1. George HW Bush

2. Election of 1988 Bush (R) vs. Michael Dukakis (D)
Issues: economic stability

3. Fall of Berlin Wall
1989: USSR reduced number of soldiers in East Germany to save money
11/9/89: E. Germans tore down wall; EG guards were powerless to stop it
10/90: Germany reunited
4 min

4. Panama
Sent troops to arrest dictator Manuel Noriega (their leader) for drug trafficking

5. China
April, 1989: Students protesting for freedom of speech in Tiananmen Square; killed by Chinese army; about 3000 deaths

6. Persian Gulf War
Iraq in debt from fighting war w/ Iran in the eighties
August 2, 1990: invaded Kuwait to claim its oil fields; next target was going to be Saudi Arabia (both allies of the US)
US and UN launched Operation Desert Storm
1/16/91: air assault
2/23/91: ground offensive
2/28/91: ceasefire
400 UN casualties; 100,000 Iraqi casualties
Agreement: Iraq- stop production of WMD; random inspections by UN

7. Collapse of USSR
Soviet Union struggling financially; arms race too expensive
14 non-Russian republics declared independence in Dec. 1991
Gorbachev resigned
Commonwealth of Independent States formed (CIS)
Russian president: Boris Yeltsin
End of Cold War

10. Domestic Agenda Faltering economy Discontent Violence in inner cities
Crash Course: 14 min.