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Presidents of the U.S. #43 - George W. Bush

George W. Bush (2001-2009)

Republican Party

President Bush became president when peace was mostly established in the major countries. Just nine months into his first term, on Tuesday, 11 September 2001, a group of 19 terrorists, organized by Aiman az-Zawahiri and sponsored by Osama bin Laden, hijacked four airplanes in the United States with the intent of crashing them into two tall office buildings in New York City, known as the "World Trade Center" towers, the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., and likely the White House. The plane which likely was supposed to attack the White House was taken down by a heroic group of passengers who in turn sacrificed their lives to save many others, after learning that two other planes had hit the World Trade Center. The other plane also reached its destination, destroying a large part of one wing of the Pentagon which served as U.S. Defense center. This attack, murdering over 3000 people, shaped world politics in the following years, and the ensuing war against the groups which either conducted or supported the attacks became known as the "War on Terror". The United States attacked Iraq in return, bringing down the dictator Saddam Hussein. The wars in Arabia led in the following decades to great political unrest, the birth of more terrorist groups, a never before seen wave of mass immigration of muslims into Europe. The following presidents would have to face the legacy of those attacks and the "War on Terror", which was Bush's major legacy. For the first time since the Cold War, the world was at the brink of a World War again, and there was a small but lasting chance that this could turn into a nuclear war as terrorists got their hands on nuclear weapons. This fear did not come true as of October 2018.

The 9/11 attacks, as they became known, became a major turning point in world history, of which especially the 20th century had seen many.

Note that a comprehensive portrayal of each president would go too far, and almost each president had negative aspects. Please refer to any neutral and well-written encyclopedia for details.