Readiness standards comprise
65% of the U. S. History Test
11 (A)
Readiness Standard (11)
The student understands the emerging political,
economic, & social issues of the Un. S. from the 1990s
into the 21st century.
The Student is expected to:
(A) Describe U. S. involvement in world affairs,
including the end of the Cold War, the Persian Gulf War,
the Balkans Crisis, 9/11, & the global War on Terror
Readiness Standard (11)
The student understands the emerging political,
economic, & social issues of the Un. S. from the 1990s
into the 21st century.
The Student is expected to:
(A) 1 Describe U. S. involvement in world affairs,
including the end of the Cold War (SEE ALSO
Supporting Standard 2 [D] 7 & 8 [B] 1)
The Student is expected to:
(D) 7 Explain the significance of
1991 (Cold War ends)
Tearing down of
the Berlin Wall in
1989 heralded the
soon-coming
establishment of a
New World Order.
The Reagan Administration’s military buildup
ultimately broke the Soviet Union financially,
forcing it to draw closure to the hostile
relationship it had maintained with the U. S.
since 1948 during the Truman years.
The Cold War Arms Race
• Towards the end of Jimmy Carter’s presidency, and
continued strongly through the subsequent presidency
of Ronald Reagan, the United States rejected
disarmament and tried to restart the arms race
through the production of new weapons and antiweapons systems.
• The central part of this strategy was the Strategic
Defense Initiative, a space based anti-ballistic missile
system derided as “Star Wars” by its critics. However,
the SDI would require technology that had not yet been
developed, or even researched, such as space and earth
based laser battle stations sensors on the ground, in the
air, and in space with radar, optical, and infrared
technology to detect incoming missiles.
The Cold War Arms Race
• During the second part of 1980s, the Soviet
economy was teetering towards collapse and was
unable to match American arms spending. The
Soviets feared the SDI because the U.S. would have
an edge if it ever came to nuclear war.
• Numerous negotiations by Mikhail
Gorbachev attempted to come to agreements on
reducing nuclear stockpiles, but the most radical
were rejected by Reagan as they would also
prohibit his SDI program. However, due to
enormous costs and far too complex technology for
its time, the project and research was cancelled.
The Cold War Arms Race
• During the mid-1980s, the U.S-Soviet relations significantly
improved. Mikhail Gorbachev assumed control of the
Soviet Union after the deaths of several former Soviet
leaders, and announced a new era of perestroika and
glasnost, meaning restructuring and openness respectively.
• Much of the Soviet Union began to declare independence
and slowly became free of Soviet influence. One of the most
iconic events of the collapse of the Soviet Union was the
destruction of the Berlin Wall on November 10, 1989.
• On December 8, 1991, the Soviet Union dissolved and the
Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) was
established. This event marked the end of the 50- year-long
Cold War.
The Details
By the time the comparatively youthful Mikhail
Gorbachev became General Secretary in 1985, the Soviet
economy was stagnant and faced a sharp fall in foreign
currency earnings as a result of the downward slide in oil
prices in the 1980s. These issues prompted Gorbachev to
investigate measures to revive the ailing state. An
ineffectual start led to the conclusion that deeper
structural changes were necessary and in June 1987
Gorbachev announced an agenda of economic reform
called perestroika, or restructuring. Perestroika relaxed the
production quota system, allowed private ownership of
businesses and paved the way for foreign investment.
These measures were intended to redirect the country’s
resources from costly Cold War military commitments to
more productive areas in the civilian sector.
Despite initial skepticism in the West, the new Soviet
leader proved to be committed to reversing the Soviet
Union’s deteriorating economic condition instead of
continuing the arms race with the West. Partly as a way to
fight off internal opposition from party cliques to his
reforms, Gorbachev simultaneously introduced glasnost, or
openness, which increased freedom of the press and the
transparency of state institutions. Glasnost was intended to
reduce the corruption at the top of the Communist Party
and moderate the abuse of power in the Central
Committee. Glasnost also enabled increased contact
between Soviet citizens and the western world, particularly
with the United States, contributing to the accelerating
détente between the two nations.
