Terrorism and Violence

Terrorism and Violence 2000-2009

9/11 FACTS: • 19 hijackers from Islamic militant group al Qaeda • Led by Osama Bin Laden • Khalid Sheikh Mohammed: admitted involement • September 11, 2001 • 1st plane: 8:46 a.m. • 2nd plane: 9:03 a.m. • Pentagon: 9:37 a.m. • Flight 93: Shanksville, Pennsylvania 10:03 a.m.

The Stats of 9/11/2001 • Death Toll: 2,819 • Those who lost a spouse: 1,609 • Those who lost a parent: 3,051 • Tons of debris removed: 1,506,124 ( • Days fire continued to burn after attack: 99 • Number of “jumpers”: > 200 • Ratio of fallen men to women: 3:1 • Bodies found “intact”: 289 • Body parts found: 19,858 • Families who got no remains: 1,717 • Percentage of Americans who knew someone who got hurt or killed: 20

Virginia Tech Massacre“Deadliest shooting incident bya single gunman in United States history.” • April 16, 2007 • 32 killed • 5 faculty members • 27 students • Perpetrator: Seung-Hui Cho • 23 years old • From Seoul, South Korea • Undergraduate of Virginia Tech in English • Diagnosed with mental illness, including MDD, but would not seek help

Now let’s talk.. POLITICS

2000Election • November 7, 2000 George W. Bush/Richard Cheney (Republican ) vs. Al Gore/Joseph Lieberman ( Democrat )

Outcome: Popular:Electoral: Bush/Cheney: 50,460,110 (47.87%) 271 (50.4%) Gore/Lieberman:51,003,926 (48.38%) 251 (46.7%) Florida controversy: • Many radio stations had already announced that Gore had won the election • Therefore, some did not waste time standing in line to vote and some did not come out • There was also a problem with the butterfly ballots, which had a part in the demand of a recount • Gore won the popular vote, but lost the electoral vote, and did not win his home state of Tennessee

2004 Election George Walker Bush/Richard Cheney vs. John Kerry/John Edwards Electoral Vote: 53.2% Bush/Cheney 46.7% Kerry/Edwards Popular Vote: 50.73% Bush/Cheney 48.27% Kerry/Edwards

2008 Election Barak H. Obama/Joseph R. Biden Jr. (Dem) “Change we can believe in.” -Became the first African-American President of the United States “The Team You Can Trust.” (Rep)

Senate/House of Representatives • In 2001, the Senate was controlled by the Democrats and the H.O.R was controlled by the Republicans • In the 2003 midterm elections, Congress became completely controlled by Republicans • However, in 2007, it became completely controlled by Democrats

USA Patriot Act • October 2001: George W. Bush signed • Increased powers of law enforcement and federal government • Essentially for protection and national security • Can allow government to investigate suspicious activities according to their standards

Foreign Affairs

War on Terrorism • Was an international campaign headed by the U.S. and England, and was supported by NATO • Was created with the attack of September 11 under the Bush administration • Was originally created to eliminate al-Qaeda and other militant organizations

War in Afghanistan • Under the United Nations Charter, which stated that nations were permitted to use force in individual or collective self-defense against an aggressor, the U.S. declared war on Afghanistan • New phase of the war was launched in 2001 called Operation Enduring Freedom

Reasons for War • Sparked by the 9/11 attack • The goal: • to capture Osama bin Laden • to eliminate al-Qaeda, and to end its use of Afghanistan as a base • to remove the Taliban regime from power • to democratize

Al-Qaeda • Was a terrorist organization that attacked civilian and military targets in various countries • Was founded and led by Osama bin Laden

Osama bin Laden • March 10, 1957 – May 2, 2011 • son of a wealthy Saudi family • Joined the Muslim resistance in Afghanistan after the 1979 Soviet invasion • When soviets withdrew in 1989, he returned to Saudi Arabia in 1990 • Following his homecoming, he became enraged at the presence of U.S. troops in Saudi Arabia during the Persian Gulf War and, through a network of like-minded Islamic militants known as al-Qaeda, launched a series of terrorist attacks

Taliban Regime • Was an Islamic militant and political group • Its leader was Mullah Mohammed Omar • Enforced strict interpretation of Sharia Law (moral code of Islam and religious law) • Was condemned internationally for their brutal repression of women

Results of War • The Taliban regime was ousted in Kabul • Al-Qaeda was eliminated • Osama went into hiding

Invasion of Iraq • In 2002 the Iraq Resolution was passed by Congress, which authorized for military force against Iraq

Reasons for War • U.S. and England agreed that Iraq’s possession of weapons of mass destruction posed a threat to their security as well as supporting nations • The goal: • to remove Saddam Hussein from power • to promote a democratic replacement • to obtain weapons of mass destruction

Saddam Hussein • April 28, 1937 – December 30, 2006 • Joined the Ba’ath Party in 1957 and helped overthrow Faisal II of Iraq, and Qasim became president • In 1963 army officers with ties to the Ba’ath Party overthrew Qasim, and Arif became president • Later that year Arif arrested the Ba’athist leaders, and in 1964 Saddam Hussein was imprissoned • He escaped in 1967 and became a leading member of the Ba’ath Party

Saddam Hussein • Partook in a bloodless coup of Arif, and Al-Bakr became president and Saddam his deputy • On 1 June 1972, Saddam oversaw the seizure of international oil interests, which, at the time, dominated the country's oil sector. A year later, world oil prices rose dramatically as a result of the 1973 energy crisis, and skyrocketing revenues enabled Saddam to expand his agenda. • In 1979 he became president

Saddam Hussein • After the passing of United Nations Security Council Resolution, which demanded that Iraq give "immediate, unconditional and active cooperation" with UN and IAEA inspections, Hussein allowed U.N. weapons inspectors led by Hans Blix to return to Iraq. During the renewed inspections beginning in November 2002, Blix found no stockpiles of WMD and noted "proactive" but not always the "immediate" Iraqi cooperation as called for by UN Security Council Resolution • Saddam Hussein later told an FBI interviewer that he once left open the possibility that Iraq possessed weapons of mass destruction in order to appear strong against Iran

Results of War • The Iraqi government and military collapsed within 3 weeks of the invasion of Iraq • The army crumbled and most fighting if any was in the form of guerilla warfare • Saddam was nowhere to be found, and his rule was symbolically over with the fall of Baghdad • Hussein was placed on the U.S. list of most wanted Iraqis • On 13 December 2003, Operation Red Dawn was launched and Hussein was found and captured by U.S. forces at a farmhouse in ad-Dawr near Tikrit in a hole • On 5 November 2006, Saddam Hussein was found guilty of crimes against humanity and sentenced to death by hanging

Results of War • On December 30, 2006 Saddam Hussein was hanged, even though he wanted to be shot, at Camp Justice, northeast of Baghdad • No WMD’s were found, but U.S. led inspections agreed that Iraq had earlier abandoned its WMD programs, but asserted Iraq had an intention to pursue those programs if UN sanctions were ever lifted

Bush Announces War on Terrorism Video

Terrorism and Violence