
Sept. 12, 2001
• The North Atlantic Treaty Organization
(NATO) decides that Tuesday’s terror
strikes in the United States constitute an
attack against all 19 members, which
commits them to respond militarily if they
deem force is necessary to protect security.
• The United Nations pulls its staff out of
Afghanistan.
Sept. 13, 2001
• Military recruiting skyrockets as patriotic
Americans prepare for battle.
• A “national day of unity and mourning” is
approved 100 to 0 by the Senate. The
House later approves the resolution 408 to
0.
Sept. 13, 2001
• Secretary of Transportation, Norman Y. Mineta,
announces new security precautions which
airports and airlines will be required to
implement. Security is increased to its highest
level since the 1991 Gulf War.
• Bond trading and futures activity resume. Stock
markets remain closed for the longest stretch
since World War II.
Sept. 13, 2001
• Defense Departments says about 190 people died
in the attack at the Pentagon, including 64 aboard
the hijacked plane.
• The New York mayor announces that 4,763
people are missing.
• Investigators find data recorder for United Flight
93 in Pennsylvania. Later, officials say they will
not release the audio or a transcript in order to
protect grieving families.
Sept. 13, 2001
• Secretary of State Colin Powell says
Osama bin Laden is the prime suspect.
• White House Press Secretary Ari Fleischer
cites “real and credible information” that
the plane which slammed into the Pentagon
was originally intended to hit the White
House.
Sept. 14, 2001
• President Bush declares a National Day of Prayer
and Remembrance.
• U.S. airlines resume operations and face
difficulty with strict security rules, frightened
passengers, and rapidly mounting financial
problems.
• NFL, Collegiate, and high school football games,
as well as other major sports events, are canceled
in the U.S.
Sept. 14, 2001
• Congress and White House officials give consent
to military action in response to Tuesday’s
terrorist attacks and provide $40 billion package
to aid retaliation and rebuilding, twice the
amount President Bush had requested.
• Americans of many faiths hold services and
vigils to honor the victims. Bush and other
dignitaries gather for service at National
Cathedral in Washington.
Sept. 14, 2001
• Searchers find flight data and voice recorders of
hijacked plane that crashed into the Pentagon.
• Authorities make their first arrest in the
investigation: one of the men detained at New
York’s Kennedy Airport is arrested as a material
witness.
• President Bush arrives in New York City to see
the site of the former World Trade Center.
Sept. 15, 2001
• President Bush meets with his national
security advisers at Camp David and
afterward, for the first time, singles out
suspected terrorist Osama bin Laden as a
“prime suspect” in Tuesday’s attacks.
• Coast Guard cutters patrol ports and
waterways at unprecedented levels from
New York harbor to San Diego.
Sept. 15, 2001
• F-15 Eagles and F-16 Fighting Falcons fly
combat patrols over Washington, New
York, and other major cities. The patrols
over Washington and New York will
continue into 2002.
• President Bush signs an order authorizing
Pentagon officials to call up 35,000
Reserves.
Sept. 16, 2001
• Funeral and memorial services begin for
firefighters and individuals who died in
Tuesday’s attack.
Sept. 17, 2001
• Wall Street reopens for the first time since
the previous week’s terrorist attacks.
• The Federal Reserve cuts interest rates by
half a percentage point.
Sept. 18, 2001
• One week after the attack, the nation pauses at
8:45 A.M. EST for a moment of silence in honor
of the victims.
• Media reports that over 50 countries lost citizens
in the World Trade Center attack.
• Warplanes begin flying overseas from U.S. bases
as the Pentagon ordered dozens of fighters,
bombers, and other aircraft to the Persian Gulf,
Indian Ocean, and—in an unprecedented move—
the two former Soviet republics of Uzbekistan
and Tajikistan.
Sept. 19, 2001
• The USS Theodore Roosevelt aircraft
carrier leaves from the pier at Naval
Station Norfolk headed to the
Mediterranean, then to the Persian Gulf.
Sept. 20, 2001
• President Bush gives a very successful
address to Congress and the nation
outlining the goals in the new war on
terrorism. In a difficult time, Bush gave
the nation what it needed in a Commander
in Chief—simple in his speech, clear in is
vision, and confident in his ultimate
success
Sept. 20, 2001
• The president has warned the nation to be patient.
Some officials are envisioning a war that could
last 50 years in order to build intelligence
networks to infiltrate and bust up terror cells
worldwide. As a model for fashioning a longterm game plan, Bush aides examined old coldwar national-security documents, such as NSC68, a plan the Truman Administration drafted in
1950 to contain the Soviets.
• As of December 5, 2001, there were 6 U.S.
military fatalities in Operation Enduring
Freedom; the number of people missing or
dead in the World Trade Center attacks was
listed at 3,047. By December 19, the
number of fatalities was revised to 2,992.
