The first decade of the 21st Century has come and gone. It doesn’t feel like that much time has passed since 2000, but it was a big ten years. Here, for those who don’t mind looking back every once in a while, are some of the biggest news stories of the 2000s.
September 11th Terrorist Attacks
Americans alive at the time remember where they were when Pearl Harbor was attacked, when JFK was shot, and when terrorists killed around three thousand people on September 11th, 2001. The images of this day are burned into the minds of those who witnessed it. It also awakened us to a threat few believed capable of such an attack.
War on Terror and Iraq War
After 9-11, America and allies began a war on terror that would start in Afghanistan and expand to terrorist groups in other countries. In 2003, following intelligence, allied forces invaded Iraq, ousted the terrorist-friendly government, and began fighting extremists in the country.
Sumatra-Andaman earthquake and Indian Ocean Tsunami
In 2004, the third-largest earthquake ever recorded occurred near Sumatra. The 9.1-9.2 earthquake shook the world, set off quakes as far away as Alaska and triggered a devastating tsunami that swept the Indian Ocean and claimed the lives of over 230,000 people.
Not all big stories of the 00s were huge deadly events. 2007 saw the beginning of a years-long global recession. 2008 saw the election of Barack Obama. The 2000s gave us Google, YouTube, Facebook and more. A lot has happened over the last decade. And given the events of the 2010s so far, the current decade should be interesting too.
