2. September 11, 2001 Series of coordinated suicide attacks upon the United States 19 Al Qaeda terrorists hijacked four commercial passenger jet airliners 2 airliners crashed into the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York City Both buildings collapsed within 2 hours The 3rd airliner crashed into the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia The 4th plane crashed into a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania It was enroute to Washington, D.C. Casualties 3,000 victims of the initial attacks and airliner crashes 2,752 civilians; 343 firefighters; 60 police officers 836 first responders (Police/Fire/EMS) as of June 2009
3.
4.
5.
6. The War on Terrorism In response to the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, President Bush declared a war on terrorism Bush told Americans that “freedom and fear are at war” An outpouring of popular patriotism followed the attacks The Bush administration benefited from this patriotism and identification with the United States’ history and government Operation Enduring Freedom The Bush administration targeted Afghanistan and its regime, the Taliban, after intelligence revealed the country harbored Al Qaeda and bin Laden The United States launched a military offensive against Afghanistan in October 2001
7.
8. The PATRIOT ACt In the aftermath of September 11, Congress rushed to pass the PATRIOT Act Expanded the rights of law enforcement agencies to conduct secret searches and detain suspected aliens The Bush administration made a point to discourage anti-Arab and anti-Muslim sentiment that resulted from the passage of the act A detention camp at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba was established In November 2001, the Bush administration issued an executive order authorizing the holding of secret military tribunals Target was to hold trial for noncitizens deemed to have assisted terrorism and/or enemy combatants President Bush also authorized the National Security Agency (NSA) to listen to domestic domestic telephone conversations without a court warrant is an individual is suspected of terrorism
9.
10. War with Iraq The Clinton administration occasionally ordered Iraq to be bombed in retaliation for Saddam Hussein’s lack of cooperation with U.N. weapons inspectors A conservative group within the Bush administration welcomed an American invasion of Iraq to oust Hussein from power This group seized on the attacks of September 11 to press their case for an Iraq invasion In 2002, the Bush administration announced that a regime change was necessary in Iraq The United States charged Hussein with amassing weapons of mass destruction and hindering U.N. weapons inspectors
11.
12. War with Iraq The decision split the Western alliance and inspired a massive antiwar movement throughout the world Critics within the Bush administration argued that a war with Iraq deflected attention away from apprehending Osama bin Laden and Al Qaeda China, Russia, Germany, and France refused to support a preemptive strike against Iraq Many Americans resented international criticism from the former Soviet Union and France Great Britain was the only nation to lend full support to the United States President Bush called the war “Operation Iraqi Freedom” Identified the purpose to “defend our freedom” and “bring freedom to others”
13. War with Iraq Baghdad was captured within a month President Bush announced “mission accomplished” shortly afterwards Looters and insurgents took control of Iraq In early 2003, there were not enough American troops in the country to keep order Sectarian violence swept the country
14.
15. War with Iraq: Numbers The war soon cost more lives and dollars than any policymaker (regardless of political affiliation) had estimated As of November 2010, the total cost of wars since 2001 is roughly $1.1 trillion dollars in war costs Arguably, $3 to 5 trillion if the effects are the U.S. economy are calculated Cost of war in Iraq: $744 billion Cost of war in Afghanistan: $369 billion State-wide: $91 billion overall; $421 million overall in Waco $3,600 per person
17. 21st Century Supreme Court Affirmative Action Gratz v. Bollinger – the University of Michigan’s admission process used a points system that made race too decisive a factor and violated the Equal Protection Clause for undergraduate admissions Basically, “minimally qualified underrepresented minorities” were guaranteed admission under the U of M’s point system Homosexuality Lawrence v. Texas The S.C. overruled a Texas court ruling that held that Texas statue can prohibit certain sexual acts – namely those between same-sex partners The S.C. ruled that the Texas ruling and statute violated the Due Process Clause of the 14th Amendment Retirement of Sandra Day O’Connor O’Connor retired in 2005; the first female member of the Supreme Court
18. 2004 Presidential Election Candidates Republican incumbent George W. Bush Democratic Senator from Massachusetts John Kerry Independent Ralph Nader Like the 2000 election, voting controversies and irregularities plagued the election The election was not decided until the day after voting Kerry and Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean felt that voting in Ohio did not proceed fairly However, Kerry did not dispute Bush’s win in the state
19.
20.
21. Hurricane Katrina In August 2005, New Orleans was devastated when Hurricane Katrina hit the coastline The levee system broke and the city began to flood At the time of the hurricane, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) was charged with the responsibility of disaster planning and relief for the United States However, FEMA was poorly prepared for the hurricane and led to a city-wide disaster in New Orleans The New Orleans Disaster Poor residents of the city were left abandoned amid floodwaters City services and local government failed in the wake of the hurricane Social class division became apparent after the disaster President Bush called for aggressive action that led the Republican Congress to cut social welfare programs to pay for hurricane relief
