THE REST OF THE MIDDLE EAST

Egypt: The Gift of the Nile  Most populous Arab country in the Middle East  Dependant on one river for life  Historically produced some of the greatest technological and cultural achievements

 Egyptians used basin irrigation  Barrages used when occupied by British  Salinization Used to be major exported in food but…. Egyptian cotton

 Cairo, largest metropolis in the Middle East and all of Africa  An unfavorable trade balance had occurred  Tourism helps, but the violence doesn’t  U.S. is chief non-Arab ally.  Uses Egypt to help control the ME

Afghanistan  High, rugged, arid and mountainous  Only land locked country in the ME  One of the poorest countries in the World  Ethnic groups Pashtuns Tajik Hazara  Kabul is capital

Opium problem  Mostly rural agricultural and pastoral  Most successful crop is Opium  Taliban used revenues to supply arms  Worlds largest opium producer 2001 Taliban bans cultivation No harvest till U.S. ousted Taliban Now back up to producing ¾ of world opium

Afghanistan in World Affairs  USSR invades in 1979  Mujahideen- anti-soviet rebel bands supplied by the U.S.  Turns into USSR’s “Vietnam War”  Afghanistan’s 15 mil. hit hard 1million dead 2million displaced from homes 6 million refugees in Iran and Pakistan

 Start to slip out of the worlds thoughts…..  Osama bin Laden develops al-Qa’ida “the base” to wage wider jihad  Taliban takes control in 1996 Take Women out of work force No education for girls Outlawed “un-lslamic” practices

 Northern Alliance Opponent of Taliban Wants to bring peace back to people Supported by US, Russia, neighboring countires  Wild West like bounty for Osama after 9/11  U.S./ British/Northern Alliance take out Taliban and al-Qa’ida strongholds Osama and Taliban leader Mullah Omar slip away

Rebuilding  Hamid Karzai and U.S. Help rebuild government  much of power remains with warlords Al-Qa’ida and Taliban personnel still at large  On the positive side Public services being built Reforestation Possibly have world largest copper deposit

 50% of Jordan’s pop. is Palestinian  Similar to other ME countries  Lebanese Civil War  Started because religious factions  1982 War beings in Israel and Syria

 The Maghreb: Northwestern Africa Morocco Algeria Tunisia Western Sahara