Unit 9

Pursuit of Peace in the Middle East: 1. Israel- In 1948, The UN recognized Israel as an independent Jewish state. Many Arab nations dislike Israel because it took land away from the Palestinians. 2. Palestinians- Had long hoped for independence after living for decades under European authority. They believe to this day that they, not Israelis, are entitled to the land that forms modern Israel.

3. Israeli-Palestinian Conflict- For over 60 years the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict resulted in much violence. The US traditionally supported Israel. Arab nations support the Palestinians and consider Israel an enemy. The US and other countries want peace in the Middle East because it is an important region. Many trade routes are found in the area as well as an abundance of oil.

Israel Palestinians

 4. Camp David Accords-peace agreement between Israel and Egypt, but it did little to end fighting between Israelis and Palestinians.  5. Lebanon- President Reagan sent troops there in the ‘80’s. Reagan claimed that the troops were there to establish peace after fighting broke out between Israelis and Palestinians who had fled to Lebanon. Some Lebanese citizens welcomed the UN force. Others saw it as foreign army sent to support Israel. In October 1983, a suicide bomber drove a car full of explosives into a US Military barracks, killing over 200 people. When US left, Lebanon was still unstable.

6. Persian Gulf War- lasted only 44 days and resulted in Iraq’s withdrawal from Kuwait. The Persian Gulf War occurred because Saddam invaded Kuwait (he wanted the abundant supplies of oil).

 7. Saddam Hussein- President of Iraq. In 2003, several world leaders said he had weapons of mass destruction. The US also claimed Saddam had ties to Al Qaeda. The US overthrew Saddam’s government and helped establish a new, democratic Iraqi government. The new government eventually tried Saddam following his capture and hanged him on December,  8. War on Terror- George W. Bush declared the War on Terror after terrorist from the Middle East attacked the US on September 11, 2001.

9. September 11, terrorists for the Middle East hijacked 4 US commercial airplanes. Two of the planes flew into the World Trade Center towers in NYC. The nation watched in horror as the massive towers crashed to the ground killing, thousands. A 3 rd plane crashed into the Pentagon in Washington DC. The 4 th plane crashed in a field in Pennsylvania after the passengers revolted against the hijackers. In a single day, 1000’s of Americans died at the hands of terrorists. Citizens were shocked, sad and angry.

 10. Al Qaeda- terrorist group that carried out the September 11 th attack.  11. Osama bin Laden-leader of Al Qaeda. Bush was determined to capture. Bin Laden and his followers hid and trained in Afghanistan. When Afghanistan’s leaders would not hand over the terrorists, President Bush organized an international force that invaded the country and overthrew the government. Bin Laden got away. Obama says that he is probably dead.

12. Iraq-where President Bush and several other world leaders said Hussein had weapons of mass destruction. The US invaded Iraq and overthrew Saddam’s government. The new government tired and hanged Saddam. The US faced problems, because no one was ever able to prove that Saddam had ties to Al Qaeda and the US could not find any weapons of mass destruction. Many Americans criticized the war and others defended Bush’s decision. Troops are still in Iraq today.

 13. Department of Homeland Security- established after 9-11 attacks. Its role is to combat terrorism at home, as well as provides aid to parts of the country hurt by natural disasters. Security measures for airports and other public places became much stricter, causing passengers a great deal of inconvenience and making air travel more difficult.  14. Patriot Act- gives law enforcement more power to listen in on citizens’ phone calls, read s, and conduct investigations without warrants. At times, the government has also arrested and held suspected terrorists without following traditional rules of due process.

15. Collapse of the Soviet Union- happened because Gorbachev became leader, Soviet Union could not compete in the nuclear arms race and space race against the US, so Gorbachev allowed for more freedom and did not try to control Eastern Europe as much. Once the people in these countries got a taste of freedom they did not want to remain citizens under a communist government. Communist governments began to fail in the late ‘80’s and Eastern Europe countries replaced their communist governments with more democratic governments (Germany finally became a unified country once again). The collapse of the Soviet Union marked the end of the Cold War and fears about communism in Europe.

16. Mikhail Gorbachev-became leader of Soviet Union in 1985, made changes that allowed more freedom and some capitalism. Eventually, this led to the fall of the Soviet Union in the early ‘90’s.

Modern US Society: 17. Personal Computer- greatly changed the world in the last 30 years. Nearly every household in the US has a personal computer. Today’s computers can compute information in seconds and perform countless tasks. Computers allow businesses, governments, and citizens to work much faster and produce much more than in past decades. Televisions, cell phones, cars, and many other devices are often equipped with advanced computers.

18. Internet- a communication system people access using their computer. It links homes, businesses, libraries, government institutions, universities, and schools all over the world. The Internet has changed the way students do research, study, practice for tests, and go to school. Citizens use the internet to gather news, shop, or exchange information. The Internet has impacted politics by allowing citizens to learn more and gather up to date information about political issues and candidates quickly. (New Problems- criminals often use to access people’s personal info to steal money or identity)

Amendments th Amendment- vote separately for the president and vice president. (Before this, whoever got the second highest number of electoral votes for president became the vice president th Amendment- that US senators shall be elected directly by the citizens of each state.