Aim: What were the accomplishments of the Clinton administration? Aim: What were the accomplishments of the Clinton administration? 3. President Clinton Works for Change Bill Clintons inauguration in January 1993 signaled change from the conservatism of the Reagan-Bush years. Republicans, Democrats, reporters and the public closely watched the new President during his first few weeks in office. Despite criticism and a number of setbacks, Clinton pressed ahead with his reform platform. William Jefferson Clinton 3.1 Getting Started President Clinton declared that he wanted his staff of appointed officials to look like America. He chose persons that he thought represented all the different people in America. Some of the people Clinton selected were new to national politics. One of these was Janet Reno, the first woman ever to be Attorney General of the United States. Others included Henry Cisneros, Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, Federico Pena, Secretary of Transportation and Hazel OLeary, Department of Energy while appointing Ruth Bader Ginsburg to the United States Supreme Court. Janet Reno-Attorney General Henry Cisneros-Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Federico Pena-Secretary of Transportation Hazel OLeary-Department of Energy Ruth Bader Ginsburg Before the November 1992 election, candidate Bill Clinton had said that his wife, Hillary Rodham Clinton, would be an important member of his administration. One of President Clintons first acts was to name Mrs. Clinton to create and lead a special task force-a group of people temporarily working together to accomplish a certain goal. The President directed the task force to plan a way for all Americans to have health insurance. Although the United States had the most advanced medical knowledge, not all Americans had insurance to cover their medical expenses. President Clinton regarded change in the health care system vital to economic growth-he made it the centerpiece of his reform program. Hillary Rodham Clinton 3.2 Problems at Home President Clinton had to deal with some unexpected domestic emergencies in the early months of his administration. The three biggest challenges were the Branch Davidians, the first bombing of the World Trade Center and the Flooding of the Midwestern United States. The Branch Davidians On February 28 th, 1993, federal law enforcement agents raided a compound (a walled settlement) in Waco, Texas. The members of the compound were members of a religious cult called the Branch Davidians. The agents had obtained warrants because they had heard members were keeping illegal weapons on the compound. The Branch Davidians shot and killed four federal law enforcement agents while stopping others from entering the compound. Federal agents then surrounded the compound preventing anything or anyone from coming or going. Waco, Texas Government agents still surrounded the compound when Attorney General Reno tried unsuccessfully to bring an end to the standoff. Reno, then ordered an attack on the compound when no end came to the standoff. Federal agents launched tear gas into the compound. The compound erupted in flames, killing 80 cult members. Branch Davidian Compound Branch Davidian Compound After David Koresh-Leader of the Branch Davidians Some Americans questioned the governments handling of the Waco standoff and the tragic ending. The issue also addressed two constitutional questions: (1) Does religious freedom give people the right to refuse a legal search by the government? (2) Does the right to bear arms allow people the right to build up large stockpiles of weapons? Terror in New York Equally troubling was a 1993 explosion at the World Trade Center, the tallest skyscraper in New York. On February 26 th, a bomb exploded in the underground parking lots of the building, killing 11 and injuring hundreds. Several levels of the building were damaged as a result of the explosion. It became clear that terrorists had planted the bomb. Americans were shocked and frightened because terrorist attacks in the United States were seldom if not a rare occurrence. Within days the FBI had acquired enough evidence to identify the persons responsible for the attack. The men who were involved were religious Muslims thought to be connected with nations at odds with the United States. World Trade Center The World Trade Center Attack 1993 Images of the WTC 1993 Time Magazine Ramzi Yousef-WTC Conspirator Khalid Sheikh Mohammed Mohammed was involved in the planning and executing of 9/11. He was captured soon after the attack. Flooding in the Midwest A major natural disaster added to the human-made tragedies facing the new Clinton administration. In the summer of 1993, unusually heavy rains made the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers and their tributaries overflow their banks in the Great Flood of 1993. People experienced the worst flooding in the region