1. Iraq A MODERN HISTORY

2. Background  The land known as Iraq has seen violence throughout history  Fertile soil between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers (Mesopotamia) makes this valuable land  During the Golden Age of Islam, Baghdad was the greatest city in the world until it was destroyed by Mongols  Conquered by Ottoman Empire, then the British after World War I  Iraq has the fifth most oil of any country in the world

3. British Rule & Monarchy  The British drew the boundaries of modern Iraq, and handed power to Sunnis, even though more Iraqis were Shiite  The borders also included a large ethnic minority, the Kurds  When the British left, they created a monarchy which they supported with their military

4. Iraqi Republic  In 1958, the military overthrew the monarchy and created the Iraqi Republic  Many different group came to power over the next 10 years  1968: The Ba’ath Party rises to power  The Ba’ath Party was a secular, pan- Arabist, socialist, anti-European party

5. Saddam Hussein  In 1979, General Saddam Hussein took control of Iraq  Hussein modernized Iraq’s oil industry, bringing in $$$ to the country  He denounced the Jews of Israel and Persians of Iran as enemies of Arabs  Hussein created brutal secret police and a “cult of personality”  Like the British, he promoted and protected the Sunni minority

6. Iraq-Iran War  Iran began arming Iraqi Kurds and Shiites, and both sides launched cross border raids against each other  The war lasted 8 years and ended in stalemate  Somewhere between 0.5 million and 1.5 million people died  Hussein used chemical weapons launched a genocidal campaign against the Kurds, killing 50,000-100,000 of them  The USA supported Hussein and Iraq during this war

7. Invasion of Kuwait  In 1990, Hussein invaded Kuwait  He claimed Kuwait was a part of historical Iraq  He claimed Kuwait was “slant drilling” Iraq’s oil  He wanted more Persian Gulf coastline for himself  The USA led an international coalition to force Iraq out of Kuwait  After the war, the USA and other countries placed economic sanctions on Iraq and created “No Fly Zones” to protect Kurds and Shiites from Hussein’s bombings

8. Iraq War II  In 2003, the USA invaded Iraq  Reasons:  Claimed Iraq had weapons of mass destruction and would give them to terrorists  Wanted to create a democracy and American ally in the Middle East (with lots of oil)  Hussein was quickly defeated, captured, and executed  Iraq became a democracy, and was soon controlled by Shiites

9. Aftermath  Shiites, Sunnis, and Kurds quickly began fighting and the country descended into civil war  With no strong government or feeling of national unity, it has been impossible for the Iraqi government to stop the fighting  Civil war has also spread into neighboring Syria

10. The Rise of ISIS/ISIL/Islamic State  ISIS is an Islamist group made up of Sunni Muslims  Many members of ISIS follow a very conservative branch of Islamic thought known as Wahhabism  ISIS rejects the national boundaries set up by the British  The group wants to create a caliphate, ruled by a caliph, under sharia law