Lesson 4: Terrorism and Wars Overseas

Question 1

Insurgency Definition

Answer 1

an armed rebellion

Question 2

Islamic Fundamentalists Definition

Answer 2

a Muslim who believes that Islamic religious texts should be taken literally

Question 3

Jihadism Definition

Answer 3

an Islamic fundamentalist movement that supports violence in the struggle against perceived enemies of Islam

Question 4

Terrorism Definition

Answer 4

the use of violence and cruelty to achieve political goals

Question 5

Weapon of Mass Destruction (WMD) Definition

Answer 5

a chemical, biological, or nuclear weapon

Question 6

What did members of Al Qaeda do on September 11, 2001? Who founded Al Qaeda in 1988? What is Jihadism? What is an Islamic Fundamentalist? What is an Islamist?

Answer 6

On September 11, 2001, members of Al Qaeda, an international Islamist terrorist network, launched an attack against the United States. Osama bin Laden (oh SAH muh bin LAH dun) had founded Al Qaeda in 1988. Al Qaeda was based on the idea of jihadism. Jihadism is an Islamic fundamentalist movement that supports violence in the struggle against those seen as enemies of the religion of Islam. Most Islamic fundamentalists—Muslims who believe that Islamic religious texts should be taken literally—are not jihadists. Jihadists, however, are generally Islamic fundamentalists. They are also Islamists, or Muslims who believe that society should be governed by religious, Islamic law.

Question 7

With jihadism at its foundation, what did Al Qaeda pursue? What is terrorism? Despite their actions, what are the ideologies of most Muslims?

Answer 7

With jihadism as its foundation, Al Qaeda pursued a strategy of terrorism, or the use of violence and cruelty to achieve political goals. Note that most Muslims, or people who follow Islam, are not fundamentalists and oppose both jihadism and terrorism.

Question 8

What did Al Qaeda dislike about America’s influence? In the 1990s, what did Al Qaeda start doing, and what was President Bill Clinton’s response?in 2000, what did Al Qaeda attack?

Answer 8

Al Qaeda opposed American influence in the Muslim world and launched a number of attacks against American targets beginning in the 1990s, including U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania. Hundreds of people died in these attacks, which led President Bill Clinton to order the bombing of bin Laden’s headquarters in Afghanistan. The bombings were unsuccessful in stopping the terrorist network and in 2000, Al Qaeda attacked the USS Cole, an American Navy destroyer that was anchored at a port in Yemen on the coast of the Arabian Peninsula.

Question 9

What happened on September 11, 2001? How many Americans died during the attack? Who did President George W. Bush blame?

Answer 9

As Americans began their day, nineteen Al Qaeda terrorists prepared to seize four commercial airliners in an attack against the United States.
At 8:46 A.M., the hijackers crashed the first plane into one of the World Trade Center’s twin towers, New York City’s tallest buildings, a location later known as “ground zero.” Another plane hit the second tower about 15 minutes later. Within the hour, a third plane crashed into the Pentagon, the American military headquarters in Arlington, Virginia. Brave passengers on a fourth plane bound for Washington, D.C., stormed the cockpit, leading the hijackers to crash the plane into a field in Shanksville, Pennsylvania. Within two hours of the attack, the twin towers of the World Trade Center had collapsed. The September 11 attacks killed nearly 3,000 people and stunned Americans. President George W. Bush quickly blamed Osama bin Laden and Al Qaeda.

Question 10

What did the George W. Bush Administration launch in response to the 9/11 attacks? How was this war on terrorism different from other wars the United States fought? In which areas did this war upon terrorism lead the United States to fight in? What was the Department of Homeland Security? What was the USA PATRIOT Act?

Answer 10

In response, the Bush administration launched what it called a global war on terrorism, far different from other wars America had fought. The enemy, less clearly defined, included terrorist groups that threatened the United States and its allies. This effort to wipe out terrorism led the United States into wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. It also led to the creation of the Department of Homeland Security, which was given the job of safeguarding security within the United States. Meanwhile, Congress passed the USA PATRIOT Act, which allows officials to conduct surveillance on suspected terrorists at home and abroad.

Question 11

Shortly after the September 11 attacks, what did President Bush ask of Afghanistan? What did the Taliban do in response? In October 2001, what did American forces do? What did the Afghanistan War begin with? By the end of 2001, what had the North Alliance captured? How did the United States support their new government? What was the extent of the new government’s control, however? Where had bin Laden escaped to during the war? What was the Taliban gaining in 2007?

Answer 11

Shortly after the September 11 attacks, President Bush asked Afghanistan to surrender Osama bin Laden. The Taliban, the Islamic fundamentalist group that controlled Afghanistan, refused. In October 2001, with authorization from Congress, American forces invaded Afghanistan. The war began with American-led bombing missions. By the end of 2001, the Northern Alliance, made up of Afghans who opposed the Taliban, had captured the capital city of Kabul. They established a new government that was friendly to the United States. The United States provided money to support the new Afghan government, and American forces stayed in the country. In spite of this, the new government never gained full control of Afghanistan. During the war, bin Laden escaped to Pakistan. By 2007, the Taliban had regained some of its power in Afghanistan.

