of Texas, President Bush came into office vowing to support a
stronger political and economic relationship with Latin America but
to focus less on “nation building” and small-scale military commit-
ments. He also pledged to build a missile shield to protect the United
States from tactical nuclear weapons. In pursuit of his objectives, he
pulled the United States out of the Kyoto Protocol, which sought to
regulate global warming, and the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty
(ABM). Because of his conservative social beliefs, he also cut off
funding for the United Nations Population Fund.
President Bush had the misfortune to be in the White House when the
terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001took place. Consequently, he
organized a coalition to send military forces into Afghanistanto oust
the Taliban regime that had supported the perpetrators of the attacks. On
the pretext that Iraqi strongman Saddam Hussein possessed weapons of
mass destruction and had links to international terrorism, President
Bush launched a war against Iraq in March 2003 that alienated the
United States from its allies and split the American public on the issue.– C –
CAMP DAVID ACCORDS.Brokered by the United States, the Camp
David Accords were two agreements signed in 1978 between Egypt
and Israel over issues that had provoked several wars between the
two countries. The first agreement focused on the Sinai Peninsula, a
territory belonging to Egypt that had been occupied by Israeli forces
as a result of the 1973 Yom Kippur War. This agreement also pro-
vided for peace between Egypt and Israel, to include Egypt’s recog-
nition of Israel and the establishment of relations between the two
countries. The second agreement focused on arrangements for auton-
omy of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.CARTER, JAMES EARL, JR. (1924– ).The 39th president of the
United States, serving between 1977 and 1981. Aformer naval offi-
cer with training in nuclear matters, President Carter entered Georgia
politics in 1962, eventually becoming governor of the state in 1970.
He began pursuing presidential ambitions in 1974, defeating incum-
bent president Gerald R. Fordin 1976.18 • CAMP DAVID ACCORDS05-398 (2) Dictionary.qxd 10/20/05 6:27 AM Page 18