1. Politics of the Middle East
Iraq

3. People 1920 Borders set by Treaty of Sevres
1921 Monarchy Faisal I established under British Mandate, Sunni elite appointed to government posts
1932 Independence
80% Arab, 15% Kurd, 5% Other
45 – 55% Shia / 45 – 50% Sunni

4. 14 July 1958 Monarchy overthrown
General Abd al Karim Kasem

5. Ba’ath 1968 Ba’ath Party take over Iraq Ahmed Hassan al Bakr
1947 "Unity, Liberty, Socialism“
A mix of Pan-Arabism and Socialism
Also prominent in Syria
1979 al Bakr steps down

6. Saddam Hussein Saddam Hussein Abd al-Majid al-Tikriti
President 1979 – 2003
Attended 3 years of Law School, Joined the Ba’ath 1957
Played a key role in the 1968 Revolution
Served as VP under President Ahmed Hassan al Bakr

7. Before the Presidency Nationalization of the oil industry
National Campaign for the Eradication of Illiteracy
Compulsory Free Education in Iraq
Health care, Farm Subsidies, infrastructure
Hussein wins UNESCO Award

8. 1979 Saddam Takes Power

10. 1979 President Saddam Hussein
1980 – 1988 Iran –Iraq war
1981 Israel bombs nuclear facility at Osirak
1988 Halabja poison gas attack
1990 Invasion of Kuwait, Gulf War I
No Fly Zones, Sanctions
2003 Gulf War II

11. Trial and Execution
The execution of Saddam Hussein took place on 30 December Hussein was sentenced to death by hanging, after being found guilty and convicted of crimes against humanity by the Iraqi Special Tribunal for the murder of 148 Iraqi Shi'ites in the town of Dujail in 1982, in retaliation for an assassination attempt against him

12. Modern Government
2005 constitution, democratic, federal parliamentary Islamic republic
Executive, legislative, and judicial branches,
2005 Election of National Assembly
Post Iraqi Transitional Government
Nouri al Maliki
Haider al Abadi 2014
19 Provinces, semi autonomous Kurdistan

13. Post-Intervention 2003 Al Qaeda in Iraq 2006 Abu Musab al Zarqawi
Muqtada al Sadr Mahdi Army
Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani
2005 Anbar Awakening

14. Sectarianism

15. Nouri al Maliki Took office in 2006 Accused of corruption
Failure of inclusion
Abuse of de Ba’athification Laws to target political opponents

16. Haider al Abadi
Maliki refuse to step down, citing constitutional violations
Strong criticism from the Dawa Party and the international community, including Iran
Revenue sharing with Kurdish regional government
Challenge military corruption

17. Abu Bakr al Baghdadi claims to be Caliph
Defiance of al Qaeda Central
Declaration of the Caliphate in Mosul
Erased the Syrian Iraqi border