Modern Conflict in the Mid East and North Africa Iraq War, Afghan War

The Middle East

The Middle East’s Significance to the United States 1) They have oil. We need it. We are dependent on them. 2) Terrorists from this region were responsible for September 11 th attacks.

Timeline 2001: 9-11 occurs Al Qaeda attack US from the leadership of Osama Bin Laden Tensions are high with US and Arab/Muslim countries that are seen as supporting Al Qaeda

9/11 Response “The search is underway for those who were behind these evil acts. I have directed the full resources of our intelligence and law enforcement communities to find those responsible and to bring them to justice. We will make no distinction between the terrorists who committed these acts and those who harbor them.” President Bush, delivered September 11 th

Iraq

Key Terms Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMDs): weapons capable of destroying large areas and/or killing and disabling large segments of the population

Key Terms Al-Qaeda: International terrorist network fighting the west in the name of Islam Responsible for 9-11 Led by Osama bin Laden- He was originally from Saudi Arabia

Key Terms Sanction: a restriction put on a country by other countries to try to get them to comply with a request

Iraq: Background Saddam Hussein: Former Dictator of Iraq (Hanged after US took over Iraq) We used to be allies and provided him weapons in the 1980s.

Timeline 1990s: Saddam Hussein and WMDs After Gulf war (1991), Saddam is sanctioned by the UN to quit making Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMDs) The US govt felt he never quit making Weapons of Mass Destruction and had an uneasy relationship with Iraq

Timeline 2003: US invades Iraq US claims Iraq is harboring terrorists and still making WMDs in violation of UN sanctions US invades, going against the UN security council Did we act unilaterally or multilaterally?

Timeline Once the war began, we overthrew Sadaam’s government and attempted state building State building: the efforts of more developed nations to support a failing state or establish a new state in an attempt to restore order to the lawlessness State-building is a long-term undertaking with high costs in human lives and resources— higher than what the public may be willing to accept December 2011-

Iraq War Cost Costs will be in the trillions. We won’t know the exact amount and we will have additional costs over the next 4 decades due to care for veterans and interest on money borrowed 4,500 US soldiers died Roughly 134,000 Iraqis civilians have died

Was the Iraq War a success? Al Qaeda is still causing violence and trying to take over cities. WMDS were never found State building here has not been as successful as it should have been for the money spent.

Afghanistan Taliban: group of extremist Muslims who controlled Afghanistan They helped hide Osama bin Laden!

Timeline 2001: US invades Afghanistan US invades in search of Al-Qaeda and Osama Bin Laden and to break apart Taliban network Osama bin Laden was killed in Pakistan osama-bin-laden-in-60-seconds osama-bin-laden-in-60-seconds Video ^

Costs of Afghanistan War Really hard to estimate, over $600 billion spent. Source: Over 2,200 U.S. soldiers dead. Source:

Timeline- source: Now (2014): The Taliban remains resilient- they have a safe haven in Pakistan. Afghan government is still weak, the Taliban intimidates voters. The international community is fatigued. The situation has reached a stalemate. After years of refusing to negotiate, the U.S. government in early 2011 began to openly pursue a negotiated solution with the Taliban. The Afghan war is complicated because many Al Qaeda leaders are hiding out in Pakistan….and we can’t just invade every country we think has Al Qaeda leaders in it

Additional Info: Afghanistan (Not on Notes) KARZAI became the first democratically elected president of Afghanistan. KARZAI was re-elected in August 2009 for a second term. Despite gains toward building a stable central government, a resurgent Taliban and continuing provincial instability remain serious challenges for the Afghan Government. (cia world factbook)

Review!!!! What terrorist group was responsible for 9/11? Who was its leader? Where did he die? What is the history between Saddam Hussein and the U.S.? What terrorist group was located (still is) in Afghanistan? Does American call either the Iraq war or the Afghanistan war a real success? Why?