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Iraq’s ethnic and religious diversity

Iraq’s ethnic and religious diversity. Both Kurdish and Shi’a issues have played a role in the Gulf conflicts. Iran-Iraq War (1980-1988). Based in longstanding disagreements Religious, ethnic, and territorial Iranian revolution as the catalyst

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Iraq’s ethnic and religious diversity

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  1. Iraq’s ethnic and religious diversity Both Kurdish and Shi’a issues have played a role in the Gulf conflicts

  2. Iran-Iraq War (1980-1988) • Based in longstanding disagreements • Religious, ethnic, and territorial • Iranian revolution as the catalyst • Khomeini called on Iraqi Shi’a to rise up against Hussein • Internal Iranian chaos and apparent military weakness • The war begins (1980) • Iraq makes some quick gains of border territory, which forced Iran to mobilize masses of young soldiers and solidify the regime • Iranian counterattacks in early 1982 drove Iraq back across the border and into a defensive position • War of attrition (1982-1988) • Mostly fought on Iraqi territory; Iraq survived a series of scares on Basra • Western and US support for Hussein against Islamic Iran • Iraqi use of chemical weapons, including against Kurds in Halabja • End of the war • Cease-fire in 1988, with no real change to territory or leadership • Massive casualties (more than twice as many for Iran) • Iraq ended the war with 1 million soldiers Halabja monument

  3. The Iran-Iraq war Territorial gains on both sides were rather minimal

  4. The First Gulf War • Reasons for the first Gulf War • Longstanding border dispute • Kuwait was overproducing on its OPEC quota • Limited Iraqi access to the Persian Gulf • Huge Iraqi debts and potentially disloyal military • Longstanding resentment of the Gulf oil monarchies • Iraq believed it might be able to get away with it • The war begins (1990) • Iraq annexed Kuwait as the 19th province of Iraq after a six-day invasion • US builds a coalition of countries to fight Iraq—Operation Desert Shield • The Arab world split over participation in the war • Huge resentment of US forces stationed on Saudi soil • The war (1991) • Operation Desert Storm began after the Iraqis refused to withdraw • Long air campaign followed by a short land invasion • Hussein attempts to link the war to the Palestinian cause • Easy land victory with Iraqi troops surrendering and fleeing rapidly • Controversial decision not to go in and overthrow Saddam

  5. After the Gulf War • Instability in Iraq • Rebellion in the Shi’a south triggered by retreating soldiers • Kurdish rebellion in the north • Major Kurdish refugee crisis, which led to UN intervention in the north • International restrictions • Destroy chemical/biological/nuclear weapons programs, ballistic missiles • Restriction on imports, manufacturing • No-fly zones over the north and south • Oil for Food program agreed in 1996 • Massive suffering as a result of the international sanctions • Changes in Kuwait • Formation of a national assembly, with elections in 1992 • Had to dig deep into its pockets for reconstruction • Financial and legitimacy scandals in the ruling family • Permanent presence of US soldiers • Saudi Arabia • Petitions from liberals and Islamists against the government • Creation of a majlis al-shura • Increasing resentment of US presence in the country • Huge Gulf refugee crisis all over the Middle East

  6. The Second Gulf War • Saddam in the 1990s • Managed to have an on-again/off-again relationship with UNSCOM • Continued a public campaign of defiance despite the fact that his weapons programs had been destroyed • Why did Saddam remain defiant? • Linkage of Saddam to 9/11 attacks in the US • Dubious linkages: was Saddam an Islamist? • Resurrection of a campaign against WMD and Iraq’s defiance • Led by a small group in the White House and Pentagon • Success in Afghanistan made this look like a winnable war • Designation of Saddam as part of an “axis of evil” in 2002 • Migrating justifications for the war • The invasion • British and American troops invade in March 2003 • Pretty quick ground battle, Saddam goes into hiding and is eventually discovered • Division of labor in American (Center) and British (South) zones • Institutional development under occupation • Movement toward a constitution and representative national assembly • Sunni reluctance to participate • Insurgent strategy of making Iraq ungovernable

  7. Civil violence in Iraq • Iraqi civilian deaths by month from 2003

  8. Displaced families in Iraq Thousands of Iraqis displaced since March 2006 Source: IOM

  9. Violence in Iraq The percentage of attacks on Iraqis increased in 2005-2006

  10. Green line Maronites Hizbullah Siege of Beirut Taif Accords Michel Aoun Omar al-Bashir Hasan al-Turabi John Garang Nairobi peace accords Darfur Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) Berbers Key lecture terms Saddam Hussein Ayatollah Khomeini Shatt al-Arab Halabjah UN Special Commission on Disarmament (UNSCOM) Oil for Food Program Civil Society Corporatism Diwaniyya Qat chew Al-Jazeera Mukhabarat Tazmamart

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