1. Late 20thc Foreign Affairs

2. OPEC & the Oil Embargo 1973 Arab/Israeli War
Arab Cartel (OPEC) cuts oil sales to Israel’s allies, including the United States
U.S. dependent on imports for 1/3 of their energy
Oil prices skyrocket to 400% in a single year
Produced a shortage of gas
Long lines at the gas pumps
Gas prices remain high after embargo is lifted in Spring 1974

3. Iran Hostage Crisis, 1979 Iranian Revolution deposes the Shah of Iran
Fundamentalist Islamic cleric, Ayatollah Khomeini comes to power
U.S. allows the Shah to enter the country to be treated for cancer
Anti-American Sentiment and resentment grows in Iran
Iranians seize 66 American hostages & holds 42 of them for 444 days

4. Iran Contra Affair,
Secret arrangement in the 1980s to provide funds to the Nicaraguan Contra rebels
to oust the socialist Sandinista gov’t in Nicaragua
Funds came from profits gained by selling arms to Iran.
The Iran-Contra Affair was the product of two separate initiatives during the administration of President Ronald Reagan.

5. Grenada: Containment of Communism
Police Actions
Panama: War on Drugs
December 20, 1989-Jan. 31, 1990
Grenada: Containment of Communism
October 25, 1983
Grenadian Prime Minister is overthrown by leftist rebels with the help of Cuba
Pres. Reagan sends in troops to:
Keep the island nation from becoming a Communist outpost
Protect the lives of American medical students
Most Americans approved of this action
Pres. George H.W. Bush sends 12,000 troops to invade Panama to arrest Panama’s dictator, Manuel Noriega
Noriega brought to the U.S. for trial & convicted of several charges of drug trafficking
Sentenced to 40 years in prison

6. The Fall of Communism Glasnost & Perestroika
Mikhail Gorbachev becomes President of the Soviet Union 1985
Glasnost=Russian for “a new opening”
Perestroika=Russian for “reform” or “rebuilding”

7. Fall of Communism The Soviet Union breaks apart Food Shortages
Communist governments in Europe fall apart
Reagan calls for the Fall of the Berlin Wall
Food Shortages
Low Production
Economic Recession
War w/Afghanistan drains Soviet resources
Gorbachev implements reforms
(perestroika)
that move USSR away from a state-controlled (socialist) economy
Lack of funds means the USSR can’t compete militarily with the
United States
Gorbachev uses glasnost (a new openness) to engage in talks with Pres. Reagan
regarding reform
Fall of Communism

8. Fall of the Berlin Wall November 9, 1989 Glasnost and perestroika
The fall of East Germany’s Communist government earlier in the year
The fall of Communism throughout Europe

9. The Persian Gulf War August 2, 1990-February 28, 1991
Dictator, Saddam Hussein
Wants Kuwait’s rich oil deposits
Iraq invades Kuwait
George H.W. Bush
Builds international coalition backed by the United Nations
Demands that Iraqi troops withdraw
Operation Desert Storm
Gen. Norman Schwarzkopf & Gen. Colin Powell execute 5 wks of devastating aerial assaults on Iraqi forces
Feb. 23, 1991-Coalition forces storm Kuwait & Iraqis surrender
Iraqi troops set fire to Kuwaitis oil fields as they retreat

10. The Bosnian War March 1,1992-December 14, 1995
Yugoslavia breaks up into 6 major republics
Ethnic & Religious rivalries between Eastern Orthodox Serbs, Catholic Croats, & Bosnian Muslims break into Civil War
U.N. intervenes with humanitarian aid, yet atrocities continue
Serbs begin attacking Croats & Bosnian & engage state sanctioned murder, violence, & rape known as ethnic cleansing
Pres. Bill Clinton urges NATO to bomb Serbian strongholds.
1998, Serbs attack Kosovo. NATO forces Serbs to withdraw
1995-Dayton Accords establish a federated, multinational Bosnia

11. The Bosnian War Yugoslavia breaks up into 6 major republics
Ethnic & Religious rivalries between Eastern Orthodox Serbs, Catholic Croats, & Bosnian Muslims break into Civil War
Serbs begin attacking Croats & Bosnian & engage state sanctioned murder, violence, & rape known as ethnic cleansing
U.N. intervenes with humanitarian aid, yet atrocities continue
Pres. Bill Clinton urges NATO to bomb Serbian strongholds.
1995-Dayton Accords establish a federated, multinational Bosnia
1998, Serbs attack Kosovo. NATO forces Serbs to withdraw

12. 9-11 & the War on Terror Sept. 11, 2001-
Terrorists associated with Osama bin Laden, al Qaeda & the Taliban hijack 4 passenger airplanes
Two planes crash into the World Trade Center
One plane crashes into the Pentagon
A final plane, on course for the White House, is taken down in a Pennsylvania field when the passengers rush the hijackers in the cockpit.

13. Effects of 9-11 and America’s War on Terror
Patriot Act passed, giving law enforcement broader powers to monitor suspected terrorists
Invasion of Iraq looking for Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMDs)
Dept. of Homeland Security created
Invasion of Afghanistan

14. Effects of 9-11 and America’s War on Terror
Invasion of Afghanistan
Patriot Act passed, giving law enforcement broader powers to monitor suspected terrorists
Invasion of Iraq looking for Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMDs
Dept. of Homeland Security created

15. Captured & Executed Saddam Hussein Osama bin Laden December 30, 2006
May 2, 2011