9/11

September 11, 2001

Cypress Woods High School

U.S. Foreign Policy• The U.S. is the largest supporter

of the Jewish state of Israel.

• The Arab states consider Israel their number one enemy.

August 2, 1990• Saddam

Hussein invades neighbor to south, Kuwait.

• Iraq claims Kuwait as part of Iraq.

• U.S. and United Nations condemn invasion.

The Gulf War (Desert Storm)

• U.S. President George Bush (#41) successfully put together a coalition of over 30 nations including neighboring Egypt and Saudi Arabia to drive Iraq out of Kuwait

Saudi Arabia•The presence of pro-Israeli U.S.

troops on Arab soil (Saudi Arabia) during this time was unacceptable to some Islamic fundamentalists

•Among them was Osama bin Laden – son of a wealthy Saudi family (he was expelled from Saudi Arabia for speaking out against U.S. troops)

Update: Killed May 2011 by U.S. Forces in Pakistan

Al-Qaeda• Bin Laden had

financed many the terrorist attacks against countries in the Middle East.

• The organization that he was a part of has become Al Qaeda

• They targeted U.S. interests during the 1990’s

Bin Laden with current head: Ayman al-Zawahiri, an Egyptian surgeon turned radical

• February 1993 - explosion at the WTC in New York City (6 killed)

• October 1993 – 10 U.S. soldiers killed in Somalia (East Africa)

• June 1996 – Truck bomb explodes outside a military complex in Saudi Arabia killing 19 U.S. servicemen and injuring hundreds of others

• August 1998 – bombing of U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania (East Africa) kills 224 including 12 Americans

• October 2000 – bombing of the USS Cole while it is in port in Yemen (Arabian Peninsula) 17 U.S. sailors killed

Terrorist Attacks by Al-Qaeda

September 11, 2001

Pentagon Building Shanksville, PA

New York City

2753 victims

                                                                      

911 Hijackers• 15 of 19 from

Saudi Arabia• Some trained

at Al-Qaeda terrorist camps

• In U.S. for a few months and lived in either San Diego or South Florida

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M-B6c6xxXug

War on Terror - AfghanistanOct 7, 2001- Present

• The U.S. and allies invaded Afghanistan to oust Taliban regime, capture bin Laden and eliminate al-Qaeda

War on Terror – IraqMarch 20, 2003- August 19,

2010• Goals: Look for

WMD (weapons of mass destruction)

• Oust dictator Saddam Hussein

• Bring democracy to Iraq

5,800+ U.S. military killed40,000+ U.S. military injured

Iraqi and Afghan civilian and military deaths:Range from tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands(depends on survey used)

Terrorism Today• Civil War in Syria• ISIS/ISIL in Syria and Iraq• Hezbollah in Iran and Middle East• 2015 Terrorist attacks in Beirut,

lebanon and Paris