Jihad means struggle or striving:
It refers to the obligations of all Muslims to
struggle against error and evil.
In another sense it refers to the defensive
military struggle against those who would attack Muslims and their faith (holy war).
It states in the Koran, that if a devout
Muslim dies during the act of jihad then they automatically go to Paradise.
Some Muslim leaders, like Osama Bin Laden,
1. The United States is one of the
world's richest nation.
Since the breakup of the Soviet Union
more than a decade ago, America is the only military superpower.
America is a model for tolerance,
diversity, and democracy.
Nevertheless, many people disagree
2- Traditional cultures usually have
low crime and a strong family
structure. Many people around the world see America as a violent,
3- Some argue that the culture of
the United States and other western nations have replaced the traditional values of some societies.
Young people around the world are
4- Americanization is seen as a
5- In addition, Arabs see
the West as an
occupying, meddling force in their lands.
Israel
Our foreign policy of
supporting different governments to try to
Radical forms of Islam actually
preach jihad against the West
The terrorist attacks of September
11, 2001 were a stark reminder of how vulnerable the world was to terrorist acts.
The Global War on Terror is an
ongoing campaign by the United States and its allies to prevent
America’s most notable foe in the war on
terror has been Al Qaeda, a violent
organization that seeks to end western influence in Muslim countries.
Al Qaeda’s terrorist operations were
funded largely by Osama bin Laden, a
member of a wealthy construction family.
He was the subject of a $25 million
Following a war in Afghanistan with the
USSR (Soviet Union, what is now Russia), the Taliban took over the government in Afghanistan
They are an extremist Muslim organization They forced the people of
Afghanistan to follow their strict interpretation of how Muslims should follow Islam
They are known for using
After the attacks on September 11, Osama
Bin Laden admitted he was behind them
We knew that he had been hiding in
Afghanistan
We asked Afghanistan
to turn him over or to allow us to go get him
They refused and
instead protected
Hoping to prevent further
terrorist attacks against the
United States, America, aided by Great
Britain and other allies, attacked Afghanistan a month after September 11 and removed the Taliban from power
We set up a new government in Afghanistan The Taliban remain a terrorist organization
fighting the American-backed, democratically-elected government in Afghanistan
In addition to stopping Al Qaeda, we are now trying to keep Afghanistan free from the
We began to search for Al Qaeda
once the war began in Afghanistan We have found many members
Bin Laden was discovered and killed in
There have been two American wars
with Iraq.
The first Iraq war is called the Persian
Gulf War, or Gulf War
The second war is called the War in Iraq,
Saddam Hussein, the dictator of Iraq
invaded the country of Kuwait
He wanted access to the Persian Gulf for trade
He also wanted more control over oil fields
The U.S. and other nations told him to
get out of Kuwait or they would attack him
He refused and the war began
Instead of getting Hussein out of power, the world told him to stay out of Kuwait and they kept an eye on him
One way that they did this was regular inspections to make sure he was not
building “weapons of mass destruction” (nuclear, chemical, or biological weapons)
▪ Hussein had a history of war not only with Kuwait, but with Iran
In a speech to the American people in
2002, President George W. Bush stated that it was his goal “to prevent regimes (governments) that sponsor terror from threatening America or our friends and allies with weapons of mass destruction”
When Saddam refused to allow weapons
inspectors into Iraq, the United States Congress gave President Bush the
authority to invade Iraq
America believed they had evidence that
The United States and
its allies forced Saddam from power in 2003
The dictator was later captured and put
on trial by the newly elected
government of Iraq for “crimes against humanity”
He was found guilty and was executed
Weapons inspectors later determined
that Saddam Hussein did not actually have weapons of mass destruction in Iraq
Some people think other countries helped him dispose of evidence
Others think we went into the war for oil
The U.S. remained in Iraq until last
2010, even though Saddam Hussein was gone
“Insurgents” (people who were fighting
against America in Iraq) continued to cause instability as the new
government was being established
Why are we at war in Afghanistan?
September 11
Afghanistan is protecting Al Qaeda
Why were we at war in Iraq?
