SOC 300: Q2

• Osama Bin-Laden was the leader of Al-Qaeda, a terrorist organisation that was responsible for the 9/11 attacks
• 2000 presidential election controversy: Gorge W Bush had the Supreme Court intervene with Gore's recount of Florida
• The Bush Doctrine: America can treat all countries that support terrorists against the U.S. as enemies.
• The 2003 invasion of Iraq is controversial because of the US's justification for going to war
• USA Patriot Act: gave the government unprecedented law enforcement powers to combat domestic terrorism including the ability to wiretap and spy on Americans
• Homeland Security Act: the Department of Homeland Security formally came into being as a stand-alone, Cabinet-level department to further coordinate and unify national homeland security efforts
• Operation Enduring Freedom:  the title used by the United States to refer to the Global War on Terrorism.
• Operation Iraqi freedom:  United States name for the March 20, 2003 invasion of Iraq towards the beginning of the Iraq War.
• In the great recession of 2008 there was a sharp decline in economic activity that started in 2007 and lasted several years, spilling into global economies.
• Obama’s administration attempted to mitigate the effects of the Great Recession of 2008 by proposing and signed an economic stimulus bill into law; his administration authorized federal spending on education, green energy, and infrastructure improvements.