Nineteen ninety-eight may have been the worst year since 1968. The year brought terrorism, hyperactive partisan strife in Washington D.C., and set the U.S. on course for war in Iraq. Most Americans paid little attention to most of these events. However, 1998 was a precursor for the post Clinton Era. Essentially, many of the problems facing the country emerged in that year.
The United States focused on materialism and Britney Spears in 1998. Little paid attention to the international situation. Many rolled their eyes when Saddam Hussein played cat-and-mouse games with arms inspectors. Bill Clinton warned that Hussein would use his weapons of mass destruction and needed containment. Congress agreed with the president and the country made regime change in Iraq national policy. Hussein cut off all cooperation leading to U.S. air strikes and threats of war from President Clinton. The president quickly backed off talks of war and the issue festered into 2003.
While Hussein continued to cause problems, Osama Bin Laden declared war on the U.S. In a rambling proclamation, Bin Laden orders the “infidels” out of the Arabian Peninsula. Few Americans took notice even after Bin Laden’s group, El Queda, attacked American embassies in Kenya and Tanzania. The attacks killed 258 and wounded over 5000. Two years later, the group bombed the USS Cole. In 2001, they brought down the World Trade Center.
As El Queda began laying the groundwork for 911, officials charged Eric Rudolph with the 1996 Olympic bombings in Atlanta. At the same time, Ted Kaczynski received life in prison for a series of “Unabomber” attacks. Ramzi Yousef also received life for his involvement with the World Trade Center attacks in 1993. In that attack, Islamic terrorists hoped to collapse the trade center. They failed, but quickly changed tactics in order to attack capitalism and the United States.
President Clinton reacted to many of these events. He remained distracted by legal and political problems in his second term cutting down on his effectiveness. A special prosecutor investigated his actions in a failed Arkansas land deal. The so-called Whitewater investigation morphed as the prosecutor received a larger mandate from the attorney general. Eventually, the investigation led to Monica Lewinsky. The president lied about his relationship with the intern under oath. As a result, congress impeached him for obstruction of justice and perjury. The senate trial took place in February 1999 and acquitted the president in short order. However, the partisanship and distraction handcuffed the administration for over a year. The partisan rancor worsened to a fever pitch during the Bush years and has worsened under Obama.
On a positive note, the partisanship led to a budget surplus. During his first two years, Clinton was beholden to the left and could not pass a balanced budget if he wanted to. Once the Republicans assumed congressional power, the government began to live within its means. In 1998, the government reported a surplus for the first time since the Johnson Administration. A recession, 911, wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, financial panic, and Obama Administration policies have erased the surplus, created an extremely large deficit, and ballooning debt.
With the exception of the budget surplus, 1998 proved a difficult year. El Queda declared war and attacked American embassies. Partisanship and scandal mongering led to Clinton’s impeachment. Iraq continued to plague the United States raising fears of weapons of mass destruction. The partisanship and issues with Iraq and El Queda worsened in the next decade. Essentially, events in 1998 built a bridge to the 21st century.
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