1. Iraq: A Brief History

2. Geography Mountains, desert, and a fertile river valley
About twice the size of Idaho

3. The People Population of 36 million
Mostly Arab, but large minority of Kurds in north
97% Muslim, but conflict between large Shiite and smaller Sunni populations

4. The Economy
Iraq has the 5th largest oil reserves in the world

5. Under Foreign Control Part of the Ottoman Empire for centuries
Occupied by Britain during WWI and until 1932

6. Under Control of Dictators
Declared a republic in 1958, but ruled by a series of military dictators

7. Saddam Hussein and his Sunni-dominated Ba’ath Party took power in 1979

8. Iran-Iraq War
Causes – long-standing disputes over territory; Hussein wanted to stop Iran’s support of Iraqi Shiites; Iraq invaded Iran

9. Effects – U.S. supported Iraq because of Iran’s Islamic fundamentalist govt’; 8 years long; over 1 million died; No clear winner led to U.N. cease fire

10. Persian Gulf War 1990
Causes – Huge debt from Iran-Iraq War; Kuwait had oil, larger route to Persian Gulf & was part of Iraq in Ottoman Empire; Iraq invaded Kuwait

11. Effects – U. S. established a trade embargo; U. S
Effects – U.S. established a trade embargo; U.S.-led UN coalition removed Iraq from Kuwait (Jan-Feb 1991); U.S. left Iraq

12. Unresolved Issues after Persian Gulf War
Saddam Hussein was still in power
U.S. forces stayed Saudi Arabia and Persian Gulf to enforce “no-fly zones” to protect Kurds in northern Iraq and Shiites in southern Iraq from Saddam’s Sunni regime
Concerns remained about Iraq’s possession of chemical and biological weapons

13. UN Security Council (UNSC) required Iraq to destroy weapons of mass destruction & long-range missiles & to allow UN inspections.

14. Operation Iraqi Freedom
Causes - Iraq would not allow full inspections, violating the treaty

15. Effects - As a result of non-compliance and reports that Iraq had WMD (weapons of Mass Destruction), the U.S. invaded Iraq in March 2003

16. Complications following U.S. Action
Essential services (electricity, water, police, etc.) were disrupted
Sectarian conflict started between:
-Shiites in south
-Sunnis in central and west
-Kurds in north
al Qaeda became active in Iraq and targeted US and coalition forces

17. Iraq’s Future
Saddam Hussein was captured and brought to trial, found guilty of crimes against his own people, and hanged
The process to establish a democracy in Iraq proved difficult

18. The last U.S. forces left at the end of 2011 Since then:
Iran has gained influence
there has been Sunni-Shiite conflict
ISIS took control of much of western Iraq
Some US troops have returned to Iran to help fight ISIS.