In 1991, the year The Sweet Hereafter was published, the United States won a military skirmish in the Persian Gulf and suffered an economic recession at home. In 1990, President George Bush had officially brought an end to the Cold War by negotiating with Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev. He also had sent American troops to defend Kuwait from Iraq in what was called Operation Desert Shield. When it became clear that Saddam Hussein, Iraq's dictator, would not withdraw military forces from Kuwait, Bush sent enough troops to go on the offense. In January 1991, the bombing of Iraq began, and Operation Desert Shield became Operation Desert Storm. By February, Iraq was defeated.
At the same time, America's economy was in the midst of a recession. Since 1983, the economy had been.....
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