Advancements in Technology and the Constance of Change in Our Brave New World

Unit 11 – Globalization and Interdependence

US Foreign Relations Have Changed The Cold War has ended.

NATO has expanded to include

many of the nations in Central

and Eastern Europe.

US relations with Russia

improved during the 1990s,

but have become strained

again more recently.

The threat of global terrorism

is a major concern of the

United States today.

The Persian Gulf War, 1990 - 1991 In the summer of 1990, Iraqi forces invade

Kuwait at the command of Saddam

Hussein.

The US and a coalition of nations set up

bases in Saudi Arabia, and launched an

invasion to liberate the nation.

Iraq fired hundreds of erratic SCUD

missiles into Saudi Arabia and Israel over

the next several months, and used

environmental terrorism – setting fire to oil

wells and attempting to ruin the water

supply of the Saudis by causing oil spills in

the Persian Gulf.

Eventually, Kuwait was liberated, but

Saddam Hussein, the Iraqi dictator who

had caused the conflict, was allowed to

remain in power.

Global Terrorism as a Threat to Peace Terrorists Attacks increased

during the 1990s and into the

21st Century, including:

1993 – First Attack on the World

Trade Center

1995 – Oklahoma City Bombing of

the Alfred Murray Federal Building

1996 – Dhahran Bombing

1998 – Attacks on US Embassies in

Tanzania and Kenya

2000 – The Attack on the USS Cole

Seventeen (17) Americans were killed and thirty-nine (39) more injured when a suicide bomber attacked the USS Cole in 2000. The Cole was stationed in Norfolk, Virginia at the time.

Seventeen (17) Americans were killed and thirty-nine (39) more injured when a suicide bomber attacked the USS Cole in 2000. The Cole was stationed in Norfolk, Virginia at the time.

September 11, 2001On September 11, 2001, a group of

Al-Qaeda suicide pilots crashed four

airplanes into the World Trade Center,

the Pentagon, and a field in

Pennsylvania. Thousands of

Americans died, and the United

States was forced to reconsider it’s

national security plans in order to

combat the threat of global terrorism.

Any groups which harbored terrorists

or advocated terrorism were now

enemy combatants in a global war on

Terrorism.

The War in Afghanistan, 2001 - PresentOne of the nations which had harbored Al-

Qaeda before the September 11, 2001

attacks was Afghanistan, which was ruled at

the time by an ultra-conservative Islamic

regime known as the Taliban. The Taliban

was removed from power by American

soldiers in 2001, and many of its leaders

were killed or captured. Al-Qaeda was

targeted as well, and weakened by the

American military presence. In 2011,

Osama bin Laden, the leader of Al-Qaeda,

was killed by American military personnel in

Pakistan. The US hopes that a new, more

democratic government which respects

individual rights will prevail in Afghanistan.

The Iraq War 2003 - 2012Although Iraq and its leadership played

virtually no role in the September 11th attacks

on the United States, President George W.

Bush and his administration asserted that

Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass

destruction and constituted a danger to US

security. The US Armed Forces invaded Iraq in

2003. No weapons of mass destruction were

found. Saddam Hussein was overthrown and

killed. In Iraq, years of civil war and an

insurgency which targeted American soldiers

caused hundreds of thousands of Iraqi and

American lives to be lost. As a result of the

conflict, a murderous dictator – Saddam

Hussein – was removed from power and killed,

and a new democracy has been established in

Iraq.

Immigration PatternsIn the past fifty years,

immigration patterns to the

United States have changed

dramatically. No longer are the

masses of immigrants arriving in

the United States from Europe.

Most immigrants come from Latin

America (Mexico, Central

America, South America, and the

Caribbean) or from Asia (China,

India, and Southeast Asian

nations in particular.)

The Problem of Illegal Immigration Illegal immigration to the United States

has become a major problem and a

source of much political debate in the

United States. On the one hand,

Americans rely upon the cheap labor

provided by illegal immigrants – and US

businesses violate the law in order to

hire them by the millions. Yet, the

presence of illegal immigrants causes

increases the cost of public services,

health care, and the like. And of course,

allowing illegal immigration undermines

the rule of law…

Global Environment – Clean Air, Clean Water, and the Threat of Global Warming

Since the 1960s, Americans

have been able to agree on the

need to preserve clean air and

clean water – for ourselves and

for future generations. Under

Richard Nixon, the Clean Air Act

(1970)and the Clean Water Act

(1972) were both passed and

the Environmental Protection

Agency was created in order to

preserve the environment.

The Climate Change DebateAlthough almost every practicing

scientist who studies the matter

agrees that climate change is

real – and potentially disastrous

– there is no agreement among

American politicians. What

exactly causes global warming

may end up being less important

than the change in sea levels,

weather patterns, and

ecosystems (which humans are a

part of) if the scientists are right!

Water and Natural ResourcesAs the population of the Earth

continues to increase the competition

or fresh water and other natural

resources – like the ones used to

produce electricity – is likely to

become a major source of conflict.

Pollution and concerns over

sustainability of resources in an

interdependent world will inevitably

lead to conflicts between nations.

Managing our resources so that they

last – and using them wisely – will be

the best policy for the future.

Fossil Fuels and Dependency on Foreign Oil

The United States of America has

not been energy independent since

the 1960s. Demand for petroleum

products in order to run our

automobiles and to generate

electricity has required the

importation of billions of barrels of

oil – often from nations like

Venezuela or the Organization of

Petroleum Exporting Nations

(OPEC) which do not share our

values, our foreign policy goals, or

our interests.

Global Pandemics and MedicineThe threat of disease is ever-present

and the possibility of global

pandemics is even more

pronounced in an interdependent

world. During the 1980s, the AIDS

epidemic became a major threat in

the United States – and it continues

to be a killer abroad. Whether or

not pharmaceutical companies will

be able to stay one step ahead of

mutating viruses and epidemic

disease will determine the future of

the world, as well. And yes,

ZOMBIES ARE COMING FOR YOU!