Transcript AL History
Chapter 10 Lesson 2
Post Cold War Conflicts
terrorist
After
the Cold War, the United States became
involved in other conflicts.
The Cold War ended in 1989.
In 1991, the United States became part of
the Persian Gulf War.
In
1990, Saddam Hussein (the leader of Iraq
at the time) had his troops invade Kuwait.
Kuwait is a small country that produces large
amounts of oil.
Iraq’s troops gained control of Kuwait very
quickly.
The United States and other countries feared
that Iraq would also try to invade Saudi
Arabia (another large producer of oil).
On
January 16, 1991, the United States
attacked Iraq.
Guided missiles and night-vision gear made it
possible to fight day and night.
Many of the missiles came from Redstone
Arsenal.
Soldiers from Alabama including almost 5,000
National Guard were part of the Persian Gulf
War.
The United States led forces quickly won the
war.
On
September 11, 2001, terrorists attacked
the United States.
Terrorists took control of and crashed four
airplanes that day.
Two crashed into the World Trade Center
buildings.
One crashed into the Pentagon.
One crashed in a field in Pennsylvania.
More than 3,000 people in the buildings, on
the planes, and on the ground died.
After
this, President Bush asked other
countries to join the US in the War on
Terrorism.
The war started in Afghanistan, where people
believed the terrorist responsible for 9/11
were trained.
The US started bombing Afghanistan in
October. Afghanistan surrendered in
December.
Saddam
Hussein refused to step down as the
leader of Iraq.
President Bush ordered an attack on Iraq in
March of 2003.
In December, Hussein was captured.
The War on Terrorism continues today.