Download The Post 9/11 Wars

The Post 9/11 Wars
© 2011Clairmont Press
September 11, 2001
• On the morning of September 11th,
2001, a terrorist organization, alQaeda, hijacked four jet airliners.
Two of the airliners were deliberately
crashed into the World Trade Center
in New York City.
• Later in the morning, the third jet
struck the Pentagon and the fourth jet
crashed in a Pennsylvania field.
•
It was later known that the hijackers
were attacked by heroic citizens on the
airplane that crashed in Pennsylvania.
• The United States Government
treated these attacks as an act of war.
•
Two wars would ensue. American
troops went on the hunt for Osama bin
Laden, the founder and head of alQaeda in the mountainous region of
Afghanistan.
Osama Bin Laden
• Osama bin-Laden was the son of a wealthy Saudi
Arabian businessman.
• Upon the Soviet Union’s entry into Afghanistan in
1979, Osama bin-Laden concentrated his funds and
efforts on creating an Islamic Jihad (war)
organization.
• The Mujahedeen, an Afghan freedom fighting force
would be trained and armed by the United States
Central Intelligence Agency. With the aid of the
U.S., the Soviet Union was forced to leave
Afghanistan in defeat. Many believe this was the
first sign of the downfall of the Soviet Union.
•
He later created Al-Qaeda in 1988 with experience and
Islamic connections he made in the Mujahedeen.
• Three years later, the Persian Gulf War brought
American troops into the Middle East. Bin-Laden
was furious because he thought the United States, a
predominantly Christian nation, did not belong on
Muslim lands.
Osama Bin Laden
• Osama bin-Laden then issued a Fatwa, an
Islamic proclamation, for Jihad or religious
war, against the United States.
• Bin-Laden focused the full attention of alQaeda on the United States and other
western countries. His terrorist cell first
attacked the World Trade Center in 1993.
He also attacked the USS Cole, damaging
the side of the ship and killing American
seamen in Yemen. It was the September 11
attacks that roused the United States to hunt
him down with the full force of the military.
• After 9 years and two wars, Osama binLaden was found and killed by the Navy
Seals Team Six in Abbottobad, Pakistan,
living in a large compound. He was buried
at sea.
The USS Cole is carried for repairs after
it was attacked by al-Qaeda in 2000.
The War In Afghanistan
• The war was a military operation to
hunt down and capture the people
responsible for the 9/11 attacks.
• The local Afghan government called the
Taliban supported al-Qaeda and the
United States removed them from
power. They are currently fighting
alongside other insurgents including alQaeda operatives.
• The war in Afghanistan has proven to be
a long and difficult one because of the
terrain of the mountainous nation and
the fear of losing civilian lives.
• Some of the insurgents have crossed the
border into neighboring Pakistan who
has tried to take on the insurgency but is
troubled by internal strife.
U.S. Special Forces Operatives shown with
Hamid Karzai, the President of Afghanistan
Operation Iraqi Freedom
• In 2003, the United States launched the
invasion of Iraq. The attack began with
operation Shock and Awe. The idea was to
use widespread targeted bombing.
• The Iraqi regime was overwhelmed and
Saddam Hussein’s government quickly fell
apart.
• Isolated terror attacks have remained
prevalent in the country but a troop surge in
2008 brought stability to the region. Many
analysts believe that the country will be taken
over by Iran if the United States were to
remove troops from the country.
• The United States is attempting to train and
create an ally with the Iraqi people in order to
prevent these attacks.
• Many people in the United States feel that the
costs of these wars have crippled the country
and hurt our international standing. This has
created heated debate in the U.S. government.
The fall of Saddam Hussein was followed by the
“fall” of his statues.