When the noughties began, there was a feeling of panic around the world. No, not of terrorism or natural disaster, but of a a computer bug that threatened to bring down computer systems everywhere. Of course the Y2K never came about, and people looked towards the new millennium with a sense of optimism. Northern Ireland was slowly crawling to peace, and the situation was also relatively quiet on the Israeli – Palestinian border, with no sign of the Intifada that was to come.
When George W Bush became US president on January 20th, 2001 he didn't expect his presidency to be as controversial and momentous as it became. But then again no-one expected what would happen nearly ten months later.
9/11. It is the stand out moment of the decade. A day that no-one will ever, ever forget. Images of two aeroplanes cascading into the twin towers, the buildings collapsing, ashen covered faces screaming in terror as they run from a cloud of death behind them.
9/11 set the scene for the rest of the decade. Within days 'Dubya' had his troops in Afghanistan, with Blair and Britain in tow. They went on a wild goose chase through the mountains in search of Osama Bin Laden, an attempt that as the decade closes has seemed fruitless.
The Afghan war was the beginning of Bush's war on terror. Next on the list was Iraq and Saddam. A man Bush Senior had tried to quell in the early nineties. It is a war that has been one of the most controversial and opposed in recent times.
The evidence of WMD's was, to say the least, flimsy, but Bush and Blair went ahead anyway, and for the next half a decade the 'coalition of the willing' fought Saddam Hussein's revolutionary guard, Al Qa'ida, and everyone else that opposed them.
While Bush can say that quality of life has improved for Iraqi's with Saddam gone, many wil disagree. Sectarian tensions between the Sunni and Shia' factions have led to civil war, and in 2005 nearly 87% of Iraqi's said they wanted the US army to leave.Iraq and Afghanistan have dominated world news, but while thousands have been killed it still pales into insignificance compared to what mother Earth can throw at us.
In 2004, people woke up on Boxing day after celebrating Christmas to devastating news. An earthquake in the Indian Ocean sent a thunderous Tsunami which battered the coast of Thailand, Sri Lanka, and most devastatingly the Indonesian province of Aceh.
It has been a decade of violence, death and destruction. However, with a new American president preaching the message of Hope and change, there may be a light at the end of a very dark tunnel.
