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Presidency of George H. W. Bush
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Iraq invades Kuwait
Saddam Hussein, the President of Iraq, had long held designs on Kuwait's land, wealth, and oil. The invasion violated international law, and the Bush administration was alarmed at the prospect of Iraq controlling Kuwait's oil resources. -
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Persian Gulf War
A war waged by coalition forces from 34 nations led by the United States against Iraq in response to Iraq's invasion and annexation of Kuwait. Coalition forces won, but Saddam Hussein was not removed from power in Iraq. -
Germany Reunified
East and West Germany were reunified with the Two Plus Four Agreement (Two=East and West Germany, Four=Soviet Union, United States, United Kingdom, France). In the treaty the Four Powers renounced all rights they held in Germany, allowing a united Germany to become fully sovereign the following year. -
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Yugoslav Wars
A series of ethnic conflicts fought from 1991 to 1999 on the territory of former Yugoslavia. The wars accompanied the breakup of the country, where its constituent republics declared independence, but the issues of ethnic minorities in the new countries (chiefly Serbs in central parts and Albanians in the southeast) were left unresolved after those republics were recognized internationally. -
End of the Cold War
U.S. President George H. W. Bush, after receiving a phone call from Boris Yeltsin, delivers a Christmas Day speech acknowledging the end of the Cold War. Mikhail Gorbachev resigns as President of the USSR, and the hammer and sickle is lowered for the last time over the Kremlin. -
Dissolution of the Soviet Union
Acknowledged the independence of the twelve republics of the Soviet Union and created the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). -
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Presidency of Bill Clinton
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President Clinton Impeached
Clinton was impeached by the House of Representatives on two charges, one of perjury and one of obstruction of justice. -
President Clinton Acquitted
He was acquitted by the Senate. While most Americans gave Clinton low marks for character and honesty, they gave him high marks for performance and wanted him censured and condemned for his conduct, but not impeached and removed. -
NATO Bombing of Yugoslavia Begins
The bombing was NATO's military operation against the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia during the Kosovo War. The operation was not authorised by the United Nations and was the first time that NATO used military force without the approval of the UN Security Council and against a sovereign nation that did not pose a threat to members of the alliance. -
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Presidency of George W. Bush
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September 11 attacks
The September 11 attacks were a series of four coordinated terrorist attacks launched by the Islamic terrorist group al-Qaeda upon the United States in New York City and the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. -
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Iraq War
The Iraq War was an armed conflict in Iraq that consisted of two phases. The first was an invasion of Iraq starting on 20 March 2003 by an invasion force led by the United States. It was followed by a longer phase of fighting, in which an insurgency emerged to oppose the occupying forces and the newly formed Iraqi government. -
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Presidency of Barack Obama
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Death of Osama bin Laden
Osama bin Laden, the founder and head of the Islamist militant group al-Qaeda, was killed in Pakistan on May 2, 2011 by U.S. Navy SEALs of the U.S. Naval Special Warfare Development Group (also known as DEVGRU or SEAL Team Six). -
Ukrainian Crisis Begins
Russia has rejected the legitimacy of the interim Ukrainian government in favor of ousted-President Viktor Yanukovych. It sent in troops to Crimea. NATO condemns Russian involvement.