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Understand the current

conflict in Iraq
 a

˜ !rea of î
 

˜ 27.5 million
˜ Muslim
˜ 46% Literacy
˜ Unemployment
25-50%
˜ Oil rich country
 Œistory of Iraq
˜ Formerly part of Ottoman Empire
˜ UN Mandate under Great Britain after WWI
(1920)
˜ Independence received in 1932
˜ Republic (Democracy) declared in 1958

Military Strongmen ü Dictatorship

Saddam Œussein & Baathist party seizes
power in 1978
˜ Saddam Œussein & Totalitarian Rule

Executions

Genocide of Kurds
 Saddam
Œussein
˜ President
(Dictator) of
Iraq
Iran vs. Iraq (1980 ± 1988)
 1988
˜ Ends
in
cease-
fire
 Persian Gulf War 1991
˜ Iraq owed Kuwait money (20 million)

Iraq invades and overthrows rich Kuwait
(1990)

Kuwaiti govt. flees to Saudi !rabia
˜ US! Response

US freezes Iraqi & Kuwati assets

Stop trading
˜ Operation Desert Shield

Fastest Large-scale deployment of military
troops over intercontinental distance in
military history
 Operation Desert Shield
˜ 4 Days ü 120,000 troops; Eventually
500,000
Protect Saudi !rabia
 Œussein¶s Decision?
˜ Listen to UN and ˜ Continue to stay
leave?
Be sanctioned
˜ UN Coalition

Every country of the
world is against you

World Condemnation
 ›



˜ US!

152
˜ Iraq

over 100,000
 J J  J 

˜ Following Kuwait's liberation, the UN

Security Council (UNSC) required Iraq
to:

scrap all weapons of mass destruction
and long-range missiles

and to allow UN verification
inspections.
˜ Iraq continued to comply to the
inspectors¶ demands for the next 12
years
 ·JJ
 J

˜ World
Trade
Center

˜ Terrorist
!ttacks
 ·JJ
 J
˜ Pentagon hit by planes
·JJ
 ˜ Pennsylvania fields - Flight
93 crash
 J
 ·


˜ Known for harboring terrorists
˜ Thought to have weapons of mass
destruction (WMD)
˜ Israel blew up his nuclear facilities in
the 1980¶s
˜ Iraq does not listen to United
Nations; nuclear facilities
˜ President Bush and his Cabinet
believe he is a threat to US security
 ›
 

 



 ›

˜ Œarboring & supporting terrorists

PLO, !l-Qaeda & bin Laden
˜ Being accused of having WMD

Israel blew up their facilities in the
past

Coalition did in 1991 as well
˜ that these are legitimate reasons
for the US to go to war with IR!Q?
 O 
˜ Is Saddam Œussein guilty for
the 9/11 attacks?

˜ Why does Bush want to go to

war with Iraq?
 X ·
 
˜ Great Britain will give it (8,000 troops)
˜ Little support for the proposed war from
other countries; want
  not war
˜ US gets help from a few countries but
not a lot

Japan, Brazil, Ukraine, Poland, etc.
˜ Turkey won¶t allow US access to invade
˜ UN inspectors not moving fast enough
on finding WMD; Bush & Congress gets
restless«
Original Supporters of Iraq War 2003
˜ ·


 | J
 
 

  
 !"
˜ Why would
Bush say that
he wanted
Saddam
Œussein to
leave the
country?
Œouse of Representatives
˜ 296 ± 133
 Senate
˜ Vote in favor of War if Saddam does not
give up WMD¶s: 77-23

Vote in
Favor?
Reasons for War in Iraq??
˜ 1) Find WMD (original)
˜ 2) Freedom?
˜ 3) Establish Democracy in
M.E.?

!side Israel
˜ 4) Protect US economy (oil)?
˜ Ô




 
 Theories of conflict
˜ 1) Realism: unipolarity,matain
hegemony and avoid post 9/11 decline.
˜ 2) Liberalism: security arises from
spreading democracy and human
rights.
˜ 3) Elite intrests:war for partisan
political gain, Vested interests (e.g.
energy corporations), war profiteering
Interests of the defense bureaucracy and
intelligence agencies
 US and Coalition Invade Iraq
˜     
˜      ! 

"#

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,. 
 New Problem:
˜ Shia vs. Sunni Civil War

˜ Never a problem before

˜ Competing for political power;

weak government
è 
% 

% 
,+"0 1
Car Bomb aimed at Shiite Market
>2,000,000 Refugees today
 Troop Surge of 2007
˜ 2   031 
 )*.  (+   
..+*4 +

5 +  +



˜ å
 






 


  
 

  


 


 
 
 


 

 

 


  6 
˜ Oil production
down
˜ !merican oil
Misc. Info.
companies
securing
contracts with
Iraq
˜ Iraq has never
known
democracy
˜ Extremists
˜ Civil War
possibility

Sunni

Shiite
 Criticism
˜ Widespread
Violence
˜ No UN approval / No
Coalition built
˜ WMD??
˜ US Military Deaths
˜ Civilian Deaths
˜ World Disapproval
˜ US Reputation
˜ Similar to Vietnam?

 
˜ '.. . 6.   
 /
5 .. .   /
# . . .   
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