Thaw in relations
In
In response
response to
to the
the Kremlin’s military and political concessions,
Reagan agreed to renew talks on economic issues and the
scaling-back of the arms race. The first was held in November
1985 in Geneva, Switzerland. At one stage the two men,
accompanied only by an interpreter, agreed in principle to
reduce each country’s nuclear arsenal by 50 percent. A second
Reykjavík Summit was held in Iceland. Talks went well until
the focus shifted to Reagan’s proposed Strategic Defense
Initiative, which Gorbachev wanted eliminated. Reagan
refused. The negotiations failed, but the third summit in 1987
led to a breakthrough with the signing of the IntermediateRange Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF). The INF treaty eliminated
all nuclear-armed, ground-launched ballistic and cruise
missiles with ranges between 500 and 5,500 kilometers (300 to
3,400 miles) and their infrastructure.
East–West tensions rapidly subsided through the
mid-to-late 1980s, culminating with the final
summit in Moscow in 1989, when Gorbachev and
George H. W. Bush signed the START I arms
control treaty. During the following year it became
apparent to the Soviets that oil and gas subsidies,
along with the cost of maintaining massive troops
levels, represented a substantial economic drain. In
addition, the security advantage of a buffer zone
was recognized as irrelevant and the Soviets
officially declared that they would no longer
intervene in the affairs of allied states in Central
and Eastern Europe.
In 1989, Soviet forces withdrew from
Afghanistan and by 1990 Gorbachev
consented to German reunification, the only
alternative being a Tianamen scenario. When
the
the Berlin
Berlin Wall
Wall came
came down,
down, Gorbachev’s
“Common European Home” concept began
to take shape. On December 3, 1989,
Gorbachev and Reagan’s successor, George
H. W. Bush, declared the Cold War over at
the Malta Summit; a year later, the two
former rivals were partners in the Gulf War
against Iraq.
East Europe Breaks
Away
By 1989, the Soviet alliance system was on the brink of
collapse, and, deprived of Soviet military support, the
Communist leaders of the Warsaw Pact states were losing
power. Grassroots organizations, such as Poland’s
Solidarity movement, rapidly gained ground with strong
popular bases. In 1989, the Communist governments in
Poland and Hungary became the first to negotiate the
organizing of competitive elections. In Czechoslovakia and
East Germany, mass protests unseated entrenched
Communist leaders. The Communist regimes in Bulgaria
and Romania also crumbled, in the latter case as the result
of a violent uprising.
The tidal wave of change culminated with the
fall of the Berlin Wall in November 1989, which
symbolized the collapse of European
Communist governments and graphically ended
the Iron Curtain divide of Europe. The 1989
revolutionary wave swept across Central and
Eastern Europe peacefully overthrew all the
Soviet-style communist states: East Germany,
Poland, Hungary, Czechoslovakia and Bulgaria,
Romania was the only Eastern-bloc country to
topple its communist regime violently and
execute its head of state.
Soviet Republics
Break Away
In the USSR itself, glasnost weakened the bonds
that held the Soviet Union together and by
February 1990, with the dissolution of the USSR
looming, the Communist Party was forced to
surrender its 73-year-old monopoly on state power.
At the same time freedom of press and dissent
allowed by glasnost and
and the
the festering “nationalities
question” increasingly
increasingly led
led the
the Union’s component
republics to declare their autonomy from Moscow,
with the Baltic states withdrawing from the Union
entirely.
Soviet Dissolution
Gorbachev’s permissive attitude toward Central and
Eastern Europe did not initially extend to Soviet territory;
even Bush, who strove to maintain friendly relations,
condemned the January 1991 killings in Latvia and
Lithuania, privately warning that economic ties would be
frozen if the violence continued. The USSR was fatally
weakened by a failed coup and a growing number of Soviet
republics, particularly Russia, who threatened to secede
from the USSR. The Commonwealth of Independent
States, created on December 21, 1991, is viewed as a
successor entity to the Soviet Union but, according to
Russia’s leaders, its purpose was to “allow a civilized
divorce” between the Soviet Republics and is comparable
to a loose confederation. The USSR was declared officially
dissolved on December 25, 1991.
