presidents clinton, bush, and obama. focus on five areas: o economy o health care o family o...
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Modern AmericaPresidents Clinton, Bush, and Obama
Clinton Years
Clinton’s Agenda Focus on Five Areas:
o Economyo Health Careo Familyo Educationo Crime
Economy Fix the federal deficit
o Under Reagan and Bush the deficit nearly quadrupledo Lower interest rates, cut spending, raise taxes
Tax hike very unpopular after he campaigned to cut taxeso Raised taxes on middle and upper income Americanso New taxes on gasoline, heating oil, and natural gases
Health Care Reform 15% of Americans lacked health insurance
Task force headed by Hillary Rodham Clintono Plan to guarantee health benefits for all Americanso Burden of paying for it on employers (small-businesses
feared this)o Doctors and insurance industry campaigned against plano Republicans against it, Democrats divided, no plan
passed
Families Family Medical Leave Act
o Up to 12 weeks/year of unpaid family leave for birth or adoption of a child or for illness of a family member
AmeriCorpso Students to work improving low-income
housing, teaching children to read, and cleaning up the environment
o Volunteers earn a salary and get a scholarship to improve education
Crime and Gun Control Gun-control laws (Brady Bill)
o Waiting period before purchaseso Background checks
Funding for new prisons and for 100,000 more officers on the streetso Also banned 19 assault weapons and provided money
for crime prevention programs
Republicans gain control of Congress
Clinton unpopular but successfulo Raised taxes, failed to fix health care,
economy improving
Newt Gingrich: Contract with Americao Lower taxes, welfare reform, anticrime
laws, term limits for Congress, and balanced budget amendment
o Most passed in now GOP-led House, but were shot down in Senate or vetoed by Clinton
Budget Battles: Gov’t Shutdown
Clinton vetoes Republican budget
Gingrich refuses to negotiate or bendo Assumes Clinton will back off
Clinton holds ground, government closeso Republicans realize they need
to work with President Clintono Clinton regains support from
Americans for holding his ground
1996 Campaign Clinton works with Republicans for Health
Coverage laws and Welfare Reform
Clinton takes credit for economic boom: longest sustained growth in US historyo Unemployment and inflation fell to lowest levels in 40
yearso Markets soaring, crime falling
And the results are…
Clinton’s Second Term Economy continues to grow
o Balanced budget…even a surplus!
Putting Children Firsto Cigarette advertising banso Health Insurance programso Increase in Student Grants
Impeachment Independent Counsel led by Kenneth Starr to look
into Clinton potentially arranging illegal loans while Arkansas Governor
Scandal about personal relationship with WH intern and whether he committed perjury (lying under oath)
Starr concludes study and says Clinton obstructed justice, abused powers as president, and committed perjury
Impeachment Hearings House of Reps passed two
articles of impeachment and case moved to Senate for trial
Perjury: 55-45 not guilty
Obstruction of Justice: 50-50
Both fell far short of 2/3 vote needed
Foreign Policy Haiti government overthrow
o Influx of refugees to USo UN trade embargo to try to restore democracyo Role of Jimmy Carter
Bosnia: Christian Serbs begin ethnic cleansing Bosnian Muslims (brutal expulsion of an ethnic group for a geographic area)o Some cases of slaughter instead of moving Muslimso Dayton Accords for peace
Middle East Saddam Hussein and the Kurds
o US fires missiles at Iraqi military targets
Israel and Palestineo Declaration of Principleso Disputed territorieso Still no peace
Jordan and Israel peace treaty
Bush Administration
2001-2009
The New Millennium Timeline
2000: Presidential Election Controversy
2001: Bush Inauguration
2001: September 11th Attacks
2001: US begins bombing Afghanistan
2001: Patriot Act
2002: Educational Reforms
Timeline (continued) 2003: US invades Iraq
2004: Bush Reelected
2005: Hurricane Katrina
2007: Pelosi—first female Speaker of the House
2008: Obama wins presidency
2010: Republican takeover of the House
The 2000 Presidential Election
Popular VoteGore: 50,999,897Bush: 50,456,002Nader: 2,882,955
Electoral CollegeBush: 271Gore: 266*
*One elector from Washington D.C. abstained from casting a vote
QUESTION: HOW CAN
THE PERSON WITH THE
MOST VOTES NOT WIN THE PRESIDENCY?
