“On January 17, 1991, hte U.S.-led coalition launched a massive air attack on Iraq.  The pummeling from the air of Iraq and Iraqi forces in Kuwait continued for third-eight days, as the United States and its allies unleashed just about every nonnuclear aerial weapon they had in their arsenals.”

With the United States advanced military technology, they successfully subdued the Iraq Republican Guard and eliminated Iraq’s formal military within days.  Also, the U.S was able to invade the country with ground forces and able to take over the country.  The U.S. led coalition forces only suffered 248 casualties opposed to the tens of thousands of Iraqis killed.  The casualties suffered in Iraq does not even compare to the ones suffered in Vietnam and prior wars.  This military victory for George Bush validated America’s military after they were unsuccessful in Vietnam.

“Hezbollah, a newly formed Shiite group with Syrian and Iranian backing, found a devastating, low- tech way to respond to the high-tech American forces.  On April, 18 1983, a pickup truck with two thousand pounds of explosives crashed into the lobby of the American embassy in Beirut, killing sixty-three people, including all six members of the CIA’s Beirut station and a high-ranking agency official who happened to be visiting.”

As we see in Chapter 16, Hezbollah is similar to other terrorist groups in the Middle East who combat American troops with unconventional warfare.  Their type of warfare is cheap, effective, and cowardly since they are using explosives and blowing themselves up.  With the most sophisticated military technology, America is still having difficulty defeating these types of forces.  This is similarly seen in Vietnam when America could not defeat them with the most advanced military equipment.

“As with the anti-ERA movement, the anti-gay rights movement gained national attention through its embrace by an effective female leader, in this case pop singer Anita Bryant, who was the national spokesperson for the Florida orange juice industry.  She called her organization “Save our Children.”

In the late 1970’s, a county in Florida passed  civil legislation ordinance that prohibited discrimination on the basis of “affectional or sexual preferences.”  This was a huge step towards equal civil rights between people among different sexual or affectional preferences.  However, Miss Anita Bryant strongly opposed this legislation and tried to have this legislation appealed through national media coverage and campaigning.  Her argument was that homosexuality was morally and ethically wrong, specifically portrayed them as potential child molesters.  These are the kind of hurdles America has had to overcome to pass equal rights for people with different sexual preferences.  During this time period, homosexuals are seen as sinful and morally wrong citizens; however America definitely does not have that view today and the legislation passed helped America step forward.

“Campus life did not return to pre-1960s norms.  Sex, drug use, and, increasingly, heavy drinking pervaded many campuses.  By the end of the 1970s, the typical college campus was a very different place than it had been at the start of the decade.”

During the 1960’s was a period of radical social change throughout younger generations and it is exemplified on college campuses.  However, after the social revolution and the 1970s began, college campuses did not return to the traditional way they were before the 1960s.  A new radical social change in the 1970s was college coeducation became universal and this even included the United States Military Service Academies.  College Campuses were a new level of freedom high school students experienced after they graduated high school and moved onto their college campus.  Today, college campuses are heavily regulated and administrators try to prevent alcohol and drug use from occurring.

“The movement for gay rights first drew national attention in June 1969, when the police raided a bar in Greenwich Village frequented by homosexual men, the Stonewall Inn.” (pg 265)

During this era, the movement for homosexuality equality was barely a movement and was just forming its roots.  The 1960’s was a decade of change and reform for America’s social issues.  This riot was the stepping stone for America’s attention towards homosexuality and gay rights.  During this riot, the patrons of the Stonewall Inn resisted and fought the police officer’s raid on the bar and did not submit towards their moral laws.