Aftermath
NATO has expanded eastward into the former
Warsaw Pact and parts of the former Soviet Union
since the end of the Cold War. The aftermath of the
Cold War continues to influence world affairs.
After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the post–
Cold War world is widely considered as unipolar,
with the United States the sole remaining
superpower, although the recent behavior of
Russian President Vladimir Putin in the Ukraine &
Crimea may suggest a resurgence of Russian power
and subsequent renewal of U. S.-Russian tensions if
not estrangement.
The Cold War defined the political role of the United
States in the post–World War II world: by 1989 the US
held military alliances with 50 countries, and had
526,000 troops stationed abroad in dozens of countries,
with 326,000 in Europe (two-thirds of which in west
Germany) and about 130,000 in Asia (mainly Japan
and South Korea). The Cold War also marked the
zenith of peacetime military-industrial complexes,
especially in the US, and large-scale military funding
of science. These complexes, though their origins may
be found as early as the 19th century, grew
considerably during the Cold War. The militaryindustrial complexes continue to have great impact on
their countries and help shape their society, policy and
foreign relations.
End of the Cold War Timeline
1985 — Gorbachev comes to power.
1987 — Reagan and Gorbachev sign the Intermediate-range Nuclear Forces
Treaty (INF) in Washington. It removes more than 2,600 medium-range nuclear
missiles from Europe.
March 1989 — Hungary decides to allow free elections and take down the fence
between Hungary and Austria. Gorbachev says he will not stop the moves.
June 1989 — Poland holds its first free elections. The Solidarity (labor) Party
beats the Communists.
July 1989 — Thousands of East Germans “vacation” in Hungary and then flee to
the Austria and the West.
October 1989 — East German leaders celebrate the 40th anniversary of the
founding of the Communist GDR. Two days later 70,000 protesters demand an end
to the regime. Russian troops stay in their barracks and GDR soldiers and police
back down. Communist leader Honecker is voted out of office by the Politburo.
November 1989 — Soldiers in East Berlin open some of the gates in the Berlin
Wall. Crowds respond by tearing the wall down.
November 1989 — Bugaria’s communist party leader resigns. Free elections held
in June, 1990.
December 1989 — Protesters in Czechoslovakia jangle keys in front of the
government saying, “Your time is up.” The government gives up without violence,
and elections are held.
End of the Cold War Timeline ctd.
.
December 1989 — Romanian communist forces kill 73 in riots. Crowds
storm the government and later capture the leader Ceausescu. He and his
wife are tried and executed. Elections are held.
June 1991 — In Yugoslavia, the provinces of Croatia and Slovenia declare
their independence igniting a decade of fighting and genocide. Eventually,
the country splits into Serbia, Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia, Herzegovina, and
the region of Kosovo.
August 1991 — Russian military leaders put Gorbachev under house
arrest and take over governing in order to save the Soviet Union. Boris
Yeltsin, leader of the Russian Republic, occupies the Parliament building,
defying the coup. The Army backs down.
December 1991 — The republics of Russia, Belarus and Ukraine act to
dissolve the Soviet Union, finally freeing Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania,
Belarus, Ukraine, Georgia, Moldova, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan,
Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Kazakhstan.
Readiness Standard (11)
The student understands the emerging political,
economic, & social issues of the Un. S. from the 1990s
into the 21st century.
The Student is expected to:
(A) 2 Describe U. S. involvement in world affairs,
including the Persian Gulf War
The Gulf War
The Gulf War (August 2, 1990-February 28,
1991), codenamed Operation Desert Storm
(January 17, 1991–February 28, 1991) was a war
waged by coalition forces from 34 nations led by
the United States against Iraq in response to
Iraq’s invasion and annexation of Kuwait. The
The
war is also known under other names, such as the
Persian Gulf War, First Gulf War, Gulf War I,
Kuwait War, or the First Iraq War, before the
term “Iraq War” became identified instead with
the 2003 Iraq War (also referred to in the U.S. as
“Operation Iraqi Freedom”).
