The 1990’s & the Information AgeThe 1990’s & the Information Age

The Persian Gulf WarThe Persian Gulf War Amid growing tension between the two

Persian Gulf neighbors, Saddam Hussein concluded that the United States and the rest of the outside world would not interfere to defend Kuwait.

On August 2, 1990, Iraqi forces invaded Kuwait and quickly seized control of the small nation.

Within days, the United States, along with the United Nations, demanded Iraq's immediate withdrawal. – U.S. and other UN member nations began

deploying troops in Saudi Arabia within the week, and the world-wide coalition began to form under UN authority

Below: Kuwaiti oil wells on fire

The Persian Gulf The Persian Gulf WarWar On August 2, 1990 Iraqi troops

invaded Kuwait looting it & then began to head towards Saudi Arabia & it’s rich oil fields

If Iraq conquered Saudi Arabia as well as Kuwait it would control ½ of the worlds oil supply

President Bush and Sec. of State James Baker organized an international coalition against Iraqi aggression– To liberate Kuwait

President Bush launched Operation Desert Storm – on January 16, 1991 the United States

& his allies staged a massive air assault against Iraq

Key PlayersKey Players The leader of the UN Coalition was General

H. Norman Schwarzkopf The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff was

Colin Powell The Secretary of Defense was Dick Cheney The Secretary of State who successfully

organized the UN coalition was James Baker

Gen. Schwarzkopf

Gen. Colin Powell

Sec. of Def Cheney

Sec. of State Baker Sec. of Def Cheney with Chairman of the JCS Powell General Powell Sec. Def Cheney Gen. Schwarzkopf

Allied BombingAllied Bombing

The Persian Gulf WarThe Persian Gulf War The Allied bombing sought to damage

Iraq's infrastructure so as to hinder her ability to make war while also hurting both civilian and military morale. – To counter the air attack, Saddam

ordered the launching of his feared SCUD missiles at both Israel and Saudi Arabia

– These SCUD missiles were shot down by the U.S. Patriot missile defense system

Above: Baghdad after U.S. bombing

U.S. Patriot Missile

Iraqi SCUD Missile

The Ground OffensiveThe Ground Offensive

The Persian Gulf WarThe Persian Gulf War

After massive bombardment for over a month the U.S. began a ground offensive from Saudi Arabia against Iraq

– When the Allied armies launched the ground war on February 23, the Iraqi occupation forces in Kuwait were already beaten.

– Cut off from their supply bases and headquarters by the intense air campaign, thousands of Iraqi soldiers simply gave up rather than fight

– In the few cases where the more elite Iraqi forces, such as the Republican Guard, stood and fought, superior American, British and French equipment and training proved the undoing of the Soviet-equipped Iraqis

The Persian Gulf The Persian Gulf WarWar

By February 26, U.S. and Allied Arab forces, along with the underground Kuwaiti Resistance, controlled Kuwait City– Allied air forces pounded the retreating Iraqi

occupation army. In southern Iraq, Allied armored forces

stood at the Euphrates River near Basra

– internal rebellions began to break out against Saddam's regime.

On February 27, President Bush ordered a cease-fire and the surviving Iraqi troops were allowed to escape back into southern Iraq.

On March 3, 1991, Iraq accepted the terms of the cease-fire and the fighting ended

CONSEQUENCES OF CONSEQUENCES OF CONFLICT:CONFLICT:

1. Saddam's second war of foreign conquest ended even worse than the first one. Iraq again stood defeated with the liberation of Kuwait.

2. Despite the crushing defeat and subsequent Shiite and Kurdish rebellions, Saddam's government retained a strong grip on power in Iraq.

3. As a result of the cease-fire terms, Iraq had to accept the imposition of "no-fly zones" over her territory and United Nations weapons inspection teams sifting through her nuclear and other weapons programs.