The Issue in Florida Last state to report results
Both Gore and Bush needed the 25 votes to win the presidency
Too close to callo State law requires recounto Gore requests hand recount
Bush v. Gore Supreme Court Case (Read on Pg. 1034 on your own)
Early Bush Policies Tax cuts to boost economy
Education Reformso Standardized Tests (No Child Left Behind)o Federal Funding for Private Schools (Voted Down)
Medicare Reforms
Strategic Defense Programs
September 11th
Rise of TerrorismUnit 10
September 11, 2001
The Headlines
What is Terrorism?
Terrorism is violence …
…that is deliberate and premeditated,
never random. ... that is politically
motivated..
... that targets innocent civilians (or noncombatants).
… that’s carried out by subnational groups.
... that’s aimed at a wide audience.
... that’s meant to create a state of fear.
... that’s usually directed against some hated government.
one’s own government. a foreign government. a foreign supporter of one’s own government.
Definitions of Terrorism :
“Premeditated and politically motivated violence perpetrated against noncom-batant targets by subnational groups or clandestine agents, usually intended to influence an audience.
-U.S. State Department “The deliberate use of violence against civilians for political or
religious ends.”-Council of Foreign Relations
“Illegal attacks and threats against people or property by a
group for the purpose of weakening a hated political authority.- IR text
There is no universally accepted definition of terrorism. Why not?
UN tried to draft definition of terrorism in 2002, but failed because of disagreements over which groups should be treated as terrorists.
Some would exempt “national liberation movements” or those “resisting occupation.”
“One Man’s Terrorist is Another Man’s Freedom Fighter””
Islamic Terrorism
Many of the terrorists we face today are Islamic extremists.
View themselves as fighting jihad (“holy war”)against the enemies of Islam.
Difficult to deter. Why?
Islamic Fundamentalism“Islamic Extremism” or “Radical Islam”
Radical and extreme form of Islam that has contributed to the rise of religiously motivated terrorism
Islamic fundamentalism IS NOT ACTIVELY SUPPORTED BY MOST OF THE WORLD’S MUSLIMS TODAY!
Beliefs / Goals of Islamic Fundamentalism
Wants to return to a strict, conservative, “pure” Islam as practiced in the 7th century by the Prophet Mohammad.
Rejects Western ideas and practices. Wants to rid Muslim world of all Western influences. Views Western culture as corrupting, immoral, and materialistic.
Wants to establish Islamic governments (theocracies) based on Islamic law (Shari’a) throughout the Muslim world.
Al Qaeda: A Global Terrorist Network
Al Qaeda Today
Many leaders have been killedor captured since 9-11. Al Qaeda is significantly weakened, but is still a threat.
Core leadership operating from Pakistan today. Goal is still thetargeting of the U.S.
Local groups linked to al Qaeda in Yemen, Somalia, and NorthAfrica are emerging as the next threat.
Why Did bin Laden Target the U.S. ?
Believes U.S. wants to controlMuslim lands.
U.S. support of Israel, whichmurders Palestinians androbs them of their lands.
U.S. support for corrupt andrepressive governments inin Muslim countries like Egypt,Saudi Arabia, and Pakistan.
America’s military presencein Saudi Arabia defiles Muslim’sholy land.
The War on Terrorism
The Significance of 9-11
Changed the focus of U.S. foreign policy overnight.
The “war on terrorism” became the central concern of the Bush administration.
There was no “war on terrorism” before 9-11.
Bush’s Response
Characterized attacks as “more than acts of terror, they were acts of war”.
“We will make no distinction between the terrorists who committed these acts and those who harbor them.”
Viewed war on terrorism with “moral clarity” - as a war between good and evil.
QUESTION TO CONSIDER: WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN FIGHTING
TERRORISM AND FIGHTING A WAR?
Bush’s Response
“Every nation, in every region, now has a decision to make: Either you are with us, or you are with the terrorists.”
Recruited worldwide coalition to fight a “war on terrorism.”
Worldwide Support for U.S.
Strong support from U.S. allies.
NATO invoked Article 5 of its charter for the first and only time!
“The Parties agree that an armed attack against one or more of them in Europe or North America shall be considered an attack against them all...”
Alliances Formal agreement (treaty) between two or more
countries to protect each other in case of attack.
Based on the idea of collective security--the principle that aggression against one state is aggression against all and should be defeated by the collective action of all.
