Two Wars on Terror: Iraq and Afghanistan

Afghanistan War

War in Afghanistan was started in 2001 and still is going on in present day. The war refers to the intervention of Afghan Civil War by the United States and its allies. The war was started following the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001 to dismantle Al-Qaeda and to bring down the Taliban in Afghanistan.

A political cartoon about the war in Afghanistan that has been going on for over 12 years now. 

Iraq War

The Iraq War was an armed conflict in Iraq that consisted of two phases. The first was an invasions Ba'athist Iraq on March 20, 2003 by an invasion force led by the United States. It was followed by a longer phase of fighting which ended with the newly formed Iraqi government and the United States pulling troops on December 2011. 

President Bush argued that the vulnerability of the United States follow September 11, 2001, combined with Iraq's alleged continued possession and manufacture of weapons of mass destruction and its support for terrorist groups, made disarming Iraq a main priority of the United States. 

This is a picture of a solider watching while the statue of Saddam is being brought down from it post and destroyed. 

President George W. Bush: War on Terror

The phrase "War on Terror" was first used by President George W. Bush on September 20, 2001. President Bush and other media outlets have since used the term to signify a global military, political, lawful, and conceptual struggle targeting both terrorist and regimes. 

When the Afghan Taliban regime was not forthcoming with Osama bin Laden. President Bush ordered the invasion of Afghanistan to overthrow the Taliban regime. Because of this man we are still fighting an ongoing war on terror.

The speech where President Bush first used the term "War on Terror". 

War on Terror: 2001- Present Day

The War on Terror or the Global War on Terrorism is a term that is commonly applied to the international military campaign which started after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States of America. This resulted in an international military campaign to eliminate Al-Qaeda and other militant organizations.

Picture of Uncle Sam telling you he wanted you to support the War on Terror that the United States has been fighting since September 11, 2001 attacks. 

The Korean War: The Forgotten War

The Korean War took place at the beginning of the Cold War.  The war was mainly between North Korea and South Korea.  After World War 2 Korea was divided along the 38th parallel with the U.S. in the South and the Soviets in the North. So naturally the North took up communism leading to many problems in Korea.  Eventually North Korea would invade the South leading to the Korean War.  During the Korean war President Truman ordered General MacArthur to use "any force necessary" to aid the South Koreans all to help the larger picture of preventing the Soviets from spreading communism.  At one point the U.S. had sent over to Korea about five million soldiers.  As the war went on, more countries such as China entered the war.  Eventually the war came to and end due to the armistice agreement that restored the border between North and South Korea.  To this day there is still some conflict between the two, but the Korean War just opened up the Cold War for The United States and the Soviets.  The Korean War is often referred to as the forgotten war due to the fact that it took place between two bigger wars: World War 2 & The Vietnam War.

Douglas MacArthur

Commander and Chief of the Far East

One can not talk about great American military leaders without mentioning the great Douglas MacArthur.  MacArthur did not only play a significant role during the Korean war but he also did during World War 2.  MacArthur was one of the most powerful in the world during his time.  During World War 2 he was actually the supreme commander of Japan after Japan surrendered.  In the Korean War MacArthur led all American troops.  MacArthur had everything going for him including a genius plan to win America the war.  However, the Chinese surprised MacArthur causing the U.S. to briefly retreat.  This lead to the fall of Douglas MacArthur, after the retreat MacArthur wanted to launch a full scale attack in response.  President Truman strongly disagreed and ended up relieving MacArthur of his duties.  

Farewell speech: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tuagi9kZe8A

Franklin D. Roosevelt

Franklin Delano Roosevelt was the 32nd President of the United States. He led the United States through the Great Depression and World War II. His legislative program, the New Deal, greatly expanded the role of the federal government in American society. FDR was able to get the United States back on it's feet after the devastating attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941. He nearly achieved victory in Europe and the Pacific by the time he passed away of a cerebral hemorrhage on April 12th, 1945. Franklin Delano Roosevelt had possibly the most challenging terms in history and successfully led the country through its greatest economic crisis, and its second greatest military crisis.

World War II: The Pacific

The Pacific War began on December 7th 1941, when the Imperial Japanese Navy bombed Pearl Harbor in the United states. This attack occurred at approximately 7:48 A.M. Hawaiian time. The strike was intended to prevent the United States Pacific fleet from interfering with Japan's plan to attack Southeast Asia, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and the United States. The attack involved 353 Japanese fighters, bombers and torpedo planes. All of the eight United States Navy battleships were damaged, four of those were sunk. The also destroyed three cruiser ships, three destroyers, a training ship and 188 planes. The attack resulted in 2,402 Americans killed and 1,282 wounded. Franklin D. Roosevelt, president at the time, declared December 7th, 1941 as "a date which will live in infamy" and announced the start of the Pacific War.

The Pacific War was fought in East Asia, Southeast Asia and the Pacific Ocean. Some of the important and final battles of the war were the Battle of Iwo Jima and the Battle of Okinawa. Iwo Jima occurred in February of 1945. Iwo Jima is an island between Tokyo and the Mariana Islands. During most of February and March 1945 the Americans pushed north and had taken two-thirds of the island. Finally on March 26th, the battle had ended. 6,800 Marines were killed and 20,000 were wounded. The Japanese lost well over 20,000 men and 1,083 prisoners were taken.

The largest and bloodiest battle of the Pacific was the Battle of Okinawa. It lasted from April to June of 1945. It resulted in over 100,000 Japanese casualties and about 38,000 allies wounded and 12,000 killed. There were more than 26,000 non-battle casualties. Thirty-four allied ships had been sunk by kamikazes. Okinawa was the last chance for the Japanese and it resulted in an allied victory. On August 6, 1945 the  atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima, Japan and on August 9th, 1945 the second atomic bomb was dropped on Nagasaki, Japan. On August 14, 1945 the Japanese agreed to an unconditional surrender and the war finally ended on September 2, 1945.