On September 11, 2001, al-Qaeda terrorists launched a sudden assault on the American mainland that killed more than three thousand civilians. In the years since the attack, Americans have developed an intense sense of vulnerability. Many people worry about biological terrorism, suicide squads, and dirty bombs. Even now, the day-to-day rhythms of American life are frequently interrupted by news of terrorist cells and foiled attempts to blow up high-value targets.

After 9-11, many nations of the world joined the United States in support of its new global war on terrorism. Friendly nations looked to America with its democratic traditions for leadership and assistance. Yet, at the same time, many nations resented America and its tremendous economic and military power. The leaders of these critical nations portrayed the U.S. as a dangerous superpower that spent as much on defense as the rest of the world put together.

This unit -- Dire Consequences -- focuses on the ten years since 9-11. In the aftermath of the attack, President George W. Bush sent American troops into Afghanistan to depose the Taliban, a political organization that supported al-Qaeda terrorists. At the same time, Congress passed the USA PATRIOT Act and the Homeland Security Act, which created a cabinet level Department of Homeland Security and ushered in the most thorough-going reorganization of the federal government since the passage of the National Security Act of 1947.

In 2003, President Bush opened a second front in the War on Terror, when he ordered the invasion of Iraq to find weapons of mass destruction. The war in Iraq quickly eclipsed that in Afghanistan and became a vital point of domestic and international conflict. Many opponents of the war argued that it was unnecessary and would result in thousands of civilian casualties. This criticism gained credence when the Bush Administration failed to find the weapons of mass destruction on which it had based the invasion of Iraq. Further problems arose in 2004, when stories of physical, psychological, and sexual abuse -- including torture -- arose at the Abu Ghraib prison facility run by the U.S. military in Iraq. Critics of the Bush Administration linked prisoner abuse at Abu Ghraib with other controversial topics, including water-boarding at Guantanamo Bay, warrantless wiretapping of suspected terrorists, religious discrimination against Muslims, and dozens of alleged civil liberties violations associated with the PATRIOT Act.

Here we will engage in three historical problems to assess this vital era and its impact on current American history.