1. Persian Gulf War
CAUSE: – Iraq invades Kuwait because their leader, Saddam Hussein, accused them of taking their oil. US is afraid of Iraq taking oil from Kuwait and possibly Saudi Arabia
1991 – US leads forces against Iraq and forces them out of Kuwait.
1991 – Iraq leaves Kuwait after US forces push them back. Kuwait and Saudi Arabia are able to produce and ship oil again
IMPACT: The Arab world feels weak because the United States had to come in and help them. Saddam Hussein stays in power in Iraq because the US didn’t want Iraq to become an Islamic Republic

2. Operation Iraqi Freedom (invasion of Iraq)
Cause: The United States believed that Saddam Hussein, leader of Iraq, was developing Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMDs), providing aid to al Qaeda, mistreating his citizens (especially the Kurds in the north), and was a threat to US interests in the area (oil).
2003 – United States invades Iraq and captures Saddam Hussein
Impact – With Saddam dead there was no power in Iraq (the democratic government installed there failed). This lack of power in the region led to the emergence of the group ISIS.

3. Invasion of Afghanistan
Cause: September 11, 2001  Members of the terrorist group Al Qaeda hijack 4 planes and crash them into the World Trade Center in NYC, the Pentagon, and one in a field in Pennsylvania.
October 2001  The US responds by invading Afghanistan where they went after the leader of al Qaeda, Osama bin Laden, and the Afghani government who was protecting them (Taliban).
Impact: The United States was able to take the Taliban out of power, weaken al Qaeda, and kill Osama bin Laden, yet our forces are still there trying to make sure a new government can properly operate. In the US, security has tightened around the country.