A NEW ERA OF FEARTERROR At Home and Abroad

The Eastern Bloc Collapses

As Soviet power declined (as a Russian soldiers rebelled for not receiving any pay) the Warsaw Pact nations asserted their own independence. Germans tore down the Berlin Wall in 1989 and the country was reunited. One by one, the eastern nations overthrew their Communist leaders. The USSR took no action to stop this.

Perestroika In an effort to salvage the Russian economy, Gorbachev also

decreed “perestroika”- allowing an open-market economy to flourish in small businesses.

Perestroika and Glasnost divided the Communist Party and Soviet leadership. Hard-liners warned Gorbachev that these policies would destroy party control of the USSR. When he ignored their warnings they began to plan a coup.

Several of the Soviet republics (noting that more and more Russian soldiers were in Afghanistan) agitated for independence.

Even as the USSR withdrew from Afghanistan, the Moslem nation was in danger of falling into a civil war.

The New Europe

Soviet Collapse

In 1991, Soviet hard-liners attempted to reassert Communist authority by detaining Gorbachev and sending troops to Moscow to shut down the rebellious Russian parliament. Russian Federation President Yeltsin led a band of citizens in defying the troops, who refused to fire on the crowd. The Soviet Union had collapsed.

Neo-Isolationism? In the 1990s, American foreign policy

generally focused on “realignment” in light of the end of the Cold War.

After the Gulf War of 1991, the American military budget was reduced, and dropped slowly for the remainder of the decade.

US military actions were undertaken as part of UN mandates (in Bosnia and Somalia).

Foreign aid costs were also reduced.

Declining $ Power

Military Compensation

“Today, a great challenge has passed; but other threats endure, and new ones will arise.” -- Defense Strategy for the 1990s, by the Dept. of Defense, 1992, supervise by Sec. of Defense Dick Cheney

"Courage, determination, and hard work are all very nice, but not so nice as an oil well in the back yard.“ – Mason Cooley, 1990s

Police Actions

USIA

In the Cold War, the US had relied on a the United States Information Agency for pro-American information in films, brochures and magazines made available around the world . But the agency and its $2 annual budget was cut in1999.

Government-Press Alliances

The USIA had employed many prominent journalists – like the legendary Edward R. Murrow and US News and World Report editor Marvin Stone – for assistance in writing pro-US news.

Some journalists charged that colleagues who worked for the USIA also worked for the CIA.

The CIA

Forbidden by law from operating within the US, the CIA nonetheless paid some college faculty in the 1970s-80s to act a agents for a “counter-intelligence program” on many large campuses.

Foreign Aid

Small Amounts for Big Results?

Competition for $$$

Debt Issues

Spreading the Wealth

The Spark in the Middle East

9-11

Fighting Terrorism

Following 9/11, the US committed itself to a long-term battle against terrorism, beginning with a military action in Afghanistan.

Bush Doctrine

The “Bush Doctrine” against terrorism has led to an increase in American influence in the world, but also a resentment against the United States. Beyond the question of “who is a terrorist,” rests another uncertainty – how long will Americans be willing to carry out this new crusade?

Doubts

Winning Hearts and MindsRank Country

Billions of Dollars received in 2004

Aid Per Person Recipient

1 Iraq 18.44 $625

2 Israel 2.62 $365

3 Egypt 1.87 $23

4 Afghanistan 1.77 $61

5 Colombia 0.57 $12

6 Jordan 0.56 $94

7 Pakistan 0.39 $2

8 Liberia 0.21 $56

9 Peru 0.17 $6

10 Ethiopia 0.16 $2

11 Bolivia 0.15 $16

12 Turkey 0.15 $2

13 Uganda 0.14 $4

14 Sudan 0.14 $3

15 Indonesia 0.13 $1

16 Kenya 0.13 $3

The Question of Image

Across the world, the contrast in power and methods for war led to an ‘image problem’ for the United States.

Torture and Home Security

Home Debate

Meltdown

Guns vs. butter --- again

Choices, 2010

New Middle East tensions“Those who pour oil on the fire must know that they will not be spared from the smoke that billows,” said Manouchehr Mottaki, the Iranian Foreign Minister, in a clear warning to Saudi Arabia — which attacked Huthi [Shiite] rebels after they took control of a Saudi border town last week. London Times, November 12, 2009

New challenges and new fears

Forces for democracy?

“The Libyan revolution that began as a spontaneous uprising a month ago is posing crucial questions for the U.S. and allies: Who, if anyone, is in charge, and what does the disparate rebel coalition want to achieve beyond ousting Col. Moammar Gadhafi?”

"When America occupied Afghanistan and Iraq, it spread corruption and killed innocents," said Rafat Bakar, a thick-bearded revolutionary activist in the city of Baida. "A Western intervention in Libya would help us get rid of the tyrant and of injustice."

Wall Street Journal , March 21, 2011

To the future

“Iran unveiled new missile and artillery systems on Tuesday, Iranian media reported, on the second day of large-scale military exercises which officials said were aimed at sending a warning to those threatening the Islamic Republic.”Associated Press, November 13, 2012