On the morning of September 11, 2001, terrorists captured four American airplanes. Suicide pilots guided two planes into the twin towers of New York City’s World Trade Center, while another was guided into the Pentagon near Washington, D.C. The Pentagon is the home of the American Department of Defense, the government agency responsible for the American military. Reports indicate that passengers aboard United Airlines Flight 93 forced the hijacked jet to crash in Pennsylvania, preventing the terrorists from reaching their target. The passengers gave their lives to keep terrorists from harming any other innocent people. America had been unrivaled as a military power since the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991. If America could be attacked, anyone anywhere in the world might be at risk.
Terrorism?
Terrorism is the use of violence against civilians. A civilian does not belong to the military. Terrorists often view themselves as part of a resistance movement that hurts innocent people to advance what they believe is a more important cause.
The Middle East is often called “the crossroads of the world.” This sparsely populated region produced three religious faiths practiced by nearly half of the world’s inhabitants: Christianity, Islam, and Judaism. The Middle East is a gateway to India, the Far East, sub-Saharan Africa, and southeast Europe.
Conflict in the Middle East
In the modern era, this region has been one of the most unstable parts of the world. Many brilliant ideas came from the Middle East, but it is also a land of long-standing hatred and revenge. This unit is an attempt to explain some of the causes of the many conflicts in the Middle East.
Resources
Download this lesson as a Microsoft Word file or as an Adobe Acrobat file.
Mr. Donn has an excellent website that includes a section on the Middle East and North Africa.