8 journalists were killed covering the war
in Afghanistan.
• In December, 2001, an American was taken into
military custody in Afghanistan after fighting
with the Taliban regime. John Walker-Lindh
converted to Islam four years earlier after reading
The Autobiography of Malcolm X, left the United
States in 2000 to train at al-Qaeda camps in
Afghanistan, and had taken the name of
Sulayman Al-Lindh. Walker-Lindh was brought
back in January, 2002 to face trial in the United
States, since he was an American citizen.
• In an amateur videotape released by the Pentagon
(Dec. 13, 2001-it had been found earlier in a
house overtaken by anti-Taliban forces), Osama
bin Laden was shown discussing the events
leading up to September 11th, saying the event
“benefited Islam greatly.” In the tape, bin Laden
discussed some of the planning that led to the
attacks, and recalled tuning in to the radio to hear
American news broadcasts of the attack. “They
were overjoyed when the first plane hit the
building,” he said of others listening with him
that day. “So I said to them: Be patient.
• At the end of the newscast, they reported that a
plane just hit the World Trade Center.” Another
man in the tape said, “Allah be praised.” bin
Laden recalled, “After a little while, they
announced that another plane had hit the World
Trade Center; the brothers who heard the news
were overjoyed by it.” References to jihad (holy
war) were made throughout the tape. bin Laden
made references to the planning: “We calculated
in advance the number of casualties who would
be killed based on the position of the tower.
• We calculated that the floors that would be hit
would be three or four. I was the most optimistic
of them all. Due to my experience in this field, I
was thinking that the fire from the gas in the
plane would melt the iron structure of the
building and collapse the area where the plane
hit, and all the floors above it only. This is all
that we had hoped for,” as he gestured with one
hand horizontal striking his other hand, held
vertically, as if a plane hitting a building
• The most viewed photo from the
September, 2001 tragedy was of three New
York City firefighters displaying a U.S.
flag amid the rubble of the World Trade
Center. George Johnson, Dan McWilliams
and Billy Eisengrein were the firefighters
who were the object of photographer
Thomas Franklin of The Record in Bergen
County, New Jersey.
• The photo echoed the famous World War II
image of U.S. Marines raising the U.S. flag atop
Mount Suribachi on Iwo Jima. The photo
became a testament to America’s enduring
resolve. In January, 2002, a statue of the photo
was unveiled, creating controversy because
instead of the 3 firefighters being portrayed
accurately, the images of the firefighters included
one white man, a Hispanic, and a Black
American.
• December 22, 2001-Richard C. Reid,
believed to be linked to al-Qaeda, is
apprehended by other passengers on a
flight from Paris to Miami after he is
spotted trying to ignite explosives in his
shoes.
• January, 2002-158 suspected terrorists,
described as the most hard-core al-Qaida
terrorists and Taliban fighters, are brought
to Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, Cuba to
be held in a makeshift detainment center at
Camp X-Ray.
• The United States was critized for holding
prisoners of war, but President Bush and
Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld considers
the captured fighters to be “unlawful combatants”
and “detainees” rather than “prisoners of war,”
since they do not represent a nation or foreign
government. A delegation of U.S. Congressmen
toured the detention facility and said conditions
were very humane.
• January 29, 2002-In his State of the Union
address, President George W. Bush in a
vital act of world leadership declared a
declaration against the “axis of evil”
referring to 3 nations where there are
weapons of mass destruction in hostile
hands.
Iraq
• After the 1991 Persian Gulf War, dictator
Saddam Hussein was discovered to be only
months away from producing an atomic bomb
and had already done tests on a radiological
“dirty bomb.” His program was closed, but “his
pool of trained scientists remained, and he might
have a nuclear device within a few years.” When
United Nations weapons inspectors were
banished, they were convinced that Saddam had
hidden an arsenal of VX nerve gas and “a whole
range of biological agents and toxins.”
Iran
• According to the Monterey Center for
Nonproliferation Studies, Iran, under the
leadership of Ayatullah Ali Khamenei, had
an arsenal of chemical weapons and,
according to the U.S. government, had
been secretly producing biological
weapons. It is getting Russian help on
nuclear power and assistance on missiles
from Russia and China.
North Korea
• Caught in 1992 producing more plutonium than it
admitted to making, North Korean president Kim
Jong II agreed in 1994 to stop producing it in
exchange for Western nations’ help with lessdangerous nuclear technology. But it blocked
implementation of the agreement. North Korea
has large stocks of chemical weapons and a welldeveloped biological weapons program. It is also
developing a missile capable of reaching the
United States.
• The three countries don’t constitute a
cooperative “axis” as Germany, Italy, and
Japan did in World War II, but there is no
question that they are “evil.” They have a
history of menacing their own people.