4. The economic and trade sanctions begun during the war continued until the Iraqi War of 2003, and contributed to severe economic hardships in Iraq. Some reports say hundreds of thousands of children have died due to the sanctions. There are no indications that the government or military suffer undo hardships.

CASUALTY FIGURES:CASUALTY FIGURES: Iraq: Original figures listed 100,000 Iraqi

military dead, but more recent estimates place Iraqi dead at 20,000 military and 2,300 civilian.  

United States: 148 killed in action, 458 wounded. Also, 121 Americans died through non-combat incidents.

"Did the Coalition forces quit too "Did the Coalition forces quit too soon?"soon?"

In the negotiations following the close of active campaigning the Iraqis were allowed to withdraw many of their units relatively intact.

– Saddam Hussein was allowed to remain in power in Iraq – Had the ground campaign been taken to its logical conclusion, the

Iraqi war machine would have been quickly dismantled President Bush and other Allied leaders had more to consider

than military matters Politically the coalition was beginning to differ on whether

total defeat of Iraq was a wise move– Iraq had been the only power to stand in the way of the Iranian war

machine making a conquest of all of Arabia Many felt it would not be wise to completely humiliate a buffer

between Iran and Arabia. – Second, as evil as Saddam was perceived to be in much of the

Western World, he was perceived as a hero by many in the Middle East, for example the Palestinians and Jordanians.

– Thus Saddam's complete destruction, besides upsetting the balance of power in the Middle East, might antagonize other pro-western Middle-Eastern states.

– Finally, there is a certain brotherhood that Arabs feel for one another, even when arrayed as enemies on a battlefield.

Even an aggressor, as Iraq had surely been during this conflict, could not morally be crushed.

Problems on the Domestic Problems on the Domestic FrontFront

While the Persian Gulf War spiked President Bush’s popularity to 89% a recession that began in 1990 began to drag those numbers down

Bush was forced to raise taxes in spite of his campaign pledge– His approval rating dipped to 40% by 1992

Bush’s opponent in the 1992 election was little known Arkansas Governor William Jefferson Clinton

President George H. Bush

Governor Bill Clinton

The Election of 1992The Election of 1992 After the U.S. victory in the Persian Gulf War in 1991

the country entered an economic recession President Bush struggled to convince the nation he had a

clear strategy to create jobs & end the recession Arkansas Gov. Bill Clinton campaigned as the candidate

to lead the country out of it’s economic problems A Third Party candidate H. Ross Perot, a Texas

billionaire ran against Bush & Clinton– With his no nonsense style Perot claimed that “It’s time to take

out the trash and clean up the barn.”– Perot announced that the federal budget deficit was the nation’s

#1 problem Federal Deficit: when a gov’t has to borrow money to meet it’s

spending commitments Ross Perot was extremely flamboyant & bought air time

on national television on several occasions to speak to the American people

President Bush

Governor Clinton

Billionaire Ross Perot Former President Ronald Reagan speaking at the 1992 Republican National Convention

Ross PerotRoss Perot

The Election of 1992The Election of 1992 On election day the 46 year old Gov.

Clinton received 43% of the popular vote while Pres. Bush received only 38% – Ross Perot received an impressive 19%

In the Electoral College Clinton won the Presidency with a 370 to 168 tally– Republicans claim that Perot’s campaign &

conservative leaning ideas stole votes & possibly the election from President Bush

The “New” DemocratThe “New” Democrat President Clinton’s strategy to move more

toward the center of the political spectrum

rather than hardcore Democratic ideals

allowed him to win the election– He promised to move away from more

traditional Democratic policies– Emphasizing the need to move people off of welfare– Called for the growth of private business as a means of

economic progress

Clinton worked to make the Democratic party more moderate to incorporate a broader base– During the 1990’s this strategy was extremely successful

Balanced Budget & Economic Balanced Budget & Economic BoomBoom

President Clinton along with the Republican-controlled congress was able to reduce the federal budget deficit

