Modern Conflict in the Mid East and North Africa Iraq War, Afghan War

Modern Conflict in the Mid East and North Africa

Iraq War, Afghan War

The Middle East

The Middle East’s Significance to the United States

1) They have oil. We need it. We are dependent on them.

2) Terrorists from this region were responsible for September 11th attacks.

Timeline

2001: 9-11 occurs Al Qaeda attack US from the leadership of

Osama Bin Laden Tensions are high with US and Arab/Muslim

countries that are seen as supporting Al Qaeda

9/11 Response

“The search is underway for those who were behind these evil acts. I have directed the full resources of our intelligence and law enforcement communities to find those responsible and to bring them to justice. We will make no distinction between the terrorists who committed these acts and those who harbor them.”

President Bush, delivered September 11th

Iraq

Key Terms

Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMDs): weapons capable of destroying large areas and/or killing and disabling large segments of the population

Key Terms

Al-Qaeda: International terrorist network fighting the west in the name of Islam Responsible for 9-11 Led by Osama bin Laden- He was originally

from Saudi Arabia

Key Terms

Sanction: a restriction put on a country by other countries to try to get them to comply with a request

Iraq: Background

Saddam Hussein: Former Dictator of Iraq 1979-2003 (Hanged after US took over Iraq)

We used to be allies and provided him weapons in the 1980s.

Timeline

1990s: Saddam Hussein and WMDs After Gulf war (1991), Saddam is sanctioned

by the UN to quit making Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMDs)

The US govt felt he never quit making Weapons of Mass Destruction and had an uneasy relationship with Iraq

Timeline

2003: US invades Iraq US claims Iraq is harboring terrorists and still

making WMDs in violation of UN sanctions US invades, going against the UN security

council

Did we act unilaterally

or multilaterally?

Timeline

Once the war began, we overthrew Sadaam’s government and attempted state building

State building: the efforts of more developed nations to support a failing state or establish a new state in an attempt to restore order to the lawlessness

State-building is a long-term undertaking with high costs in human lives and resources—higher than what the public may be willing to accept

December 2011-

Iraq War Cost

Costs will be in the trillions. We won’t know the exact amount and we will have additional costs over the next 4 decades due to care for veterans and interest on money borrowed

4,500 US soldiers died Roughly 134,000 Iraqis civilians have died

http://nationalpriorities.org/cost-of/

Was the Iraq War a success?

Al Qaeda is still causing violence and trying to take over cities.

WMDS were never found State building here has not been as

successful as it should have been for the money spent.

Afghanistan

Taliban: group of extremist Muslims who controlled Afghanistan

They helped hide Osama bin Laden!

Timeline

2001: US invades Afghanistan US invades in search of Al-Qaeda and Osama

Bin Laden and to break apart Taliban network Osama bin Laden was killed in Pakistan http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/video/hunt-for-

osama-bin-laden-in-60-seconds-13517924

Video ^

Costs of Afghanistan War

Really hard to estimate, over $600 billion spent. Source: http://csis.org/publication/us-cost-afghan-war-fy2002-fy2013

Over 2,200 U.S. soldiers dead. Source: http://icasualties.org/oef/

Timeline- source: http://www.usip.org/afghanistan-the-current-situation

Now (2014): The Taliban remains resilient- they have a safe

haven in Pakistan. Afghan government is still weak, the Taliban

intimidates voters. The international community is fatigued. The

situation has reached a stalemate. After years of refusing to negotiate, the U.S.

government in early 2011 began to openly pursue a negotiated solution with the Taliban.

The Afghan war is complicated because many Al Qaeda leaders are hiding out in Pakistan….and we can’t just invade every country we think has Al Qaeda leaders in it

Additional Info: Afghanistan (Not on Notes)

KARZAI became the first democratically elected president of Afghanistan. KARZAI was re-elected in August 2009 for a second term.

Despite gains toward building a stable central government, a resurgent Taliban and continuing provincial instability remain serious challenges for the Afghan Government. (cia world factbook)

Review!!!!

What terrorist group was responsible for 9/11? Who was its leader? Where did he die? What is the history between Saddam Hussein and the

U.S.? What terrorist group was located (still is) in

Afghanistan? Does American call either the Iraq war or the

Afghanistan war a real success? Why?