Question 12

When Barack Obama became president in 2009, what did he do, concerning the war in Afghanistan? When did he promise to remove all American forces?

Answer 12

When Barack Obama became president in 2009, the war in Afghanistan was still underway. In 2009, Obama sent additional troops to Afghanistan to provide protection and to train Afghan forces. He promised to remove all American forces by the end of 2014.

Question 13

How did American support for the War in Afghanistan decline from the start of the war to 2012? What was the removal process in 2014 like?

Answer 13

When the United States entered Afghanistan in 2001, almost 90 percent of Americans supported the war. As the war dragged on, however, American support declined. When asked in 2012, 50 percent of Americans wanted the government to speed the removal of troops from Afghanistan. In 2014, a partial withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan began.

Question 14

What happened to tensions between the United States and Iraq in 2002 and 2003? What had been put in place after the Gulf War in 1991? What are weapons of mass destruction? What did President Bush claim in his 2002 State of the Union Address? In 2003, what did America and Britain claim they had evidence for?

Answer 14

In 2002 and 2003, tensions mounted between the United States and Iraq. Ever since the Gulf War of 1991, the United States and its allies had maintained a no-flight zone over parts of Iraq. They had also pushed for continued inspections of Iraqi military facilities to watch for the development of chemical, biological, or nuclear weapons, also known as weapons of mass destruction, or WMDs. In his 2002 State of the Union Address, President Bush declared that Iraq formed an “axis of evil” with Iran and North Korea. Although none of the countries had a direct connection to the September 11 attacks, Bush accused them of protecting terrorists and hiding WMDs that threatened the United States. Iraq had repeatedly blocked inspections and refused to destroy weapons that violated rules set by the United Nations. In early 2003, the United States and Britain claimed to have evidence that Iraq in fact possessed WMDs.

Question 15

Based on the proclaimed evidence the United States had Britain had against Iraq, what did the Bush Administration ask the UN to do? What resolution did Congress approve? In March 2003, what did Iraq allow the UN to do? Despite this, what did the United States and Britain do? Within months, what had they captured? In May 2003, what did President Bush declare? We’re any working WMDs found? In December 2003, what did American forces do with Saddam Hussein? When was he sentenced to death? In 2004, what government was put in place in Iraq? Despite Bush’s claims, when did U.S. involvement in Iraq officially end?

Answer 15

Based on this evidence, the Bush administration wanted UN approval to go to war but said it would act with or without that approval. Congress approved a resolution that gave the President the power to use force, if necessary. In March 2003, although Iraq had allowed UN officials to conduct inspections and had begun destroying weapons, U.S. officials said that Iraq had not done enough to address concerns. U.S. and British forces began bombing targets inside Iraq and then sent troops into the country. After a month, U.S. forces occupied the capital city of Baghdad. In May, Bush declared the war concluded. No working WMDs were ever found. In December, American forces captured Saddam Hussein and turned him over to an Iraqi court for trial. The court found him guilty and sentenced him to death in 2006. In the meantime, the United States had transferred control to a temporary Iraqi government in 2004. The next year, Iraqis elected a national assembly that had the difficult job of organizing a government despite ongoing violent conflicts among the country’s Sunni Muslim Arabs, Shia Muslim Arabs, and ethnic Kurds. Despite Bush’s earlier claim, the Iraq War was not yet finished. U.S. forces faced the task of supporting the government and trying to end the violence. In fact, U.S. involvement in the war would continue until 2011.

Question 16

How many Americans and Iraqis had died in the Iraq War? What was the monetary cost of the war? Despite Saddam Hussein being removed from, how did unrest still plague Iraq? What was the insurgency against American troops and the Iraqi government in Iraq? Why could the new Iraqi government do nothing?

Answer 16

The United States paid a heavy price for the Iraq War. Almost 5,000 Americans and hundreds of thousands of Iraqis died. After eight years, the war cost more than a trillion dollars. Saddam Hussein was removed from power, but that did not bring peace to Iraq. Iraqis looted businesses and homes. Shiite and Sunni Arabs fought each other, and Arabs fought ethnic Kurds in the north. An insurgency, or armed rebellion, arose against American soldiers and the Iraqi government. The new Iraqi government was too weak to manage the country.

Question 17

What was the withdrawing process of American forces in Iraq? How did problems in Iraq persist?

