conflict in the Middle East and developed their own anti-terrorism efforts. The Global War on Terror also involved increases in international border security, weapon disarmament programs, and targeted economic sanctions to deny terrorists funding and safe harbor. It led to changes in domestic policies and increased security protocols across the United States. These included heightened transportation security screening and new surveillance legislation.
OCTOBER 2002 Irvine Global Village Festival Becomes an Annual Event
Building on a legacy of fall festivals, the City of Irvine combined many of its events into the Irvine Global Village Festival, making it a premier annual celebration at the Orange County Great Park. The event features food from around the world, children’s events, educational exhibits, dancing, entertainment, and a vendor marketplace. Often the festival features more than fifty distinct cultural groups, reflecting the historical and modern diversity of Irvine and Southern California. Participants include Indigenous communities that have lived here since time immemorial, as well as more recent arrivals, such as Southeast Asian and Central American immigrants who have increasingly made Irvine their home. The festival is a chance for all to feel welcome, to share an appreciation of cultural heritage, and to enjoy a traditional Irvine community event. SEE FIGURE 81
Figure 80. National September 11 Memorial & Museum. Image courtesy of Peter Miller, Flickr.
SEPTEMBER 2001 9/11 Terrorist Attacks
Terrorists affiliated with the Al-Qaeda network hijacked four commercial passenger planes in the United States on September 11, 2001. They deliberately crashed two of the planes into the Twin Towers at the World Trade Center in New York City. Both towers caught fire and collapsed, killing civilians and first responders. The terrorists piloted another aircraft into the Pentagon in Washington, D.C. Passengers onboard a fourth plane caused it to crash in a Pennsylvania field before the hijackers could reach their target. The attacks killed 2,977 people and injured thousands more. This is the deadliest single incident terrorist attack in American history. In the aftermath of September 11, many governments around the world passed legislation to cooperatively combat terrorism. The United States engaged in what became known as the Global War on Terrorism. American troops invaded Afghanistan and Iraq, escalating historic tensions in the Middle East and beginning decades of direct U.S. military involvement in the area. SEE FIGURE 80
2002 SARS Outbreak
In 2002, a new respiratory illness appeared in China. SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome) spread to almost thirty countries and caused nearly 1,000 fatalities. Thanks to significant international cooperation to combat it, the epidemic lasted just seven months. Large scale outbreaks drove a renewed interest in collaborative research efforts and in international cooperative organizations like the World Health Organization, an agency of the United Nations first created in 1948. SARS was followed by the H1N1 flu pandemic in 2009, the Zika virus outbreak of 2015, and other diseases like Ebola. These infectious outbreaks were eclipsed by the scale of the COVID-19 pandemic that began in 2019. Increased travel and connectivity in the twenty-first century means that local health problems quickly become international events, demanding increased agility and a cooperative response from public health organizations.
OCTOBER 2001 Global War on Terrorism Begins
The United States responded to the 9/11 attacks with military, legal, and economic actions to combat terrorism around the world. On October 7, 2001, the United States invaded Afghanistan, initiating a twenty-year-long war. On March 20, 2003, a U.S.-led coalition invaded Iraq, causing the overthrow of Saddam Hussein’s government in that country. In addition to establishing military bases and infrastructure in the Middle East, U.S. military and diplomatic efforts expanded to other countries across the globe. Many international allies contributed resources and troops to the
Figure 81. Attendees at the 2019 Irvine Global Village Festival. Image courtesy of City of Irvine, Flickr.
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