George H.W. Bush ordered an invasion of Panama to capture Manuel Noriega in 1989. Iraq invaded Kuwait in 1990 over an oil dispute, prompting Bush to lead a U.S.-led coalition that drove Iraqi forces out of Kuwait in 1991 after months of air and ground attacks. Though initially popular, Bush's approval ratings dropped as a recession took hold in the U.S. He lost reelection in 1992 to Bill Clinton, who increased taxes on the wealthy to fund new domestic programs while also grappling with political scandals and foreign policy crises in Haiti and the Balkans during his presidency.

1. Beyond the Cold War
Chapter 26

2. Foreign Affairs
Invasion of Panama (1989)
 Bush ordered an invasion to capture General
Manuel Noriega for trial for drug smuggling and
money laundering.
The Gulf War
 Saddam Hussein, dictator of Iraq
 Iraq invaded its wealthy neighbor Kuwait on
August 2, 1990 because of an oil dispute.
 The U.S. dispatched troops to Saudi Arabia to
prevent Iraq expansion.
 Desert Shield

4. The Gulf War
The U.N. authorized the use of force to dislodge
Iraq from Kuwait.
 By January 1991, Bush had put together a 28 nation
coalition
Operation Desert Storm
 Air attack began on January 17 against Baghdad
 Ground attack began on February 24 and lasted
only 4 days
 Cease fire on February 28
 148 U.S. combat deaths / 145 noncombatant.
 Saddam Hussein remained in power.

5. Recession and Downsizing
Bush seemed unbeatable
 Approval rating – 91%
Bush was an expert in foreign policy; however,
the Cold Warwas over.
Bush begins the process of downsizing the
military.
 Private businesses also began “restructuring” and
“downsizing”
 Economic recession
 Bush administration assured Americans that the
recession would be short and self-correcting.
 “Peace dividend”

6. More Controversy
Clarence Thomas Hearings
 Bush nominates for Supreme Court
 African American and a Conservative
 Former employee Anita Hill accused Thomas of sexual
harassment
 Thomas was confirmed in the Senate by a 52 to 48
margin.
North American Free Trade Agreement
 Bush negotiated NAFTA with Canada and Mexico
 Tariff reductions would open up foreign markets to
American industries.
 Organized labor favored barriers against cheaper foreign
products that might cost U.S. jobs.
 Passed in 1993.

7. The Election of 1992
George Bush (Rep)
Bill Clinton (Dem)
 Moderate Governor of Arkansas
 Stressed economic issues to win over working-class
whites and blacks.
 Made extensive use of polls to shape his stance on
issues.Flip-flopped on controversial issues.“Slick Willie”
 Personal Character
 Chronic adulterer
 Dodged the draft in Vietnam
Ross Perot (Independent)
 Candidate of the Reform Party
 Wealthy Texan

8. “It’s the Economy…”

9. The Clinton Presidency
Health care reform plan
 Government subsidized health care
 Hillary Clinton
 Failed to muster the necessary support of
Congress and the public.
Comprehensive economic program
 Tax hikes for corporations and for individuals in
higher tax brackets.
 Increased “investment” in public works and in
education, skills, health, and welfare.
 Very controversial; narrowly passed.
“Don’t ask; don’t tell” policy forthe military

10. The Clinton Presidency on Trial
The Conservative Revolution Reborn
 Midterm elections of 1994
 Newt Gingrich (R-Speaker of the House in 1995)
 The “Contract with America”
 Welfare reform
 Government shutdown
Scandals
 Whitewater fraud (S & L scandal)
 Paula Jones – Sexual harassment
 Monica Lewinsky affair (White House intern)
 Impeachment for perjury(1998)
 Acquittal (1999)

11. The Clinton Presidency:
The New World Disorder
Middle East Peace
 Middle East peace
negotiations
 1993 agreement between
Israeli prime minister
Yitzhak Rabin and PLO
leader Yasir Arafat to
restore Palestinian self-rule
in the Gaza Strip and the
West Bank.
 Rabin assassinated in
1995.

12. The Clinton Presidency:
The New World Disorder
Americans in Haiti (1995)
 Coup against Democratically-elected Jean-Bertrand
Aristide.
 Jimmy Carter sent to Port-au-Prince to negotiate
 U.S. troops landed without opposition
Yugoslavian Turmoil (The Balkans)
 Ethnic and religious conflicts in Bosnia and Croatia
 Orthodox Serbs, Catholic Croats, and Bosnian or Albanian
Muslims
 NATO launched air strikes in 1995. Peacekeeping mission.
 Intervention in Kosovo
 Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic asserted Serbian
control through martial law.
 NATO launched air strikes in 1999

14.  1986 Immigration and Control Act
Significant Events
 1992 Rodney King verdict; Clinton elected
 1993 NAFTA passed
 1994 Republicans win control of Congress
 1995 Oklahoma City bombing
 1996 California passes Proposition 209
 1998 Lewinsky scandal
 1999 Senate acquits Clinton of impeachment
charges