Background
Throughout the Cold War, Iraq had been an ally of the
Soviet Union, and there was a history of friction between
it and the United States. The U.S. was concerned with
Iraq’s position on Israeli–Palestinian politics, and its
disapproval of the nature of the peace between Israel
and Egypt. The U.S. also disliked Iraqi support for many
Arab and Palestinian militant groups such as Abu Nidal,
which led to Iraq’s inclusion on the developing U.S. list
of State Sponsors of Terrorism on December 29, 1979.
The U.S. remained officially neutral after Iraq’s invasion
of Iran in 1980, which became the Iran–Iraq War,
although it provided resources, political support, and
some “non-military” aircraft.
The Iraq-Kuwait dispute also involved Iraqi
claims to Kuwait as Iraqi territory. Kuwait had
been a part of the Ottoman Empire’s province
of Basra, something that Iraq claimed made it
rightful Iraq territory. Its ruling dynasty, the alSabah family, had concluded a protectorate
agreement in 1899 that assigned responsibility
for its foreign affairs to the United Kingdom.
The UK drew the border between the two
countries in 1922, making Iraq virtually
landlocked. Kuwait rejected Iraqi attempts to
secure further provisions in the region.
In
In early
early July
July 1990,
1990, Iraq complained about Kuwait’s behavior,
such as not respecting their quota, and openly threatened to take
military action. On the 23rd, the CIA reported that Iraq had
moved 30,000 troops to the Iraq-Kuwait border, and the U.S.
naval fleet in the Persian Gulf was placed on alert. Saddam
believed an anti-Iraq conspiracy was developing–Kuwait had
begun talks with Iran, and Iraq’s rival Syria had arranged a visit
to Egypt. On July 15, 1990, Saddam’s government laid out its
combined objections to the Arab League, including that policy
moves were costing Iraq $1 billion a year, that Kuwait was still
using the Rumaila oil field, that loans made by the UAE and
Kuwait could not be considered debts to its “Arab brothers.” He
threatened force against Kuwait and the UAE saying “The
policies of some Arab rulers are American . . . . They are inspired
by America to undermine Arab interests and security.” The U.S.
sent aerial planes and combat ships to the Persian Gulf in
response to these threats.
At the time of the invasion, the Kuwaiti military was
believed to have numbered 16,000 men, arranged into
three armored, one mechanized infantry and one
under-strength artillery brigade. The pre-war strength
of the Kuwait Air Force was around 2,200 Kuwaiti
personnel, with 80 aircraft and forty helicopters. In
spite of Iraqi saber-rattling, Kuwait didn’t have its
forces on alert; the army had been stood down on July
19. By 1988, at the Iran–Iraq War’s end, the Iraqi
it consisted
consisted
Army was the world’s fourth largest army; it
of 955,000 standing soldiers and 650,000 paramilitary
forces in the Popular Army. According to John Childs
and André Corvisier, a low estimate shows the Iraqi
Army capable of fielding 4,500 tanks, 484 combat
aircraft and 232 combat helicopters.
According to Michael Knights, a high estimate shows
the Iraqi Army capable of fielding one million men and
850,000 reservists, 5,500 tanks, 3,000 artillery pieces,
700 combat aircraft and helicopters; and held 53
divisions, 20 special-forces brigades, and several
regional militias, and had a strong air defense.
Kuwait’s invasion by Iraqi troops that began August 2,
1990 was met with international condemnation, and
brought immediate economic sanctions against Iraq by
members of the U.N. Security Council. U.S. President
George H. W. Bush deployed U.S. forces into Saudi
Arabia, and urged other countries to send their own
forces to the scene. An array of nations joined the
Coalition, the biggest coalition since World War II.
The
The great majority of the Coalition’s military
forces were from the U.S., with Saudi Arabia, the
United Kingdom and Egypt as leading
contributors, in that order. Saudi Arabia paid
around US$36 billion of the US$60 billion cost.
