Many significant events occured in the year of two thousand four. Many terrorist attacks pulled through along with one of the most record breaking Olympic games in history, the Indian Ocean tsunami, and the admission of no imminent threat from Iraq as was first perceived. These events, along with many others, impacted the world and society today. The Indian Ocean tsunami was one of the most devastating natural disasters in the history of the world. The disastrous tsunami announced itself by a rapidly receding ocean line, exposing more of the ocean floor than ever before. Survivors of the tragedy who knew what the receding ocean meant, reported this, warned others of the imminent danger, and packed up family and friends and left for high ground.
Due to these people, many, many more people survived. The day finally arrived; on December 26, 2004, the ocean line returned in waves of massive proportions. Many people died due to being crushed by debris or being flung into structures by the waves. One third of the victims were children who were unable to escape. The tsunami destroyed thousands of miles of coastlines and submerged entire islands permanently. By the next day, the waves had receded. The thousand of corpses immediately started rotting under the tropical sun.
After the tsunami, many health experts worried about the death toll doubling. Many people had no food or access to clean water and many people had untreated open wounds which increased the risk of famine and epidemics (National). The Olympic games returned to its birthplace, Athens, Greece, for one of the most record breaking games of all time.
Concerns were brought up due to the proximity to the Middle East, construction delays, Athen’s hot, humid weather, and high levels of pollution in the air. The International Olympics Committee briefly considered moving the games, but they dismissed the idea. Nearly eleven thousand one hundred athletes participated in twenty-eight games and events. However, nearly twenty competitors were disqualified due to the use of performance-enhancing drugs.
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Many new games were open to women for the first time. The events of freestyle wrestling and sabre fencing were played by women. A record breaking two hundred one Olympic committees were represented. A record-tying eight medals were awarded to American swimmer Michael Phelps. Along with these, many more records occured (Athens). In early two thousand four, ex CIA Director George J. Tenet admitted that there was no imminent threat from Iraq. After suspicion of chemical and biological weapons possessed by Saddam Hussein, the United States invaded Iraq in hopes of finding these weapons.
However, very little evidence pointed towards the possibility. Tenet said that Hussein’s tactics made it extremely difficult for any analysts to come to any other conclusion than that Baghdad, Iraq had stockpiles of chemical and biological weapons. However, no weapons were found in Iraq.
Tenet later admitted that they had little to no human resources in Iraq to provide evidence. He also said that they really didn’t know whether or not Iraq had produced weapons before the war (Drogin). Many significant events occured in the year of two thousand four. Many things happened that shocked not only the country but the world.
Many things moved the people or brought tears to their eyes. However, the one thing that all these events have in common is the impact that they have had on society today.
