The 1990s saw the rise of the United States to its position as the world’s sole “superpower.” While in previous decades the U.S. has shared center stage with the United Socialist Soviet Republic (U.S.S.R.), the Cold War was over by the 1990s and the U.S.S.R. was steadily coming apart. With its newfound supremacy, the U.S. began to assert itself internationally, reprising a supposed role of “global policeman” that it had played once before when Theodore Roosevelt was the nation’s president.

The U.S. was the world’s leading power in the 1990s.

The belief that—having triumphed over the poison of communism—the U.S. was set to usher in an era of worldwide democracy led to several conflicts throughout the decade—the Iraq intervention (Gulf War) being the most prolific, as it continues to this day.
This war was started when then-president of Iraq, Saddam Hussein, led an invasion into neighboring Kuwait. The U.S., under the presidency of George H. W. Bush (father of President George W. Bush), responded with a large military offensive that seemed to prove mostly successful. Hussein managed to keep control of his dictatorial power despite revolts in Iraq, and the U.S. would invade the country again in 2003—leading into what is now known as the Iraq War.

The U.S. was the world’s leading power in the 1990s.

The Republican party held strength during the 1990s, and it was only due to superb campaign maneuvering and natural charisma that Democrat Bill Clinton was able to win the presidency succeeding George Bush’s.