The war was marked by the beginning of live news
on the front lines of the fight, with the primacy of
the U.S. network CNN. The war has also earned the
nickname Video Game War after the daily
broadcast images on board the U.S. bombers
during Operation Desert Storm. The initial conflict
to expel Iraqi troops from Kuwait began with an
aerial bombardment on January 17, 1991. This was
followed by a ground assault on February24.
This was a decisive victory for the Coalition forces,
who liberated Kuwait and advanced into Iraqi
territory. The Coalition ceased their advance, and
declared a cease-fire 100 hours after the ground
campaign started. Aerial and ground combat was
confined to Iraq, Kuwait, and areas on Saudi
Arabia’s border. Iraq launched Scud missiles
against Coalition military targets in Saudi Arabia
and against Israel. United Nations Security Council
Resolution 687 passed in April 1991 established
formal cease-fire terms. The controversies over
enforcing this and subsequent resolutions would
lead to the outbreak of another war 12 years later.
The Kuwaiti oil fires were caused by the Iraqi military
setting fire to 700 oil wells as part of a scorched earth
policy while retreating from Kuwait in 1991 after
conquering the country but being driven out by Coalition
forces. The fires started in January and February 1991
and the last one was extinguished by November 1991. The
resulting fires burned out of control because of the dangers
of sending in firefighting crews. Land mines had been
placed in areas around the oil wells, and a military
cleaning of the areas was necessary before the fires could
be put out. Somewhere around 6 million barrels
(950,000 m3) of oil were lost each day. Eventually, privately
contracted crews extinguished the fires, at a total cost of
US$1.5 billion to Kuwait. By that time, however, the fires
had burned for approximately ten months, causing
widespread pollution.
Readiness Standard (11)
The student understands the emerging political,
economic, & social issues of the Un. S. from the 1990s
into the 21st century.
The Student is expected to:
(A) Describe U. S. involvement in world affairs,
including the Balkans Crisis
Yugoslav Wars in the
Balkans
The Yugoslav Wars were a series of wars fought in Yugoslavia from 1991 to
2001 between the republics that sought sovereignty on one side and the
government in Belgrade on the other side that wanted to either prevent
their independence or keep large parts of that territory under its control.
The wars were complex: characterized by bitter ethnic conflicts among the
peoples of the former Yugoslavia, mostly
between Serbs and Montenegrins on one side and
Croats and Bosniaks in Bosnia on the other, but also
between Bosniaks and Croats in Bosnia, between Croats on one side
and Serbs and Montenegrins in Croatia on the other,
between Serbs and Slovenes in Slovenia, between Serbs
and Albanians in Serbia, between Serbs and Kosovo
Albanians in Kosovo and
between Albanians and Macedonians in Macedonia. The wars ended at
various stages and mostly resulted in full international recognition of new
sovereign territories, but with massive economic disruption to the
successor states.
Initially the Yugoslav People’s Army (JNA) sought
to preserve the unity of the whole of Yugoslavia by
crushing the secessionist governments; however the
JNA increasingly came under the influence of the
Serbian government of Slobodan Milošević that
evoked Serbian nationalist rhetoric and was willing
to support the Yugoslav state insofar as using it to
preserve the unity of Serbs in one state; as a result
the JNA began to lose Slovenes, Croats, Kosovar
Albanians, Bosniaks, and ethnic Macedonians, and
effectively became a Serb army. According to the
1994 United Nations report, the Serb side did not
aim to restore Yugoslavia, but to create a “Greater
Serbia” from parts of Croatia and Bosnia.
Often described as Europe’s deadliest conflict
since World War II, the conflicts have become
infamous for the war crimes involved,
including mass murder and genocide. These
were the first conflicts since World War II to
be formally judged genocidal in character
and many key individual participants were
subsequently charged with war
crimes. The International Criminal Tribunal
for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) was
established by the UN to prosecute these
crimes.
The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) in the United
States reported in April 1995 that 90 percent of all the
atrocities in the Yugoslav wars up to that point had
been committed by Serb militants. Most of these
atrocities occurred in Bosnia. In 1994 the US brokered
peace between Croatian forces and the Bosnian Army
of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina. After the
successful Flash and Storm operations, the Croatian
Army and the combined Bosnian and Croat forces of
Bosnia and Herzegovina, conducted an operation
codenamed Operation Maestral to push back Bosnian
Serb military gains. Together with NATO air strikes on
the Bosnian Serbs, the successes on the ground put
pressure on the Serbs to come to the negotiating table.
