History of Iraq (post WWI). The British are coming: The Ottoman Empire dissolved and the British mandated control of Iraq after World War I (1918).

History of IraqHistory of Iraq(post WWI)(post WWI)

The British are coming:The British are coming:

The Ottoman Empire dissolved and the British mandated control of Iraq after World War I (1918).

Tensions BeginTensions Begin:

The creation of modern Iraq was not created or determined by Iraqis. It was created in British boardrooms by British rulers.

Artificial country with an artificial king

The country the British created wasn’t a homogenous group of people.

Three Groups:Three Groups:

Kurds in the North (minority)Shiite Muslims in the South

(majority)Sunni Muslims in the center

(minority) 90% of the worldwide Muslim population is

Sunni

The U.S. Enters the Picture:

The Eisenhower Doctrine (early 1950’s) promised U.S. aid to any country that resisted communism.

US provided military aid to Iraq in 1954. While this aid was welcomed by the pro-Western head of state, it was not welcomed by the Iraqi leaders in Parliament.

The Ba’th Republic:

Took power for good in 1968Republic in name only – they

created a dictatorshipSaddam Hussein became Vice

President

1960s and 1970s

Kurds, Turks, Christians, Shi’ites were deported, arrested, tortured and executed for their “disloyalty”.

(Political purges of opposition)

1970

Saddam Hussein Named President of Iraq

(Power transferred to him by his cousin. Had been running the country for years anyway.)

He is an example of an oppressive dictator

1980

Iran-Iraq WarSaddam becomes US ally

1988

Cease-fire between Iran-IraqSaddam launches campaign

against Kurds to get revenge for their support of Iran during war

Thousands dead Hundreds of thousands “disappeared” Villages destroyed

1988-1990

Saddam’s stockpiling of weapons, his extreme anti-Israel stance prompted the US to rethink its alliance

1990

Saddam invades Kuwait Declared Kuwait to be part of Iraq

Oil rich region

UN sets Jan. 15, 1991 as deadline for Iraqi troops to leave Kuwait

Side note about oil….

In the 1970s, many Middle Eastern nations have become more wealthy because of the creation of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC)

What is OPEC?

Organization of 12 oil producing and exporting countries:

The members are Algeria, Angola, Ecuador, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Libya, Nigeria, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates & Venezuela.

OPEC

The organization sets policy on research, drilling, pricing, distribution and investment.

Founded in Baghdad, Iraq Current day headquarters are in Vienna,

Austria

US dependence on foreign oil

January 17, 1991

UN deadline passes & Iraq troops have still not left Kuwait

This started Operation Desert Storm

Operation Desert Storm

Took 6 weeks to clear Kuwait of all Iraqi troops

Thousands of Iraqi soldiers diedmost of Saddam’s defense system was

destroyedSaddam was forced to sign a cease-fire.

(UN present to make sure this occurred).

1991

Shi’ite and Kurd rebel against Saddam

US dropped leaflets encouraging this, but did not help & these minority groups were easily crushed.

Eventually the UN created a Kurdish safe-haven and imposed sanctions of Iraq Caused poverty for Iraq

What are Sanctions?

a tool used to persuade a particular govt. to change their policy by restricting trade, investment or other commercial activity. For example, sanctions may be applied to countries which develop weapons of mass destruction, violate human rights or trade unfairly. The extent of the sanctions often depends on the severity of the violation.

1991 - 2003

Saddam carries out campaigns to punish people for the rebellions

March 20, 2003

Operation Iraqi FreedomUS and Great Britain invade

IraqThe UN Security Council (France

& Russia) veto UN involvement in the war

The 2 primary reasons the US & Britain did invade despite the UN vetoes were:Iraq had weapons of mass

destruction (WMDs) that threatened nations around the world

Iraq sponsored world terrorism

December 2003

Saddam captured

2005-06

Saddam on trial

November 5, 2006

Found guilty and sentenced to death

December 30, 2006

Saddam executed

December 15, 2011

The US officially declares the end of the Iraq War

Nearly 4,500 U.S. service members were killed in more than eight years of war and about 30,000 wounded