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Paranoia, Expansion of the Federal Government, and The Global War on Terrorism
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The ATF's Encounter with David Koresh and the Branch Davidians
An undercover agent of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives gathered enough evidence to incriminate David Koresh, the ATF then raided the compound. Initial conflict led to 2 Branch Davidians and 4 ATF agents killed. On 04/19/1993 the FBI took over, rammed the compound and released CS gas into the compound. A fire erupted killing 70 Branch Davidians to include women and children. It is unclear whether the fire was started intentionally or not. (Kruse & Zelizer, 204). -
Oklahoma City Bomber
Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols, 2 white supremacists plotted the OKC bombing. The target was the Alfred Murrah Federal Building, with the aftermath leaving 168 dead and over 600 injured. This forced the United States to consider the impacts of terrorism. Which lead to the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996. This effectively increased federal involvement by making terrorism a crime as well as loosening regulations on deportation of illegal aliens. (Kruse & Zelizer, 220) -
Fox News vs. CNN
The emergence of Fox News led to the polarization that is common in modern day politics of 2024. News became ever more sensationalized, as the Republicans and Democrats attempted to push their agenda from their respective broadcasting agencies. It became an "ideological takeover", with both sides doubling down on their politics, along with a growing distrust of the opposing political party. Some may say this event was the source of distrust in mainstream media today. (Kruse & Zelizer, 224) -
Y2K
The rise of Silicon Valley in the late 1990's facilitated the emergence of computers becoming a commodity in America. Americans became increasingly reliant on technology and the internet. Y2K was a widely believed conspiracy theory that entire systems in the network would be shutdown due to a bug in the code, to include those of critical infrastructure. It was set to occur New Years Day, 2000. Though it never did occur, this phenomenon reflected the culture of paranoia. (Kruse & Zelizer, 237) -
September 11th
19 members of the terrorist organization Al Qaeda orchestrated an attack on the United States. They succeeded in destroying the Twin Towers, damaging the Pentagon, and failed at crashing a commercial airplane into the White House due to the heroics of the passengers. There were roughly 3000 American casualties from the 9/11 attacks. Out of fear and anger, the attacks led to an increase in hate crimes against Muslim Americans. It also led to a 20 year conflict, GWOT. (Kruse & Zelizer, 249-254) -
Operation Enduring Freedom/ Start of GWOT
Following the aftermath of 9/11 OEF's objective was to neutralize those who were the masterminds behind the attacks, with an emphasis on Bin Laden. By December the Taliban were defeated, but would later make a resurgence. The US along with NATO allies were working with the Northern Alliance to establish an interim government. The start of military operations in Afghanistan would mark the start of the Global War on Terrorism. The conflict would expand and last for 20 years. (Kruse & Zelizer, 255) -
Operation Iraqi Freedom
The invasion of Iraq was justified under the premise started by the Bush administration that Iraq contained "weapons of mass destruction". As a successor to 9/11, anti-war sentiments were largely unpopular, so the allegations faced no substantial resistance. The invasion was largely a success but the success of the follow on occupation is up for debate. Saddam was captured but the region became destabilized which allowed for the rise of the Islamic State. (Kruse & Zelizer, 266-267) -
The Battle of Nasiriyah
Nasiriyah was a pivotal battle during the invasion of Iraq. Beginning with an Army supply unit getting lost, subsequently leading to the capture of Army PFC, Jessica Lynch. Though, the United States Marine Corps won the battle of Nasiriyah, the battle also marked the most casualties the Marines sustained during the invasion. Most importantly, many of the fighters were Fedayeen and not all Iraqi. This was a hint at what was to come during the occupation. (Schogol, 2023) -
Battle of Fallujah: Operation Phantom Fury
Also known as the Second Battle of Fallujah. This battle was the height of the conflict in Iraq. Succeeding the First Battle of Fallujah, Iraqis and Muslims of different nationalities flocked to the city as mujahadeen. The battle consisted of violent house to house skirmishes, eventually leading to a US victory. After the battle, the resistance in Iraq never engaged the US and NATO forces in open combat as they did in Fallujah. Though, the battle of Ramadi comes close to Fallujah. (Swift, 2024) -
Hurricane Katrina
New Orleans, Louisiana was wrought with chaos by the massive flood caused by Hurricane Katrina. The event became the most costly natural disaster in American history where the residents of Katrina suffered drastically. Part of the fault is on the Bush administration for their inaction, as a picture was released of Bush flying low over New Orleans in Air Force One. It made him seem disconnected from the situation. Katrina effectively ended "compassionate conservatism". (Kruse & Zelizer, 280) -
PRISM Program
In the wake of the war on terror, the PRISM program was a program under the National Security Agency. The NSA collected network data by utilizing Silicon Valley giants such as Google and Apple. The legalities are debatable, but the Bush administration utilized provisions from the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. This signified a significant increase in federal powers in terms of surveillance, the growing distrust between Americans, and a return to polarization. (Kruse & Zelizer, 287) -
Battle of Marjah: Operation Moshtarak
The operation conducted by NATO forces was also the beginning of the new strategy that many would deem as "hearts and minds". This was the largest battle fought in OIF. It had an emphasis on a political victory rather than a tactical victory. Marjah was a victory for NATO, though progress eroded due to distrust from the populace. The battle marked the beginning of the end of NATO occupation in Afghanistan, it lasted 12 more years, ending with the disastrous withdrawal at HKIA. (Swick, 2011)