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The Iraq War

The Iraq War. The Second Gulf War 2003-Present. Bush is elected in 2000. 9/11 Attack on the US. The September 11 attacks (often referred to as nine-eleven, written 9/11) were a series of coordinated suicide attacks by al-Qaeda upon the United States on September 11, 2001.

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The Iraq War

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  1. The Iraq War The Second Gulf War 2003-Present

  2. Bush is elected in 2000

  3. 9/11 Attack on the US • The September 11 attacks (often referred to as nine-eleven, written 9/11) were a series of coordinated suicide attacks by al-Qaeda upon the United States on September 11, 2001.

  4. 9/11 Attacks on US by Al-Qaeda • Al-Qaeda, alternatively spelled al-Qaida and sometimes al-Qa'ida, (Arabic: القاعدة‎; al-qāidah; translation: The Base) is an international Sunni Islamist extremist movement founded sometime between August 1988 and late 1989/early 1990.

  5. Al-Qaeda Leaders: Bin Laden/Al Zawahri

  6. US War in Afghanistan • The War in Afghanistan, which began on October 7, 2001 as the U.S. military Operation Enduring Freedom, was launched by the United States with the United Kingdom in response to the September 11 attacks.

  7. Bush Shifts from Afghanistan to Iraq

  8. Bush’s War • According to the then President of the United States George W. Bush and then Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Tony Blair, the reasons for the invasion were "to disarm Iraq of weapons of mass destruction (WMD), to end Saddam Hussein's support for terrorism, and to free the Iraqi people."

  9. No WMDs in Iraq • In 2005, the Central Intelligence Agency released a report saying that no weapons of mass destruction had been found in Iraq.

  10. Saddam Hussein: Iraq • Saddam Hussein (Arabic: صدام حسين عبد المجيد التكريتي ṢaddāmḤusayn; April 28, 1937 – December 30, 2006) was the President of Iraq from 16 July 1979 until 9 April 2003.

  11. Saddam Hussein and Al-Qaeda? • There was no connection between Saddam Hussein and Al-Qaeda in plotting the 9/11 attacks on the United States.

  12. The CIA ‘fesses up’ • On April 29, 2007, former Director of Central Intelligence George Tenet said on 60 Minutes, "We could never verify that there was any Iraqi authority, direction and control, complicity with al-Qaeda for 9/11 or any operational act against America, period."

  13. Saddam Hussein and Al-Qaeda? • The consensus of intelligence experts, backed up by reports from the independent 9/11 Commission, declassified Defense Department reports as well as by the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence [2006 report of Phase II of its investigation into prewar intelligence reports] is that there was no evidence of ties between Saddam Hussein and al-Qaeda.

  14. Birth of Insurgency in Iraq • By late April 2003, a persistent guerrilla struggle had been launched in the Sunni Arab heartland against the foreign military presence in the country. • Abetted by a U.S. decision to dissolve the Iraqi army and the U.S. failure to stop widespread looting, the guerrilla movement grew in strength and popular support in the center-north of the country. • This made it impossible for the United States to withdraw most of its troops in summer and fall of 2003, as the Department of Defense had intended.

  15. US Casualties in Iraq • As the Insurgency grew, American casualties grow, popular support for Bush’s War in Iraq dramatically declined • The total U.S. military death toll had doubled by late August 2004 and reached more than 4,000 following the fifth anniversary of the invasion. • The year 2007 was the deadliest year since the war began, with 894 U.S. soldiers killed in that year alone. • U.S. wounded totaled about 30,000 by March 2008, the beginning of the sixth year of the U.S. occupation. • As 2008 came to a close, the U.S. death toll was more than 4,200 and the number of wounded was nearly 31,000.

  16. Bush Doctrine • By September 2002, the Bush administration had outlined a new foreign policy strategy, known as the Bush Doctrine. • It called for preemptive war to prevent terrorists or state sponsors of terrorism from obtaining weapons of mass destruction. • The Bush Doctrine also held that the US would act unilaterally if necessary to guarantee that the United Sates remained the sole superpower in the world.

  17. No Republican Consensus • Three major wings of the Republican Party warned against an Iraq war. • The so-called realists who had dominated the foreign policy establishment of President George H. W. Bush in the early 1990s [Brent/James Baker] publicly argued against an invasion of Iraq. • Isolationists such as Patrick Buchanan opposed such a war, as did the libertarian wing of the party, which fears big government.

  18. American People Turn Against War • 2006: President Bush’s approval ratings remain near the lowest of his more than six years in office. • Thirty percent approve of the job he is doing over all, while 63 percent disapprove.

  19. 2006: Republican Lose Congress • The coalition that re-elected President Bush and bolstered Republican margins in Congress just two years ago fractured Tuesday: 1. Unpopular war 2. Economic worries 3. Series of scandals.

  20. Post-2006 Republicans in Disarray • Following the Republicans' loss of control of Congress in 2006, Rush Limbaugh claimed to "feel liberated" because he was "no longer going to have to carry the water for people who I don't think deserve having their water carried."

  21. Republicans Turn on Bush • Conservatives revolt against Bush over incompetency • 1. Katrina • 2. Harriet Myers nomination • 3. Disaster in Iraq • 4. Big government Conservatism

  22. Republican Critics of Bush’s War • Sen. Chuck Hagel [R] • Sen. John McCain [R]: feels Rumsfeld is worst Sec. of Defense in US History • Gen. Casey was attacked by Sen. McCain at Hearings for Incompetency in Iraq

  23. New Direction In Iraq after 2006 • After Republicans loose control of Congress in 2006 President Bush replaces Rumsfeld with Sec. of Defense Robert Gates • Gen. Patraeus is put in command in Iraq

  24. New Direction In Iraq • New direction in Iraq was based on the use of “soft power” • 1. economic assistance • 2. political development • 3. Win hearts and minds by helping Iraq leaders

  25. Patraeus: Master of Insurgency • Moved US troops and commanders out amongst the Iraqi people • Won over insurgents and turned them against Al-Qaeda • Success come to Iraq

  26. Best books on Iraq War

  27. Historians Rate President Bush • Asked to rank the presidency of George W. Bush in comparison to those of the other 41 American presidents, more than 61 percent of the historians concluded that Bush is the worst in the nation’s history. • Another 35 percent of the historians surveyed rated the Bush presidency in the 31st to 41st category • Only four of the 109 respondents ranked the current presidency as even among the top two-thirds of American administrations.

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