U.S. Foreign Policy Since 9/11

1. September 11, 2001

In plain words: on September 11, 2001, terrorists turned airliners into weapons, and the U.S. and its allies responded within days.

On the morning of September 11, 2001, 19 al Qaeda terrorists hijacked four airliners:

• Two struck the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York City.
• One struck the Pentagon near Washington, D.C.
• The fourth, United Flight 93, crashed near Shanksville, Pennsylvania, after passengers fought back.

Nearly 3,000 people were killed. It was the deadliest foreign attack on U.S. soil.

Immediate responses:

• September 12: NATO invoked — formally put into effect — Article 5 (an attack on one is an attack on all). It was the first time ever.
• September 14–18: Congress passed and the president signed the Authorization for Use of Military Force.
• September 20: President George W. Bush told Congress, "Our war on terror begins with al Qaeda, but it does not end there." He demanded that the Taliban hand over al Qaeda's leaders.
• 2004: the bipartisan 9/11 Commission reported "four kinds of failures: in imagination, policy, capabilities, and management." Congress followed with a law (2004). It created a Director of National Intelligence to coordinate the nation's intelligence agencies.

Look at the figure: the first responses came within days.

2. The war in Afghanistan (2001–2021)

In plain words: the war in Afghanistan began in 2001 to fight al Qaeda and the Taliban, and it ended with the U.S. leaving in 2021.

An insurgency is an armed uprising against a government or an occupying force. About 2,400 U.S. service members died in Afghanistan. President Biden called it "the longest war in American history."

Example: A GED item might ask how many years passed between the start of the war (2001) and bin Laden's death (2011). The answer: about ten.

3. The war in Iraq (2003–2011)

In plain words: the U.S. invaded Iraq in 2003 because of a claimed weapons threat; no weapons stockpiles were found.

In 2002–2003, the Bush administration argued that Iraq's dictator, Saddam Hussein, had weapons of mass destruction. It said he posed a threat. Congress passed a resolution authorizing force against Iraq in October 2002. A U.S.-led coalition invaded in March 2003. Baghdad fell in April. Saddam was captured in December 2003.

• No stockpiles of weapons of mass destruction were found. A U.S. survey team reported this in 2004.
• An insurgency and fighting among religious and ethnic groups followed. In 2007, President Bush ordered a troop surge — a temporary increase in troops. Violence later declined.
• Under a 2008 agreement with Iraq's government, U.S. combat troops left in December 2011. Nearly 4,500 U.S. service members died.
• In 2014, the terrorist group ISIS seized parts of Iraq and Syria. The U.S. led an international coalition against it. ISIS lost the last of that territory in 2019.

Example: A question asks for the stated reason for the invasion. The answer is the WMD threat. This is true even though the later finding did not support it.

Keep the two wars apart with this chart:

4. Homeland security at home

In plain words: after 9/11, the government created new agencies and powers to protect the country, and people still debate the balance between safety and freedom.

These changes raised a lasting public debate about security versus civil liberties (basic personal freedoms). Think of airport screening: it adds safety, but it also costs time and privacy.

• Supporters argued the new powers helped prevent attacks.
• Critics argued some measures went too far. Examples include surveillance and the detention of terrorism suspects at the U.S. naval base at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba.

Congress and the courts have revisited several of these policies. For example, in 2015 the USA FREEDOM Act changed how phone records could be collected. On the GED, present both sides as the source does. Avoid choices that state an opinion as fact.

5. Globalization and alliances

In plain words: world trade now links the U.S. economy to other countries, and U.S. alliances have grown since the Cold War.

Globalization is the growing connection of world economies. Trade, investment and technology have tied the U.S. economy to the world. Look at the labels on your clothes or phone: many parts come from several countries.

• China joined the World Trade Organization in 2001, and global supply chains grew.
• The North American Free Trade Agreement (1994) was replaced by the United States–Mexico–Canada Agreement (USMCA) in 2020.
• Globalization lowered many consumer prices and opened markets. But some U.S. manufacturing jobs moved overseas. This is another topic with real debate.

Alliances:

• NATO grew from 16 members at the end of the Cold War to 32 in 2024.
• Russia annexed Ukraine's Crimea region in 2014. It launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
• The United States and its allies responded with sanctions and aid to Ukraine. Finland (2023) and Sweden (2024) joined NATO.
• In the Indo-Pacific, the United States works with partners such as Japan, South Korea, Australia and India. This includes AUKUS (2021), a partnership with Australia and the United Kingdom.