By the end of Clinton’s Presidency the federal government had a surplus and was actually paying down part of the $5.5 trillion deficit – Most of the credit for the burgeoning surplus was due

to the booming economy that took off about the time President Clinton took office

Unemployment fell and the stock market soared– This brought in large amounts of new revenue & fewer

people were in need of federal aid

Oklahoma City Federal Oklahoma City Federal BuildingBuilding

Terrorism & CrimeTerrorism & Crime In 1993 terrorists had exploded bombs in

the World Trade Center in New York City– Osama Bin Laden an Arab terrorists was

suspected of being behind the attack

In 1995 a bomb destroyed the Oklahoma City federal office building– Killing 168 children, women, & men

Timothy McVeigh, an American veteran of the gulf war was found guilty of the bombing & executed under the federal death penalty in 2001

Above: Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City

Below: Timothy McVeigh

ColumbineColumbine In April of 1999 two Colorado students

from Columbine High School killed 12 and wounded 23 classmates and a teacher before shooting themselves– Many copycat crimes occurred to a lesser

degree after Columbine Security Camera footage of Columbine shooters

KosovoKosovo

Foreign Policy Foreign Policy In 1991 Yugoslavia broke apart into 5

nations (Bosnia, Croatia, Slovenia, Serbia, Macedonia)

In Bosnia the Serbs began “ethnic cleansing” the killing or expelling from their homes of certain ethnic groups

In 1995 the U.S. helped to negotiate a peace agreement in Bosnia– Clinton sent U.S. troops to join NATO to keep

the peace In 1998 Serb forces attacked ethnic

Albanians in the Serb province of Kosovo– The U.S. & it’s NATO allies launched air strikes

against Serbian targets in 1999 forcing Serbs to back down

– American troops once again stayed to ensure the peaceU.S. soldiers looking at mass graves in Kosovo

Slobodan Milosevic the leader of the Serbs

The Global EconomyThe Global Economy

Believing that trade would help to strengthen the U.S. economy President Clinton pushed for the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA)– This legislation would add Mexico into the Free trade zone the

U.S. & Canada had already formed– Proponents of NAFTA claimed that it would strengthen all

three economies and bring more jobs to the U.S.– Opponents of NAFTA claimed that it would transfer American

jobs to Mexico where wages were lower & had lower environmental standards

The Treaty was ratified by all three countries in 1993 and took effect on January 1, 1994

The Global EconomyThe Global Economy In the 1990’s America’s economy was going through a number of

changes– One of those changes was the explosion of jobs in the service sector

The part of the economy that provides services to customers– By 2000 nearly 80% of America’s workers were: teachers, medical

professionals, lawyers, engineers, store clerks, mechanics, etc… Low-Paying jobs such as sales and fast-food grew the fastest

– These jobs were often part time and offered limited benefits – Companies began hiring part time or temporary workers and began

downsizing to trim payrolls rather than spend money on full time salaries and benefits

By 1998 1/4th of all U.S. workers were part-time or temporary

Of those part-time workers young workers were hit the hardest– By 1999 11% of all workers 16-24 were unemployed – 3 out of every 4 young Americans expect to earn less money than their

parents do This trend would lead to a recession in the first part of the 21st century

Economic ShiftEconomic Shift The U.S. economy had shifted from an agrarian society to a

manufacturing economy in the middle part of the 20th century In the later part it began to shift from a manufacturing to a service

economy as people become more productive– In 1992 140,000 steel workers were able to do the job that it took 240,000

to do just 10 year earlier– The lack of manufacturing jobs also spurred a drop in Union membership

from 34% in 1945 to 14% in 1998 The increase use of computers and computer-driven robots in

manufacturing led to a vibrant high-tech economy – That economy needed advanced training and specialized technical skills

