🧸US History – 1945 to Present Unit 15 – 9/11 and America's War on Terror

Background and Context

• The Cold War ended in 1991 with the collapse of the Soviet Union, leaving the United States as the world's sole superpower
• Tensions in the Middle East escalated due to the Gulf War (1990-1991), which was a conflict between Iraq and a U.S.-led coalition following Iraq's invasion of Kuwait
• The rise of Islamic fundamentalism and anti-American sentiment in the Middle East was fueled by factors such as U.S. support for Israel and the presence of U.S. troops in Saudi Arabia
• Osama bin Laden, a wealthy Saudi Arabian, founded the terrorist organization al-Qaeda in the late 1980s
  • Al-Qaeda opposed Western influence in the Muslim world and sought to establish a pan-Islamic caliphate
• The 1993 World Trade Center bombing, carried out by Islamic extremists, killed six people and injured over 1,000, foreshadowing the threat of terrorism on U.S. soil
• The U.S. embassy bombings in Kenya and Tanzania (1998) and the attack on the USS Cole (2000), both attributed to al-Qaeda, further highlighted the growing threat of international terrorism

The 9/11 Attacks

• On September 11, 2001, 19 al-Qaeda terrorists hijacked four commercial airplanes, targeting symbols of American power and influence
• At 8:46 a.m., American Airlines Flight 11 crashed into the North Tower of the World Trade Center in New York City
• At 9:03 a.m., United Airlines Flight 175 crashed into the South Tower of the World Trade Center
  • The impact and resulting fires caused both 110-story towers to collapse within two hours
• At 9:37 a.m., American Airlines Flight 77 crashed into the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, causing significant damage and loss of life
• At 10:03 a.m., United Airlines Flight 93, believed to be heading for Washington, D.C., crashed into a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania, after passengers fought back against the hijackers
• The 9/11 attacks resulted in the deaths of 2,977 people, including the 19 terrorist hijackers, making it the deadliest terrorist attack in human history
• The attacks shocked the nation and the world, leading to a profound shift in U.S. foreign policy and domestic security measures

Immediate Aftermath

• President George W. Bush addressed the nation, condemning the attacks and pledging to bring those responsible to justice
• The United States received an outpouring of international support and solidarity in the wake of the attacks
• The U.S. government grounded all commercial flights and closed U.S. airspace for several days to prevent further attacks
• Congress passed the Authorization for Use of Military Force (AUMF) on September 14, 2001, granting the president broad authority to use force against those responsible for the 9/11 attacks
• The Department of Homeland Security was established in November 2002 to coordinate efforts to prevent and respond to terrorist threats
  • The Patriot Act, passed in October 2001, expanded government surveillance powers and law enforcement capabilities to combat terrorism
• The 9/11 Commission was created in November 2002 to investigate the circumstances surrounding the attacks and provide recommendations to prevent future attacks

The War on Terror Begins

• On September 20, 2001, President Bush declared a "War on Terror," vowing to defeat al-Qaeda and other terrorist organizations
• The Bush administration identified the Taliban regime in Afghanistan as a primary target due to its support and harboring of al-Qaeda
• The United States built an international coalition to support military action against the Taliban and al-Qaeda in Afghanistan
• Operation Enduring Freedom began on October 7, 2001, with U.S. and coalition forces launching airstrikes against Taliban and al-Qaeda targets in Afghanistan
• The U.S. worked with Afghan opposition groups, such as the Northern Alliance, to quickly overthrow the Taliban regime
• By December 2001, the Taliban had been removed from power, and an interim Afghan government was established under Hamid Karzai
• Despite the initial success, the U.S. and its allies faced ongoing challenges in stabilizing Afghanistan and eliminating the remnants of al-Qaeda and the Taliban

Afghanistan and Iraq Wars

• The U.S.-led invasion of Afghanistan in October 2001 aimed to dismantle al-Qaeda and remove the Taliban from power
  • The Taliban were quickly overthrown, but the U.S. and its allies faced a prolonged insurgency and nation-building challenges
• In 2002, the Bush administration began focusing on Iraq, claiming that Saddam Hussein's regime possessed weapons of mass destruction (WMDs) and had ties to al-Qaeda
• Despite a lack of international support and inconclusive evidence, the U.S. launched an invasion of Iraq in March 2003
  • The U.S.-led coalition quickly defeated Iraqi forces and removed Saddam Hussein from power
• No WMDs were found in Iraq, and the U.S. faced a growing insurgency and sectarian violence in the aftermath of the invasion
• The U.S. committed a significant number of troops to both the Afghanistan and Iraq wars, with the conflicts lasting for years and resulting in substantial casualties and financial costs
• The wars in Afghanistan and Iraq became increasingly unpopular among the American public as they dragged on without clear endpoints or measures of success

Domestic and International Impact

• The 9/11 attacks and subsequent War on Terror had far-reaching domestic and international consequences
• The Patriot Act, passed in October 2001, expanded government surveillance powers and law enforcement capabilities, raising concerns about civil liberties and privacy
• The Department of Homeland Security was created in November 2002 to coordinate efforts to prevent and respond to terrorist threats
• The U.S. implemented stricter border security measures and increased scrutiny of visa applications and foreign travelers
• Internationally, the U.S. faced criticism for its unilateral actions, particularly the invasion of Iraq without UN support
  • The wars in Afghanistan and Iraq strained U.S. relations with some allies and damaged its global reputation
• The U.S. established the Guantanamo Bay detention camp to hold suspected terrorists, which drew controversy over the treatment of detainees and the use of military tribunals
• The War on Terror led to increased cooperation among nations in intelligence sharing and counterterrorism efforts, but also raised questions about the balance between security and human rights

Long-Term Consequences

• The wars in Afghanistan and Iraq resulted in significant loss of life, with thousands of U.S. military personnel and hundreds of thousands of civilians killed
• The financial costs of the wars were immense, with estimates ranging from $2 trillion to$6 trillion, contributing to the U.S. national debt
• The removal of Saddam Hussein's regime in Iraq created a power vacuum, leading to sectarian violence and the rise of insurgent groups like al-Qaeda in Iraq (AQI)
• The instability in Iraq contributed to the rise of the Islamic State (ISIS) in 2014, which posed a new terrorist threat to the region and the world
• The U.S. military presence in Afghanistan continued for nearly two decades, with the Taliban regaining control of much of the country following the U.S. withdrawal in 2021
• The War on Terror led to increased Islamophobia and discrimination against Muslims in the U.S. and other Western countries
• The legacy of the 9/11 attacks and the War on Terror continues to shape U.S. foreign policy, military interventions, and domestic security measures

Key Debates and Controversies

• The decision to invade Iraq in 2003 remains controversial, with critics arguing that it was based on flawed intelligence and diverted resources from the fight against al-Qaeda in Afghanistan
• The use of enhanced interrogation techniques, such as waterboarding, on terrorist suspects sparked debates about the ethics and legality of such practices
• The indefinite detention of suspected terrorists at Guantanamo Bay and the use of military tribunals raised concerns about due process and human rights
• The scope and legality of the NSA's domestic surveillance programs, revealed by Edward Snowden in 2013, led to debates about the balance between national security and privacy rights
• The U.S. use of drone strikes to target terrorist suspects in countries like Pakistan and Yemen generated controversy over civilian casualties and the legality of extrajudicial killings
• The allocation of resources between the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and domestic priorities, such as healthcare and education, was a point of contention
• The long-term impact of the War on Terror on U.S. foreign policy, particularly the doctrine of preemptive war and the use of military force to combat terrorism, remains a subject of ongoing debate