during this period of time. At Cairo, Illinois, the Mississippi River rose 40 feet above flood level. The flood killed sixteen and some 22,000 people were forced from their homes. Throughout most of the Mississippi and Missouri River systems, dwellings were washed away, crops were ruined and whole towns were destroyed. President Clinton made several trips to the flooded areas and promised federal disaster funds. Clinton asked Congress for $2.4 billion dollars in aid. Many people believed that this was a paltry sum and would only cover some of the losses. Cairo, Illinois The Flood of 1993 Levees Built After the 1993 Flood 3.3 Challenges in Foreign Policy Even before Clinton took office on January 20, 1993, foreign affairs were becoming an issue that the new president would have to deal with early in his administration. The areas that the Clinton administration would deal with included Somalia, Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Haiti. War and Famine in Somalia During the last year of the Bush presidency, Americans saw terrible scenes in the East African nation of Somalia. The United Nations sent bundles of food to the area. The United States began sending food in September 1992 and these deliveries did not solve the crisis brewing in the nation. Somalia Civil war, along with famine, troubled Somalia. Local civil war leaders, called warlords, led armed gangs who stole donated food supplies and sold them for profit. Meanwhile many Somalians died from starvation, many of them in the rural areas outside the capital city of Mogadishu. Many Americans demanded the Bush administration to do more. In December 1992, President Bushs ordered an American humanitarian mission to Somalia. Bush wanted to prevent Somalias armed gangs from stealing food from their own people. President-elect Clinton and many members of the United States Congress had backed Bushs decision. On December 9, about 1,800 United States Marines arrived in Mogadishu, as representatives of the United Nations. The Marines patrolled the streets and seized weapons from Somalian warlords. After order was restored, more Marine and Army units arrived with more food and supplies. The American relief units proceeded from Mogadishu into the rural areas of the nation. The Americans joined other nations to help feed and provide medical aid for the Somali people. Americans Killed in Somalia By the fall of 1993, the famine conditions in Somalia had improved. Somali farmers began to plant, grow and harvest crops again. People in the United States wanted to know when the soldiers would return. US soldiers were asked by the United Nations to remain in Somalia to capture Somali warlord Mohammed Farrah Aidid-a key player in the civil war. Some Somalis in Mogadishu, however, did not agree with UN and United States efforts to capture Aidid. In October 1993, Somali street fighters killed 16 American soldiers and wounded 70. People were shocked at the atrocity. Members of Congress asked President Clinton to define our policy in Somalia. The US withdrew its troops in 1994. Mohammed Farrah Aidid Mogadishu, Somalia 1993 Eastern Europe Like his predecessor, Clinton supported Boris Yeltsin as president of Russia. The United States feared that the high prices in Russia-caused by its shift towards capitalism-would destroy the Yeltsin government. Yeltsin also faced challenges from old Russian communist leaders bent returning Russia back to communism. Clinton asked our allies to support Yeltsin. Boris Yeltsin Clinton also continued some of Bushs policies towards Yugoslavia. In 1991, some of the small republics that made up Yugoslavia declared their independence. Civil wars broke out in Bosnia and Herzegovina when well-armed Serbs living in these states attacked the Muslims who lived there. Like Bush, Clinton refused to send troops or weapons to help the Muslims. The United States worked with the United Nations and the nations of Western Europe to find a way of ending the civil war. By the summer of 1993, negotiations produced a plan to divide Bosnia and Herzegovina along religious and ethnic lines. None of the ethnic groups supported the plan. Yugoslavia Before 1991 Yugoslavia After 1992 Genocide in Bosnia New Accords in the Middle East President Clinton and his Secretary of State, Warren Christopher, tried to get Israel and its Arab neighbors back to negotiating a peace treaty. On August 30, 1993, a surprised world found out that Israel and the Palestinian Liberation Organization were negotiating their own agreements for peace. Israels Prime Minister, Yitzhak Rabin and the leader of the PLO, Yassir Arafat agreed to recognize each other as a partner in the peace process. Israel was recognized by the Palestinian Liberation Organization and the PLO was given self-rule in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. Fighting continued for months before the treaty was signed. Washington, DC-September 13, 1993