1990-1999

     The 1990's began with the Gulf War and has now come to now with the impeachment proceedings ruling the news.  It has affected the country in many ways with the Gulf War souring our relations with Iraq and its leader Sadam Husan.  Plus the investigation of Iraq's chemical weapons and Sadam's stalling has led to the U.S. imposing bomb threats.  The fall of the Soviet Union and communism in Russia has made our relations with them better, but their economy worse.  The media has really jogged our opinions on things like Waco, the Simpson trial, and now the presidential trials.

     So far though in the 90's I believe the age of information has been the major theme.  There has been an explosion in the technological field of electronic information.  From the first fiber optic cable, to the latest palm sized cellular phone, this decade has found more new ways to communicate than ever before.  Also, new global news satellites, and the way everything from money to information is wired electronically, has also contributed to this information age.  The main innovation of this decade has been the introduction of the internet for home use.  With the World Wide Web we have been able to communicate and find more information than ever before.  The absolute plethora of things on the internet from entertainment to information is limitless.  Right now you are reading and viewing this timeline on the internet.  Of all the unfortunate events of the 90's including the Gulf War, the crisis in Waco, the O.J. Simpson trial, and the presidential scandals, the internet has probably had the most positive impact on our country of anything in this decade.  So from this contemporary decade and time of discovery comes what I think is the main theme:  the information age.

Events of This Decade
*Starred Events relate to the main theme.

  *August 1990-The country of Iraq invades Kuwait causing the U.N. to impose sanctions.  This also lead to the Gulf War to protect the oil interests in Kuwait.
    1990-A severe economic depression in the U.S. deepens.
  *January 1991-President Bush sends troops to the Persian Gulf in operation Desert Storm to free Kuwait.  The war lasted only 42 days.

    January 16, 1991-The U.N. launches an air strike on Iraq.
    February 23, 1991-Kuwait is liberated by a U.N. ground force.
    February 28, 1991-A cease fire is signed between Iraq and the U.N.
  *1991-United Nations and United States troops defeat Iraq in the Persian Gulf War.
  *1991-The retreating Iraqi troops start fire to 1,000 Kuwaiti oil wells.
  *1991-The Soviet Union no longer existed, ending communism.  This was the final end to the Cold War, since the Soviet Union could no longer support itself under communism.
  *1991-START (Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty), called for dramatic reductions in the U.S.'s and Soviet Union's long-range nuclear weapons.
  *1992-The space shuttle Endeavor starts out on its first mission.
    February 1, 1992-Russia and the United States sign a treaty officially ending the Cold War.
    1992-The Rodney King riots occur in L.A.
  *1992-The "World Wide Web" started up for home use, becoming one of the most important ways to exchange information of our time.
    1992-The NAFTA Trade Pact is signed by Mexico, Canada, and the U.S.
    1992-Carol Mosely Braun becomes the first black women elected to the United States Senate.
    1992-Spike Lee's film Malcolm X starts a renewed interest in the killed civil rights leader.
    1993-A large flooding of the Mississippi causes the loss of many homes and also lives.
    1993-The World Trade Center in New York is bombed.
    1993-The great military leader Colin Powell retires from government service.
  *1993-O.J. Simpson is chased down by the police in his white Bronco.  This was the most watched thing on the air and wiped out the audience for the David Hasslehoff singing special.  The trial was extensively publicized and the verdict sent waves of controversy throughout the U.S.
  *1993-A 51 day siege of Waco, Texas ends in a fire storm.
    1994-A violent earthquake rocks the city of Los Angeles.
    1994-U.S. troops seize  the country of Haiti.
    1995-A car bomb destroys the federal building in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.

    1996-In the latest presidential election, Bill Clinton defeats Bob Dole in what will be a very tough presidential term for him.

    1997-Sadam Husan finally allows weapons inspectors into Iraq.
  *1998-The Ken Starr Report is displayed on the internet.

  *1998-President Bill Clinton is charged with lying to a federal grand jury, and faces impeachable offenses.  His actions with people such as Jennifer Flowers, Paula Jones, Monica Lewinsky, and the Whitewater affair, have been exposed extensively to the public.  If the Senate chooses and he does not resign, he will be only the second president to ever be impeached.

    December 31, 1999-The U.S. will turn over the Panama Canal to Panama as voted by the U.S. Senate in 1978. 

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