Pressure was put on all sides to stick
to the cease-fire and negotiate an end
to the war in Bosnia. The war ended
with the signing of the Dayton
Agreement on the December 14,
1995, with the formation
of Republika Srpska as an entity
within Bosnia and Herzegovina being
the resolution for Bosnian Serb
demands.
Citing Serb atrocities and ethnic cleansing in
Kosovo, the U.S. and NATO unleashed air attacks
on Serbia after the failure of the “mini-Dayton”
peace talks held in Rambouillet, France. President
Clinton outlines no “exit strategies” and warns that
air strikes will continue as long as necessary. From
the start, the Clinton administration ruled out
sending U.S. ground troops to the Balkans, though
debate over the utility of air power alone repeatedly
revives the issue. Vast floods of refugees spill into
neighboring countries, threatening to enlarge the
crisis and sparking criticism of the lack of
contingency planning by NATO.
Readiness Standard (11)
The student understands the emerging political,
economic, & social issues of the Un. S. from the 1990s
into the 21st century.
The Student is expected to:
(A) Describe U. S. involvement in world affairs,
including 9/11
September 11, 2001
The September 11 attacks (also referred to as
September 11, September 11th, or 9/11) were a series of
four coordinated terrorist attacks launched by the
Islamic terrorist group al-Qaeda upon the U. S. in New
York City and the Washington, D. C. metropolitan
area on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. Four passenger
airliners were hijacked by 19 al-Qaeda terrorists so
they could be flown into buildings in suicide attacks.
Two of those planes, American Airlines Flight 11 and
United Airlines Flight 175, were crashed into the North
and South towers, respectively, of the World Trade
Center complex in New York City.
Within two hours, both towers collapsed with debris and
the resulting fires causing partial or complete collapse of
all other buildings in the WTC complex, as well as
significant damage to ten other large surrounding
structures. A third plane, American Airlines Flight 77, was
crashed into the Pentagon (the headquarters of the United
States Department of Defense), leading to a partial collapse
in its western side. The fourth plane, United Airlines Flight
93, was targeted at Washington, D.C., but crashed into a
field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania, after its passengers
tried to overcome the hijackers. In total, almost 3,000
people died in the attacks, including the 227 civilians and
19 hijackers aboard the four planes. It also was the
deadliest incident for firefighters in the history of the
United States.
Suspicion quickly fell on al-Qaeda. Although the
group’s leader, Osama bin Laden, initially denied
any involvement, in 2004, he claimed responsibility
for the attacks. Al-Qaeda and bin Laden cited U.S.
support of Israel, the presence of U.S. troops in
Saudi Arabia, and sanctions against Iraq as motives
for the attacks. The United States responded to the
attacks by launching the War on Terror and invading
Afghanistan to depose the Taliban, which had
harbored al-Qaeda. Many countries strengthened
their anti-terrorism legislation and expanded law
enforcement powers. Having evaded capture for
years, bin Laden was located and killed by U.S.
forces in May 2011.
The destruction of the Twin Towers and other
properties caused serious damage to the economy of
Lower Manhattan and had a significant effect on
global markets, closing Wall Street until September
17 and the civilian airspace in the U.S. and Canada
until September 13. Many closings, evacuations, and
cancellations followed the attack, either out of fear of
further attacks or respect for the tragedy. Cleanup of
the World Trade Center site was completed in May
2002, and the Pentagon was repaired within a year.
Numerous memorials have been constructed,
including the National September 11 Memorial &
Museum in New York, the Pentagon Memorial, and
the Flight 93 National Memorial in Pennsylvania.
Domestic Reactions
Following the attacks, President Bush's
approval rating soared to 90%. On
September 20, 2001 he addressed the nation
and a joint session of the United States
Congress regarding the events of September
11 and the subsequent nine days of rescue and
recovery efforts, and described his intended
response to the attacks. New York City mayor
Rudy Giuliani’s highly visible role won him
high praise in New York and nationally.