Year Farming Manufacturing Service Producing

1900 11,050,000 7,252,000 6,832,000

1950 6,001,000 18,475,000 20,721,000

2006

(Projected)3,618,000 24,451,000 111,867,000

High-Tech High-Tech IndustriesIndustries In the late 1990’s entrepreneurs made huge

personal fortunes in the computer industry– Trying to follow in the footsteps of Bill Gates who

by 2000 was the wealthiest individual in the world worth an estimated $60 billion

The internet spawned a multitude of new businesses in the late 90’s– The NASDAQ (National Association of Securities Dealers Automated

Quotation System) a technology dominated stock index on Wall Street rose dramatically as these new dotcoms prospered

Dotcoms: companies that are based over the internet & domain name ended in (.com)

As a few of these companies became successful a flood of dotcom companies began sprouting– These companies were able to capitalize on the novelty of dotcoms to secure

funding on untested ideas– These companies spent millions initially and attracted young talent & high

initial profits as their stocks rose disproportional to their success

The Information The Information SuperhighwaySuperhighway

The birth of the internet revolutionized information & communication– It linked people and institutions all over the

nation and the world– Vice-President Al Gore was in charge of the

government control of the internet The gov’t would ensure affordable service for

everyone, protect privacy and property rights The 1990’s enjoyed explosive growth of the internet

– Internet: an international network linking computers and allowing almost instant transmittal of text, images, and sound

The Internet was first developed in the 1960’s by the U.S. Defense Department for defense research– Universities jumped on board early to trade research– The World Wide Web provided a simple visual interface for worlds and

pictures to be seen by an unlimited audience– Businesses, schools, and organizations began using the web as a primary

form of communication

The InternetThe InternetElectronic connections allowed users to access an

array of media, from streaming video to research archives, from on-line shopping catalogs to customized news broadcasts– By 2000 97 million Americans used the internet

regularly to send email, share music, or browse web pages

Cellular phones, internet technology made instant communication possible from almost anywhere

The Global EconomyThe Global EconomyAt the beginning of the century information was

slow to move without airplanes or telephone service U.S. trade with the rest of the world was about $2.2 billion (12% of the economy)

By the end of the century with supersonic jets, fax machines, computers, & internet the U.S. trade with other countries was about $2 trillion dollars (25% of the economy)

As American companies competed for international markets American workers suddenly had to compete with international workers

Government & the Government & the InternetInternet In 1994 the Federal Communications

Commission (FCC) began to auction the valuable rights to airwaves and collected over $9 billion

Congress then passed the Telecommunications Act of 1996 removing barriers that had previously prevented one type of communications company from starting up or buying another related one– This allowed for companies like Walt Disney and

ABC to merge into a major media conglomerate Congress also called for a “V-chip” in

television sets a computer chip that would enable parents to block TV programs that they deemed inappropriate for their children

Scientific AdvancementsScientific Advancements The 1990’s saw a boom in computer

technology Visual imaging and artificial

intelligence were combined to create virtual reality – This was used for flight simulators,

allowed doctors to operate on patients hundreds of miles away, architects to make virtual models of buildings, meteorologists to forecast weather with surprising accuracy

IBM’s Deep Blue computer defeated chess champion Garry Kasparov in 1997

Garry Kasparov playing chess against Deep Blue

Space ExplorationSpace Exploration In the 1990’s NASA expanded our view of the

universe– In 1997 NASA’s Pathfinder transmitted live pictures

from the surface of Mars Shuttle missions concentrated on research after the

building of the International Space Station – This provided scientists with a zero gravity laboratory

for research in medicine, space mechanics and architecture

In 1993 the crew of the Endeavour repaired the Hubble Space Telescope which sends back pictures from deep space

In late 1995 astronomers discovered a planet orbiting the fourth closest star to Earth

– The first planet to be detected outside our solar system

There have been dozens detected since

BiotechnologyBiotechnology The Human Genome Project, an

international effort to map the genes of the human body announced in 2000 that they had sequenced nearly all of the human genome– Cooperation via the internet and access

to computerized databases by multiple research groups greatly sped up this process

