WAR ON TERROR & POST-9/11 (2000-2010)

9/11

On September 11, 2001, terrorists hijacked four planes, crashing two into the World Trade Center in New York City, the Pentagon in Washington DC., and another into a field in Pennsylvania, missing its target. Nearly 3.000 people died in this attack.

Terrorist

A person or group who uses violence to incite fear for political or ideological purposes.

World Trade Centers

Skyscrapers, also known as the Twin Towers in New York City, that housed offices of international commerce; were destroyed in the September 11 terrorist attacks.

Pentagon

Building in Arlington, Virginia, that contains offices of the U.S. Department of Defense

al Qaeda

A radical Islamist network devoted to fighting Western Influence

Islamist

A person or group who supports or participates in militant advocacy of Islam

Osama bin Laden

Leader of al Qaeda who organized the 9/11 attacks; was killed by U.S. forces

“War on Terror”

An international campaign to fight terrorism launched by. U.S. President George W. Bush in response to the 9/11 attacks

Operation Enduring Freedom

Official name of U.S.-led operations in Afghanistan as part of the War on Terror

Taliban

Militant Islamist regime controlling Afghanistan at the time of US-led attacks on al Qaeda terrorists.

War in Afghanistan

The longest war in U.S. history; it began with airstrikes against al Qaeda terrorists and continued in efforts to topple the Taliban regime 

Saddam Hussein

Dictator of Iraq who was captured by U.S.-led forces and executed for crimes against humanity

“Weapons of mass destruction”

A class of weapon with the capacity for inflicting death on a massive scale; cited as a reason for the U.S. invasion of Iraq as part of War on Terror