Alliances are not necessarily based on ideology or shared values.
Alliances of convenience do occur (example: US-Pakistan relationship today)
War in Afghanistan
Afghanistan: The “Other War”
2001 Taliban was defeated andremoved from power.
2003 Elite military units moved to Iraq as Afghanistan was overshadowed by the war in Iraq.
2004 While U.S. attention was diverted to Iraq,
Taliban regrouped and began insurgency to regain power.
Afghanistan: Losing the War?
2006- 2009 Insurgent violence inten-
sified and Taliban attacks have increased each year.
Large parts of the country have fallen under Taliban’s control.
Taliban using Pakistan asa safe haven from which to launch attacks.
War’s First Phase: Afghanistan (October, 2001)
Military retaliation against al Qaeda and Taliban regime providing safe haven to bin Laden
Unconventional war fought by:CIA operatives & U.S. Special
Forces.Northern Alliance allies
Supported by intense U.S.bombing campaign
Afghanistan, 2001
Results:
Al Qaeda bases destroyed.
Taliban defeated and removed from power.
New pro-Western Afghan government put in place.
Most Taliban and al Qaeda leaders escaped intoneighboring Pakistan.
Afghanistan’s president
Hamid Karzai
The Debate Over Sending More Troops
Those who support sendingmore troops say the Talibaninsurgency must be defeatedbefore we can claim success.
Those who oppose sendingmore troops argue the war’s goals should be scaled backand we should focus oneliminating al Qaeda.
The Global War on Terrorism (GWOT)
War on terrorism remainsa global campaign with no boundaries -- and no end in sight.
Al Qaeda and its off-shootsexist all over the world.
Requires U.S. assistance to
-- and from -- many othergovernments.
Means U.S. military advisors and Special Forces operating throughout the world.
The “Axis of Evil”
2002 State of the Union speech – President Bush expanded scope of war on terrorism to include rogue states possessing or developing
Weapons of Mass Destruction.
Said an “Axis of Evil” existed in the world today:
Iran Iraq North Korea
Axis of Evil
Accused all three states of seeking WMDs and said U.S. would do “whatever was necessary” to keep these states from acquiring such weapons.
Accused all three countriesof having links with terrorist groups.
Axis of Evil
Some U.S. allies had strong reservations about expand-ing war on terrorism against these states.
None of these countries had been linked to Sept. 11.
Concerns over what the U.S. planned next – especially in regards to Iraq.
The Bush Doctrine
Doctrine asserted that U.S. must defend itself by acting preemptively against these terrorists and rogue states – before they can use WMD against us.
Asserted right to act against “emerging” threats “before they are fully formed” -- not just immediate threats
Controversial interpretationof the tradition right to self-defense. Why?
The Bush Doctrine and Iraq
The war in Iraq was the only application of the Bush Doctrine.
War based on threat posed by Iraq’s WMD and its supposed ties to terrorism.
Implications for the Bush Doctrine?
The Iraqi Invasion
Iraq Timeline January 2002: Axis of Evil Speech
September 2002: Bush speaks to UN for resolution against Iraq
November 2002: Iraq readmits UN inspectors
March 2003: US-led invasion
May 1, 2003: Bush declares major combat over
Insurgency After the quick
victory, fighting continuedo Snipers, bombings,
battles
US Goals:o Stop insurgency,
prevent Sunni-Shia Civil War, create a new Iraqi government
Costs of Iraq US and allies spend $30 billion to
improve quality of life in Iraqo “Hearts & Minds War”o Schools, Clean Water, Health Care,
Electricity
3,000 Americans killed by insurgents
Dilemma on pulling troops out
The Dilemma about Iraq
Pulling out troops
o Civil War?
o Safe Haven for Terrorists?
Staying in Iraq
o Resentment to US
o Radical Responses?
American Solution: Get Iraqi government up and running as quickly as
possible.Train their troops to control country.
Hand over all control.Do you think this solution was a wise decision?
The 2000 Election
Obama’s First Term—From Eyes of DemsAchievements
Stimulus Package
Auto Industry Bailout
Supreme Court appointmentso (Sotomayor and Kagan)
Affordable Healthcare Act (commonly called ObamaCare by critics)
Osama bin Laden killed
Criticisms Bush tax cuts extended
Housing crisis still ongoing
Citizenship/Immigration reform still in works
No cap and trade system
Has not stopped the polarization of politics