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Afghanistan (Modern Day)
Still struggling to get back on its feet with US assistance, war training is provided. -
Osama Bin Laden (Al Qaeda)
Dedicated to purging Muslim countries of Western influence; son of Yemen born construction tycoon who used his fortune to support his beliefs, killed many Americans. -
Leaders of North Korea
Known through the Kim-dynasty, a three generation lineage that began in 1948. -
Iran (Weapons of mass destruction)
Iran, with Iraq and North Korea, sponsored terrorism, weapons of mass destruction are nuclear, chemical, or other weapons that can kill and bring significant harm to humans. -
Hillary Clinton
Democratic senator from NY, in 2008 became the first highly competitive female candidate for president; lawyer and political activist, became the first former first lady to serve in elected office when she was elected in the senate. -
Election of 2000 (Bush, Cheney, Gore, Lieberman)
Came down to electoral college votes and specifically the vote in Florida; because of the controversy over a recount in Florida, Gore sued to have a manual recount; was the first time the Supreme Court got involved in electoral college decisions; decided the votes should stand as counted and Bush got the votes for the state giving Bush the presidency without winning the popular vote. -
Bush v. Gore
December 12, 2000. Use of the 14th Amendment’s equal protection clause to stop the Florida recount in the election of 2000. -
September 11th Attacks
The day Al- Qaeda members hijacked passenger airplanes and used them to destroy the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in NYC and a small section of the Pentagon; 3000 people were killed and 6000 were injured. Also the day when there was an unsuccessful manhunt for Osama Bin Laden. -
War on Terrorism
Complex and dangerous campaign of undefined scope and duration, started by George W. Bush, initiative was to keep US safe. -
No Child Left Behind
Signed into law on January 8, 2002. Meant to fix a broken public education system; linked federal money to state action requiring states to have high standards for all students; evaluation of progress was through standardized testing. -
“Axis of Evil”
A term coined by President Bush in his 2002 state of the Union address; this “axis” included Iraq. North Korea, and Iran. He used this term to describe governments that he accused of assisting terrorism and seeking weapons of mass destruction. -
Homeland Security Department
Combined over 20 federal agencies and 170,000 employees, including Customs, Immigration, and Naturalization, the Coast Guard, and the Secret Service, was one of the largest governmental reorganizations since the introduction of the Department of Defense. -
Iraqi War (Operation Iraqi Freedom)
US troops invaded Iraq and Saddam's forces collapsed almost immediately; Baghdad fell, Saddam and other Iraqi leaders went into hiding. -
Election of 2004 (Bush, Cheney, Kerry)
Republican candidate George W. Bush with vice president Dick Cheney defeated Democratic candidate John Kerry. Bush's margin of victory in the popular vote was the smallest ever for a reelected incumbent president, but marked the first time since his father's victory 16 years prior that a candidate won a majority of the popular vote. -
Election of 2008 (Barack Obama, Joseph Biden, McCain, Palin)
Democratic candidate Barack Obama with vice president Joe Biden defeated Republican candidate John McCain with vice president Sarah Palin. Obama becomes the first African American president of the US. He won both the popular vote and the electoral college, with 365 electoral votes compared to only 173 for McCain; he received the largest percentage of the popular vote for a Democrat since Lyndon Johnson in 1964. -
Vladimir Putin
President of Russia since May 7th, 2012, launched reforms aimed at boosting growth and budget revenues and keeping Russia on a strong economic path.