Answer 17

As the war continued, support for it decreased. By early 2007, polls showed that most Americans thought the war in Iraq was a mistake and was unwinnable. In spite of this, the Bush administration increased the number of American forces with a troop surge. The surge reduced ethnic and religious violence in the country for a time but did not end it. In 2008, Iraqis demanded a plan for the withdrawal of American troops. In 2011, President Obama ordered the removal of American troops from Iraq. In December of that year, the last 500 soldiers left Iraq, with the exception of a few guarding the American embassy. In 2014, a jihadist group based in Syria and calling itself the Islamic State gained control of much of western Iraq. Civil war resumed in Iraq, which threatened to split into separate territories dominated by the country’s different ethnic and religious groups.

Question 18

Remember: In 2011, nearly 10 years after the September 11 attacks, American forces captured and killed Osama bin Laden at his compound in Pakistan. Bin Laden’s death, however, did not signal the end of jihadism, Al Qaeda, or the threat of terrorism. Indeed, organizations linked to Al Qaeda seemed to be expanding after 2010. Meanwhile, the United States faced questions about how it had conducted the war on terrorism.

Answer 18

In 2011, nearly 10 years after the September 11 attacks, American forces captured and killed Osama bin Laden at his compound in Pakistan. Bin Laden’s death, however, did not signal the end of jihadism, Al Qaeda, or the threat of terrorism. Indeed, organizations linked to Al Qaeda seemed to be expanding after 2010. Meanwhile, the United States faced questions about how it had conducted the war on terrorism.

Question 19

What were policy questions that emerged after the Iraq War?

Answer 19

Following the September 11 attacks, Bush administration officials claimed that many areas of international law did not apply to the war on terrorism. They argued that this was especially true of laws on the treatment of prisoners, because members of Al Qaeda were not part of a regular national army. U.S. military officers worried that mistreatment would lead other countries to retaliate against American prisoners. Despite this concern, the Department of Defense approved methods of forcing prisoners to reveal information that some critics labeled as torture. Mistreatment of prisoners at Abu Ghraib in Iraq received worldwide attention. The United States also faced criticism over the indefinite detention of prisoners at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba. Guantanamo Bay prison opened in 2002 to house detainees captured in Afghanistan, Iraq, Asia, and Africa through the war on terrorism. After 2002, the United States housed more than 700 detainees there. Many of the prisoners at Guantanamo have not been tried in court or proven to have acted illegally, though most are suspected of terrorism. Relations with Afghanistan and neighboring Pakistan have also posed challenges. While the United States supported a new Afghan government led by Hamid Karzai during the early 2000s, his government faced widespread accusations of corruption. Karzai also grew increasingly hostile toward the United States. Meanwhile, Pakistan, which received U.S. aid and provided an important supply route to Afghanistan, was accused of supporting the Taliban who were fighting the Afghan government. Members of Pakistan’s military were also accused of sheltering Osama bin Laden, who lived for years near a major Pakistani military base.

Question 20

What are the roots of Jihadism?

Answer 20

Jihadism is a concept that is difficult for many non-Muslims to understand. Muslims define jihad as a struggle to achieve the goals of Islam. The struggle can take place inside a person, as that person struggles to accept and devote himself or herself to the requirements of Islam. The struggle can also take place externally, as a person battles individuals who are opposed to Islam. Jihadists emphasize this second definition, which they use to justify violent actions that most Muslims oppose. Believing that Islam is under attack, the goal of jihadists is to fight those they see as opponents of Islam throughout the world, often using terrorist methods. They want to remove unfriendly governments in Muslim countries and wage war against countries that they see as enemies.

Question 21

Remember: By 2012, jihadist movements had taken root in Yemen, Pakistan, and Somalia, and the United States began attacking jihadists in these countries. Many of these jihadists were linked to Al Qaeda. Despite U.S. attacks, mainly by pilotless drone aircraft, jihadists seemed to remain strong in parts of these countries. Meanwhile, jihadists groups had a growing presence in other parts of the Muslim world. In Syria, where a civil war was being fought, jihadist fighters linked to Al Qaeda gained territory. They also fought the government of Iraq after the U.S. withdrawal. Jihadist groups also launched violent attacks in Algeria, Mali, and Nigeria. U.S. policymakers were concerned about the spread of jihadists hostile to the United States and its allies but struggled to find an effective way to counter them.

Answer 21

By 2012, jihadist movements had taken root in Yemen, Pakistan, and Somalia, and the United States began attacking jihadists in these countries. Many of these jihadists were linked to Al Qaeda. Despite U.S. attacks, mainly by pilotless drone aircraft, jihadists seemed to remain strong in parts of these countries. Meanwhile, jihadists groups had a growing presence in other parts of the Muslim world. In Syria, where a civil war was being fought, jihadist fighters linked to Al Qaeda gained territory. They also fought the government of Iraq after the U.S. withdrawal. Jihadist groups also launched violent attacks in Algeria, Mali, and Nigeria. U.S. policymakers were concerned about the spread of jihadists hostile to the United States and its allies but struggled to find an effective way to counter them.