Chapter 42 Terms and Definitions

September 11 Attacks: The 2001 al-Qaeda terrorist attacks using hijacked airliners against the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, killing nearly 3,000 people.
Al-Qaeda: The Islamist extremist terrorist network, led by Osama bin Laden, responsible for the September 11 attacks.
Osama bin Laden: Al-Qaeda's founder and leader, mastermind of the September 11 attacks, killed by U.S. Navy SEALs in Pakistan in 2011.
War on Terror: The global campaign declared by President George W. Bush against terrorist organizations and states that harbored them.
USA PATRIOT Act: 2001 law that greatly expanded government surveillance and law-enforcement powers to combat terrorism.
Department of Homeland Security: Cabinet department created in 2002, consolidating dozens of agencies to focus on counterterrorism and disaster response.
Operation Enduring Freedom: The U.S.-led military campaign launched in October 2001 against the Taliban and al-Qaeda in Afghanistan.
Taliban: The fundamentalist Islamist movement that ruled Afghanistan and sheltered al-Qaeda before 2001, and retook power in 2021.
Iraq War (2003): The U.S.-led invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein based on since-discredited claims of weapons of mass destruction, followed by years of insurgency.
Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD): Chemical, biological, or nuclear weapons that the Bush administration claimed Iraq possessed, justifying the 2003 invasion; none were found.
The Surge (2007): A significant increase in U.S. troop levels in Iraq intended to curb sectarian violence and stabilize the country.
Subprime Mortgage Crisis: The collapse of risky home loans issued during the 2000s housing bubble, a central cause of the 2008 financial crisis.
Lehman Brothers Collapse: The September 2008 bankruptcy of the major investment bank that froze global credit markets and deepened the financial crisis.
Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP): The $700 billion 2008 federal program to stabilize major banks and financial institutions during the crisis.
Great Recession: The severe economic downturn following the 2008 financial crisis, marked by mass unemployment and foreclosures.
Barack Obama: Elected in 2008 as the first African American president, serving two terms (2009–2017) marked by the Great Recession's aftermath and healthcare reform.
Affordable Care Act (2010): Obama's signature healthcare law, popularly called "Obamacare," which expanded insurance coverage through subsidized marketplaces and Medicaid expansion.
Death of Osama bin Laden (2011): The May 2011 U.S. Navy SEAL raid on a compound in Pakistan that killed al-Qaeda's leader.
Obergefell v. Hodges (2015): The Supreme Court decision that legalized same-sex marriage nationwide.
Polarization: The growing ideological and cultural divide between American political parties and media audiences in the 21st century.
COVID-19 Pandemic: The global coronavirus pandemic that struck the United States beginning in 2020, killing over a million Americans and disrupting the economy and daily life.