United States Involvement in the Middle East

Iraqi History British Mandate Post WWI British colony British Backed Monarchy King chosen by England Dictatorships Secular (non-religious) government Uses oil $ for government projects King Faisal I of Iraq Original caption: Death of King Faisal. Faisal, King of Iraq, whose sudden death is just announced. Image: © Hulton-Deutsch Collection/CORBIS Date Photographed: ca. 1930

Iran’s History Leader of Iran assassinated by CIA when he began making oil deals with the USSR in the Cold War The US put a pro-Western Shah in power who began a system of modernization in a very traditional Muslim nation in the 1950s In the 1970s, a revolution against the Shah occurred by Muslim students who hated the Western interference. Led by the Ayatollah Khomeini

The Iranian hostage crisis A diplomatic crisis between Iran and the United States where 53 Americans were held hostage for 444 days from November 4, 1979 to January 20, 1981, after a group of Islamist students and militants took over the American embassy in support of the Iranian Revolution.

Iraq-Iran War Iraq invaded Iran in 1980 following a long history of border disputes and fears of Shia insurgency among Iraq's long-suppressed Shia majority influenced by the Iranian Revolution. For the next six years the war came at a great cost in lives and economic damage - a half a million Iraqi and Iranian soldiers as well as civilians are believed to have died in the war with many more injured and wounded. Saddam Hussein was one of the leaders paid by the US government to fight against the Iranians; especially since the humiliation of the hostage crisis As a member of the Baath Party, he began to eliminate opponents after the war and seize power.

Why is the U.S. interested in the M.E.? Oil Stop Terrorists Spread democracy?

1st Persian Gulf War (1990-91) (Operation Desert Storm) Iraq invaded Kuwait in August of 1990, under the direction of Iraqi President Saddam Hussein. The Iraqi army took control of Kuwait in a very short amount of time. The United nations responded to the Iraqi invasion by demanding that Iraq withdraw its troops from Kuwait. The United nations asked other countries to cut off trade to Iraq (Embargo) in an attempt to force them to withdraw, that attempt failed. The United States and thirty other countries formed a coalition and began sending military troops into Saudi Arabia over the next few months.

The united Nations set a date for Iraq to leave Kuwait, Iraq rejected the date and refused to leave. The U.S. and their allies began attacking Iraq through the use of air power then by a ground assault. After a devastating battle resulting in many Iraqi deaths, the Iraqi’s were driven out of Kuwait.

Although the war was a decisive military victory for the coalition, Kuwait and Iraq suffered enormous property damage, and Saddam Hussein was not removed from power. In fact, Hussein was free to turn his attention to suppressing internal Shiite and Kurd revolts. Hussein began a brutal campaign on crushing dissent. Coalition peace terms were agreed to by Iraq, but every effort was made by the Iraqis to frustrate implementation of the terms, particularly UN weapons inspections.

What is al-Qaeda? Al-Qaeda seeks to rid Muslim countries of what it sees as the influence of the West and replace their governments with fundamentalist Islamic regimes. “Al-Qaeda” is Arabic for “The Base.”

What are al-Qaeda’s origins? Al-Qaeda grew out of the opposition to the 1979 Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. In the 1980s, bin Laden and other leaders recruited, trained, and financed thousands of foreign Mujahadeen, or holy warriors, from more than fifty countries. Al-Qaeda was funded by the U.S. during the Cold War in order to help bring down communism during the Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan from 1979-1989

Where does al-Qaeda operate? There is no single headquarters. From 1991 to 1996, al-Qaeda worked out of Pakistan along the Afghan border, or inside Pakistani cities. Al-Qaeda has autonomous underground cells in some 100 countries, including the United States. Law enforcement has broken up al-Qaeda cells in the United Kingdom, the United States, Italy, France, Spain, Germany, Albania, Uganda, and elsewhere.

Where does al-Qaeda operate?

How big is al-Qaeda? It’s impossible to say precisely, because al-Qaeda is decentralized. Estimates range from several hundred to several thousand members.

9/11/01 On September 11, 2001, al-Qaeda attacked two targets in the U.S. They hijacked four airplanes and intentionally crashed two of them into the World Trade Center in new York. The third plane was crashed into the Pentagon in Virginia and the fourth crashed in rural Pennsylvania in route to its target, the White House in Washington, D.C. In total, nearly 3,000 people died.

Reasons for the Attacks The reasons that Middle Eastern terrorists have targeted Americans are as follows: For supporting the wealthy Middle Eastern kingdoms and families through the oil industry For spreading Western ideas and threatening traditional values For supporting Israel

War in Afghanistan After al-Qaeda’s September 11, 2001, attacks on America, the United States launched a war in Afghanistan to destroy al-Qaeda’s bases there and overthrow the Taliban, the country’s Muslim fundamentalist rulers who harbored bin Laden and his followers.

Osama bin Laden was blamed for the attacks, U. S Osama bin Laden was blamed for the attacks, U.S. President George Bush called on other countries to help wage a “War on Terrorism” to crush al-Qaeda and other terrorist cells. In October 2001, U.S., British, and Canadian forces invaded Afghanistan in search of bin Laden and to destroy al-Qaeda and their allies the Taliban (Operation Enduring Freedom). The United Nations did not support this action. Osama Bin Laden was killed in 2011, under the orders of President Obama Al-Qaeda is still operational, though much smaller than in 2001. Afghanistan remains an area of instability and violence.

Terrorism at Home A year later, in a major government reorganization, the Bush administration created a new cabinet-level Department of Homeland Security. Patriot Act was passed as well- which among other things, increased surveillance of citizens by the NSA (National Security Administration). During the State of the Union address in 2002, President Bush declared that Iraq, Iran, and North Korea were an “axis of evil” and vowed to bring them to justice.

The Iraq War (Persian Gulf War 2, Operation Iraqi Freedom) 2003-2011? Saddam Hussein was still president of Iraq at the time of the Afghanistan invasion. Saddam Hussein was a brutal dictator who used chemical weapons against his own people. The Bush Administration declared that Hussein was supporting al-Qaeda and alleged that Iraq was building Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD’s) in the form of Nuclear, Biological, and Chemical weapons. In response the U.S. Congress passed an Iraq War Resolution that authorized the president to go forward with a war in Iraq.

In march 2003, the U.S. began bombing targets in the capital of Baghdad and sent troops into Iraq. British, Australian, Polish, and American soldiers invaded Iraq - but the United Nations did not support these actions. Saddam Hussein was captured, put on trial for crimes against humanity by the Iraqi’s, and later executed. No weapons of mass destruction were ever found.

After the removal and execution of Saddam Hussein the U. S After the removal and execution of Saddam Hussein the U.S. found itself trying to prevent a civil war, and establish a new Iraqi government. Many argued that if troops left out too soon, Iraq might fall into civil war and provide a safe haven and breeding ground for terrorist groups. Others argued the longer the U.S. stayed, the more its presence might stir resentment and support for the terrorist groups. The best solution seemed to be to get a functioning and democratic Iraqi government up and running as fast as possible and then train its forces to take over the security of the country. Problems in Iraq

Iraq War “Operation Iraqi Freedom” Costs 2003-2011 4, 424 American soldiers killed 31,952 American soldiers wounded Approx. 500,000 Iraqi soldiers and civilians killed Unknown number of Iraqis wounded Iraq Today: War torn Decentralized Mostly controlled by ISIS American troops still on the ground- total number unknown (In March 2017 the Pentagon announced they would no longer give figures on the number of troops in Iraq)