The human genome is comprised of over 3 billion chemical “letters” of the genetic DNA code

– Molecular biologists believed that this genetic map would offer the key to treating many inherited diseases

CloningCloning In 1997 Scottish researchers cloned Dolly the

Sheep from one cell of an adult sheep– Later in Oregon two Rhesus monkeys were cloned

Many people wondered in human cloning would be next– This all raised serious social questions

Gene therapy, artificial human chromosomes, testing embryos for genetic defects

These caused heated debates among scientists, ethicists, religious leaders, and politicians

The Use of Genetic engineering: the artificial changing of the molecular biology of organisms’ cells to alter an organism became an issue– The FDA (Federal Department of Agriculture) stated

that genetically engineered foods are safe and that they require no extra labeling

– Scientists in the late 1990’s modified corn and rice to provide resistance to pests and increase nutritional value

Above: Dolly the SheepBelow: Rhesus monkey

International CompetitionInternational CompetitionIn the 1990’s U.S. businesses frequently moved

their operations to less economically advanced countries such as Mexico where wages were lower– After NAFTA 100,000 U.S. low-wage jobs were lost

in manufacturing industries such as apparel, auto parts, & electronics

– Competition with foreign markets also caused many U.S. companies to maintain low wages

Businesses were also able to avoid the environmental restrictions of more developed nations like the U.S.

Contract with AmericaContract with America In 1994 Republican congressman Newt Gingrich

drafted a document called Contract with America– This document contained 10 items that Republicans

promised to pass if they won control of congress in the 1994 congressional elections Among these were

Congressional term limits A balanced budget amendment

– Constitutionally guaranteeing a balanced budget every year Tax cuts Tougher crime laws Welfare reform

In the November 1994 elections the Republicans handed the Democrats a humiliating defeat– Voters gave Republicans control of both houses of Congress for the first

time since 1954– Newt Gingrich was chosen as the new Speaker of the House

Newt Gingrich

Partisan PoliticsPartisan Politics President Clinton & the Republican controlled Congress

clashed Clinton opposed Republican budgets that slowed federal

programs such as Social Security and Medicaid– President Clinton & the Republicans refused to compromise

Pres. Clinton refused to sign the smaller Republican budget and the Republicans refused to pass the larger Clinton budget

The Federal Government was then forced to shut down for almost a week in November of 1995 and again later that next year– Without a new budget passed the government couldn’t pay

federal employee’s (post office, department employee’s, etc….)

The Election of 1996The Election of 1996 The strong economy helped raise Pres.

Clinton’s popularity entering the 1996 Presidential election

President Clinton was opposed by Kansas Senator Bob Dole and once again Reform Party candidate Ross Perot– President Clinton won the election with 49% of the

popular vote

The electoral spread was 379 to 159– Once again Republicans claim

that Perot’s candidacy hurt

the Republican Dole

President Bill Clinton

Senator Bob Dole

Billionaire Ross Perot

Red=Democrat Blue=Republican

Presidential ScandalsPresidential Scandals During the late 1970’s President Clinton

was involved in a land deal with the Whitewater Development Company of Arkansas– He was accused of improperly using some of

the land money to fund his 1984 gubernatorial reelection campaign

– In August of 1994 a federal court appointed Kenneth Starr as the independent counsel to investigate the matter

During his investigation Starr expanded his probe of Bill Clinton to matters unrelated to Whitewater

President Clinton

Hillary Rodham-Clinton

Kenneth Starr

The Lewinsky ScandalThe Lewinsky Scandal In his investigation Kenneth Starr learned

that President Clinton had been involved in a sexual relationship with a White House intern named Monica Lewinsky – Soon several women went public with sexual

harassment & affair charges against Pres. Clinton including Paula Jones before the 1992 election

Clinton had also lied about this affair under oath

In August of 1998 President Clinton admitted in a national address that he had engaged in an improper relation-ship with the Monica Lewinsky

White House photograph of Pres. Clinton with Lewinsky

Monica Lewinsky

Investigator Kenneth Starr

Presidential ScandalsPresidential Scandals Clinton admitted in a deposition filed

in connection with Paula Jones civil suit that he had had an affair with Gennifer Flowers, an Arkansas reporter and beauty queen. Flowers' allegations that the affair had occurred nearly derailed Clinton's presidential bid in 1992.

