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9/11
19 Islamic extremists from the terrorist group al-Qaeda, hijacked 4 commercial airliners, 2 of which were flown into the World Trade Center in New York, one in the Pentagon, and one failed hijacking in a field in Pennsylvania. Over 3,000 people went missing or were killed, as well as over 400 police officers and firefighters. This act of terrorism triggered the War on Terror. Source <a href='http://goo.gl/zHmUy' >Video</a -
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War on Terror
War on Terror is still going on today, 9/11/2001-Present -
Beginning of International Coalition Against Terrorism
President George Bush contacts Britain’s Prime Minister Tony Blair who pledges his total support. The Pakistan president, Pervez Musharraf, also makes a pledge to support the US. NATO announces that it will place into use Article 5 of its charter that basically states that an attack against one member means an attack against all. The U.S. will have a lot of global support with the War on Terror. Source -
George Bush's Speech in Response to 9/11
After the devastating attack on 9/11, Bush delivered this speech. He placed hope for the future that these terrorists attacks will not break our spirits and how the U.S. has started a search for those responsible so they can be brought to justice. Bush addresses that the first priority is to recover from the attack and attend to those that are injured, and to continue protecting the citizens.
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Pakistan Severs Diplomatic Ties With Taliban
Pakistan, the last country to maintain diplomatic relations with the Taliban, orders the closing of the Taliban's embassy in Islamabad. According to U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage, Pakistan had wanted to cut ties with the Taliban much earlier, but maintained them at the request of the U.S., which was concerned over the fate of foreign aid workers, including two U.S. citizens, held by the Taliban. Source -
Launch in Iraq
Two years following the 9/11 attack, on March 20, 2003, U.S. forces were deployed to Iraq for the first time, and would and still continue to fight for our country today. This was the first invasion by the U.S., and took place in Ba’athist Iraq. Following this came many other invasions that would soon ease them slowly into a war of terror with the Taliban and other terrorist related groups. Source video -
U.S. Invades Iraq
Bush’s main decision to invade Iraq was to get rid of all weapons of mass destruction, WMDs, present in the Middle East. There is also controversy that oil was also a big factor in making the decision. Bush also made it very clear that removing Saddam Hussein from power in order to restore international peace and security was a major goal along with everything else he wanted to accomplish with the war. Source -
11 arrested for planning an attack
Source Eleven arrested in Alexandria, Virginia for suspected attacking on U.S. serviceman. The arrest of these eleven terrorists brought attention to a planning that would have attacked U.S. serviceman. This would have been just another terrorist attack along with the other hundreds that have taken place, and are planning to take place across our country. -
Saddam Hussein is Captured
Saddam Hussein was found in the cellar of a farmhouse in Adwar, Iraq. After being hunted since the fall of Iraq to US forces eight months before, Hussein’s capture ended on of the largest manhunts in history. The trial had him charged with Crimes against Humanity, 148 counts of murder, 399 illegal arrests, and the torture of women and children. He was sentenced to death in 2005 and hanged in 2006. Youtube
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Madrid Train Bombings
Source At 7:37 AM, 10 bombs on four trains exploded, leaving 191 dead and more than 1800 injured. The Spanish government originally attributed the attacks to the ETA, a Basque violence organization, whose campaign on violence had killed over 800 people. The focus then moved to Al-Qaeda, as the Spanish Prime Minister had previously voiced his support on the US invasion of Afghanistan. 3 years later, 18 Islamic and 3 Spaniard fundamentalists were convicted. -
Former Guantanamo Prisoners Describe Torture
The three prisoners taken to Guantanamo, Rual Ahmed, Asif Iqbal, and Shafiq Rasul. These men were captured in Afghanistan for suspected links to the Taliban. All three prisoners recalled that they were abused and possibly tortured. President Bush admitted that “an alternate set of [interrogation] procedures” were used by the CIA, although other officials said otherwise. Source -
10 KG of gold in reward for the death of U.S. administrator in Iraq
n a recorded message directed towards Bin Laden, its commentary is something of high reward. The message, directed towards Bin Laden, was said that if he is able to kill the U.S. administrator, Paul Bremer, and or U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan in Iraq, he will receive 10 KG in gold. This reward was just a small step in the direction Laden was looking for, the kill as many Americans as possible. SourceI -
Lomdon Bombings
Source Four home grown Islamic terrorists detonated four bombs in London, three of which came from underground London railroad systems. Hours following, a fourth one went off on a double decker tour bus in the streets of London. Thus leaving a death toll of 52 killed plus the four terrorists, and 700 plus injured and wounded. These explosives were caused by homemade organic peroxide based devices packed into rucksacks. -
The Surge
source During a television speech, President George W. Bush ordered the deployment of over 20,000 troops into Iraq. This included five more brigades, most of which went to Baghdad, the Iraqi capital. He also extended the tours of many Marines already in Iraq. This was in the attempt to make a democratic Iraq. -
Death of Osama bin Laden
After confirming the whereabouts of bin Laden in one of his compounds in Abbottabad, Afghanistan, Seal Team Six was sent in to raid the compound. The operation was known as “Operation Neptune Spear”. Full authority was given to shoot bin Laden, but under the rules of engagement, if he raised his hands in surrender, he would be captured. That did not happen as bin Laden was killed, along with his son, wife, courier, and al-Kuwaiti’s brother. Source -
Boston Marathon Bombing
VideoSource At the finish line of the Boston Marathon, in which thousands of runners compete in every year, two bombs exploded. The two suspects, Dzhokhar and Tamerlan Tsarnaev, had created two pressure cooker bombs and planted them near the end of the finish line. One brother was shot and killed a couple of later, while the other was captured in Watertown, Massachusetts. The bombings left 3 dead and 264 injured.