Readiness Standard (11)
The student understands the emerging political,
economic, & social issues of the Un. S. from the 1990s
into the 21st century.
The Student is expected to:
(A) Describe U. S. involvement in world affairs,
including the global War on Terror
War on Terror
The War on Terror, also known as the Global
War on Terrorism (GWOT) is a term commonly
applied to an international military campaign
that started as a result of the September 11,
2001 terrorist attacks on the United States. This
resulted in an international military campaign
to eliminate al-Qaeda and other militant
organizations. The United States and many
other NATO and non-NATO nations such as
Pakistan participate in the conflict.
The phrase “War on Terror” was
The
was first
first used
used by
by President
President
George W. Bush on September 20, 2001. The Bush
administration and the Western media have since used
the term to allege a global military, political, lawful, and
conceptual struggle—targeting both organizations
designated as terrorist and regimes accused of
supporting them. It was typically used with a particular
focus on countries supporting militant Islamists,
including al-Qaeda and similar organizations. Although
the term is no longer officially used by the
administration of U.S. President Barack Obama (which
instead uses the term Overseas Contingency Operation),
it is still commonly used by politicians, in the media and
by some aspects of government officially, such as the
United States’ Global War on Terrorism Service Medal.
U.S. and NATO-Led
Military Operations
On September 20, 2001, in the wake of the Sep.
11 attacks, George W. Bush delivered an
ultimatum to the Taliban government of
Afghanistan to turn over Osama bin Laden and
al-Qaeda leaders operating in the country or
face attack. The Taliban demanded evidence of
bin Laden’s link to the September 11 attacks
and, if such evidence warranted a trial, they
offered to handle such a trial in an Islamic
Court. The US refused to provide any evidence.
Subsequently, in October 2001, US forces (with
UK and coalition allies) invaded Afghanistan to
oust the Taliban regime. On 7 October 2001, the
official invasion began with British and US forces
conducting airstrike campaigns over enemy
targets. Kabul, the capital city of Afghanistan, fell
by mid-November. The remaining al-Qaeda and
Taliban remnants fell back to the rugged
mountains of eastern Afghanistan, mainly Tora
Bora. In December, Coalition forces (the US and
its allies) fought within that region. It is believed
that Osama bin Laden escaped into Pakistan
during the battle.
Total American casualties from the War on Terror
(this includes fighting throughout the world):
US Military killed
6,639
US Military wounded
50,422
US DoD Civilians killed
16
US Civilians killed (includes
9/11 and after)
US Civilians wounded/injured
x3,000 +
6,000 +
Total Americans killed (military
9,655 +
and civilian)
Total Americans
56,422 +
wounded/injured
Total American casualties
66,077 +
Monetary Costs
A March 2011 Congressional report
estimated spending related to the war
through fiscal year 2011 at $1.2 trillion,
and that spending through 2021 assuming
a reduction to 45,000 troops would be $1.8
trillion. A June 2011 academic report
covering additional areas of spending
related to the war estimated it through
2011 at $2.7 trillion, and long term
spending at $5.4 trillion including interest.
Expense
CRS/CBO (Billions US$):
Watson (Billions constant US$):
FY2001-FY2011
War appropriations to DoD
1208.1
1311.5
War appropriations to DoS/USAid
66.7
74.2
VA medical
8.4
13.7
VA disability
18.9
Interest paid on DoD war appropriations
185.4
Additions to DoD base spending
362.2-652.4
Additions to Homeland Security base
spending
401.2
x
Social costs to veterans and military
families to date
Subtotal:
1283.2
295-400
2662.1-3057.3
FY2012-future
FY2012 DoD request
118.4
FY2012 DoS/USAid request
12.1
Projected 2013–2015 war spending
168.6
Projected 2016–2020 war spending
155
Projected obligations for veterans' care to
2051
589-934
Additional interest payments to 2020
1000
Subtotal:
454.1
2043.1-2388.1
Total:
1737.3
4705.2-5445.4
Fini