Kathleen Willey a financial supporter of President Clinton’s campaign said on "60 Minutes" that in 1993 the president sexually harassed her

Dolly Kyle Browning announced about the same time that she had had an on going affair with Bill Clinton from their high school days up until 1992 when Clinton halted the affair to run for President

Paula Jones

Gennifer Flowers

Kathleen Willey

Dolly Kyle Browning

ImpeachmentImpeachment Despite President Clinton’s high job

approval ratings the House of Reps. acted on Clinton’s perjury charges

In December of 1998 the House approved two articles of impeachment– Charging the President with perjury and obstruction of

justice– Pres. Clinton became only the 2nd President and the first in

130 years to face a trial in the Senate The Senate opened its trial of President Clinton in

January of 1999– A month later the Senate fell short

of the Super majority (67 or 2/3) of the votes needed to convict him & kick him out of office

President Clinton remained in office to finish out the last two years of his term Congressional Hearings on Impeachment

2000 Election2000 Election

To finish the millennium the United States had one of the closest and most controversial Presidential elections in history

Vice President Al Gore was the Democratic nominee Texas Governor George W. Bush was the Republican

nominee Ralph Nader ran for the Green Party

– A liberal party with an emphasis on the environment

Gov. Bush VP Gore

Ralph Nader

Election NightElection Night

Election night was chaotic Al Gore took the early lead as reports came in

– Late in the evening the major news networks, NBC, CBS, ABC, CNN racing to be the first, declared Al Gore to be the winner

Then as the results kept coming in the networks retracted their prediction and declared the race too close to call

Election NightElection NightAfter midnight it was clear that the entire election

would be determined by the outcome of FloridaAt 2 am the networks called the election for Gov.

Bush in Florida and presumably the Presidency– As the final votes came in however Gov. Bush’s

margin got tighter and once again the networks changed and called the election “too close to call”

The Next MorningThe Next Morning As the results were tabulated the next day Al Gore won the

popular vote by a mere 500,000 out of 105 million (.4 % margin)

Dispute raged in Florida as the vote tally showed a thin lead by Gov. Bush but overseas ballots (military, students’ abroad, etc…) had not yet been counted– With the results that tight a

mandatory recount was

started in Florida to make

sure the vote

totals were

correct

Florida RecountFlorida Recount In the weeks following the start of the

recount controversy raged– Lawyers and spokespeople for both candidates

rushed to Florida and a media storm ensued The first recount gave Bush a 500 vote

victory– The Gore campaign demanded manual recounts– The Bush campaign feared fraud might take

place in a manual recount Some controversy was also apparent when

some ballots were throw out for being incorrectly filled out– And a large number of votes for a 3rd party made

people suspicious of voter ignorance

Supreme Court gets Supreme Court gets involvedinvolved

On December 12th a month into the manual recounts the Supreme Court ordered them stopped – A manual recount lacked a uniform standard on how to

recount and didn’t protect equal protection of voters rights according to the Supreme Court

So the first recount results became official and Governor Bush won the presidency

Final TallyFinal Tally Results in New Mexico, Oregon

were also disputed and had recounts as well– Both states going to Vice President Gore

President Bush took all 25 electoral votes from Florida to win the Presidency 271 electoral votes to 266

Florida Totals Bush Gore

Popular Vote

2, 912,790 2,912,253

% 48.85% 48.84%