Into a New Century

Into a New Century The War on Terrorism

September 11, 2001 Two airplanes hit the World Trade Center and a third hit the PentagonA fourth plane was taken back by Passengers and crashed in an open field. It’s probable target: The Whitehouse All passengers and crew members on the four planes were killed. Terrorism is the use of violence by

nongovernmental groups against civilians to achieve a political goal.

Middle East Terrorism and the United States

There have been many incidents of terrorism in American history, most terrorist attacks on Americans since World War II have been carried out by Middle Eastern groups.

Throughout the Middle East, new movements arose calling for a strict interpretation of religious laws.

American support of Israel angered many of the Middle East.

In 1947, the UN divided Britishcontrolled Palestine into two territories to provide a home for Jews.

A New Terrorist Threat A 22-year-old Muslim named Osama bin Laden. al-Qaeda, or “the Base.” Al-Qaeda recruited Muslims

to fight in Afghanistan and channeled money and arms to the Afghani resistance.

He transformed al-Qaeda into a terrorist organization and launched a series of attacks against Americans.

In late 1999, terrorists linked to al-Qaeda were arrested trying to smuggle

explosives into the United States in an attempt to bomb Seattle, Washington.

America Unites On September 11, terrorists struck

again, hijacking four American passenger planes and executing the most devastating terrorists attack in history.

America Unites Citizens Respond to the Crises The attacks on the World Trade Center and

the Pentagon shocked many Americans. Everywhere around the nation, Americans put up flags to show their unity and resolve. The terrorists had hoped the attacks would

divide Americans, they were wrong.

America Unites A National Emergency All civilian airliners were grounded. On September 14, President Bush declared a national emergency, andCongress voted unanimously to authorize the use of force to fight the terrorists. Intelligence sources and FBI investigators

quickly identified the attacks as the work of Osama bin Laden and the al-Qaeda network.

The government began planning a massive and comprehensive response to the terrorist attacks.

A New War Begins Cutting Terrorist Funding One important way to fight terrorist

organizations is to cut off their funding. Depriving terrorists of their funding,

requires the cooperation of financial institutions in other countries.

A New War Begins Fighting Terrorism At Home As part of his effort to protect the American

people from further terrorist attacks, President Bush announced the creation of a new federal agency.

The president asked Congress to pass legislation to help law enforcement agencies track down terrorist suspects.

President Bush signed the new antiterrorist bill into law in late October 2001.

A New War Begins War in Afghanistan On October 7, 2001, the United States launched the

first military operation of the war on terrorism. United States, began bombing targets in Afghanistan. Taliban’s military forces. The arrival of the special forces enabled American

bombing to become more accurate. President Bush and Secretary Rumsfeld expected

Taliban and al-Qaeda to take refuge in the caves that honeycomb Afghanistan’s mountains.