The Iran-Iraq War
While the Iran-Iraq War during the 1980's may have permanently altered the course of progress in Iran and Iraq, the war also altered the resulting permanent involvement of the rest of the world in the middle-east. The rich and complicated history in Iraq has established numerous cultural and ethnic traditions that all play a part in where the country is today. The Iran-Iraq War brought into focus some of those traditions and how they conflicted, while also bringing Iraq and its economic situation into the spotlight. Being on top of some of the most mineral rich soil in the world makes Iraq a major contributor to the world's economy through petroleum and crude oil exports. This, among other reasons, ties nations
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The Safavids were the first the first to declare Shia Islam the official religion of Iran, and their interest in Iraq lay in the Shia holy places in central Iraq, and also the fact that Baghdad held significant symbolic value as the seat of the ancient Abbasid Empire. The Ottoman Empire on the other hand was afraid that Shia Islam would spread to Asia Minor, and thus looked to control Iraq as a Sunni-dominated buffer state. During the Ottoman period, the Sunnis were placed in political positions, while the Shias were then shut out of the political process. This divide between the Sunnis and the Shias continued to be more and more of an important element in the Iraqi social structure, and remains an issue even today. It was also during this time period that the Kurdish Baban Dynasty emerged and began to organize resistance to the Ottoman rule in Northern Iraq.
Then came the First World War and with it the defeat of the German army and their allies, including Turkey. As a result in 1919, Iraq, as well as Palestine, came under the control of Great Britain who proceeded to draw out the borders and establish a government that would best suit them. The years which followed were filled with revolutions, jihad, and unrest, as the British sought to maintain control of a nation with which they knew very little about.
Historically, Iran and Iraq’s problems go way back for centuries. There is the obvious difference which is that Iraq is mostly Arab and Iran is Persian. Their cultural differences will be one of the main factors leading up to the war. Both Iran and Iraq have a mass population of Muslims among other religious minorities. There is a difference in the type of Muslims they are. Persia, which is now Iran, contains Shiite Muslims as a majority among other religious minorities. Iraq on the other hand contains Sunni Muslims as a majority. Another important issue would be with their borders because they share a border in both land and water. This border will play a huge role in was because of its significance to Iraq. A peace agreement was signed in the year 1639 between the Persian and Ottoman Empires. Since then, those treaties have been signed and ignored various times. But one dispute stood out, in the previous century, as the Shatt Al Arab River was put into perspective. This river is a border that separates the two countries and is important to both sides. This issue led up to both countries having a tense relation following up to the war and basically is part of the reason what Iraq is has fought for. Before the war started the Shah of Iran was paranoid about Iraq and considered it a threat. In response to this, the Shah made sure that he kept Iraq distracted with something else. The Shah decided to aid the Kurdish rebellion and motivating them to fight against the Iraqi
Throughout American history wars have played a huge part. From the start of the country to the present wars have played a lagrge part in shaping America into the national power that it is today. Not only is America the most pwerful nation in thwe world but it is also the policeman for the entire world, making and checking up on the world and all the interactions of foreign countries worldwide. Being born in born in the early eighties prohibitied me from experiencing many of the Americas war firsthand. This however changed early in the 1990's.
The United States involvement in the Iran-Iraq War escalated conflict and destabilized the area by giving arms to both sides. The Iran-Iraq War was fought between 1980 and 1988. It began by Iraq invading Iran for oil and territory because they thought Iran would
The world still faces problems today that are linked back to World War I. World War I killed more that sixteen million people and crushed century-old empires and dynasties, all in four years. A country that still faces many conflicts from this time is Iraq. Iraq became a country after the Ottoman Empire was split up and Britain cobbled different provinces together. These provinces were at odds as much back then as they are today. Britain installed a king in Iraq. This was followed by Suddam Hussein overthrowing the king in 1968. He ruled until a U.S. invasion in 2003. This invasion led to the country having many different views and problems regardless of efforts from
The Iran-Iraq War, taking place from 1980-1988, started when Iraq, led by Saddam Hussein, tried to invade Iran, sparking an armed war between the two countries. This war had many effects on the oil industry, led to many weapon innovations in Iraq, showed the world who Saddam Hussein was, and how the treaty with the United Nations affected the world.
Iraq and Iran have been subjected to a civil war since the seventh century (Murphy 1). This existing problem began because of political and theological divergence, but with the help of outside forces such as Britain, Russia, and North America, it developed into a more complex crisis.
What triggered the Iraq War that we are currently still having? During this time in history we were still in the cold war as well Cold War (1945–1991), a lot of events has happened during this time period. I am going to start with the Iran-Iraq war which started in 1980 and ended in 1988. The war began when Iraq invaded Iran, launching a simultaneous invasion by air and land into Iranian territory on 22 September 1980 following a long history of border disputes, and fears of Shia insurgency among Iraq's long-suppressed Shia majority influenced by the Iranian Revolution. (Wikipedia, Iran–Iraq War, 2011). This war had at least a million and half casualties and it severely damaged both their economies, the Iran-Iraq war conflict is often
Since the war on Iraq began on March 20, 2003, at least 1,402 coalition troops have died and 9,326 U.S. troops have been wounded in action. This is no small number and the count grows daily. One would hope, then, that these men and women were sent to war with just cause and as a last resort. However, as the cloud of apprehension and rhetoric surrounding the war has begun to settle, it has become clear that the Bush administration relied on deeply flawed analyses to make its case for war to the United Nations and to the American people, rushing this country, and its soldiers, into war. This is not to say that this war was waged against a blameless regime or that our soldiers have died
The Iran-Iraq war proved to have more disadvantages than any benefits by the time it was over. There was massive loss of life, resources and both sides gained nothing.
government officials that were identified as conspirators against the Ba’ath party. (5) His ruthless and brutal dictatorship would bring his country to war with neighboring Iran from 1980 to 1988. Initially a territorial dispute, Hussein would cite Iran’s Islamic fundamentalism as his motives for continued combat and Iraq’s use of chemical weapons. (6) The war resulted in more than 100,000 combat deaths and drove Iraq deep into debt. The military annex of Kuwait in 1991 was intended to absolve Iraq of this financial responsibility to it’s neighbor. (7) The United Nations Security Council, in particular the United States, responded with force to drive Saddam Hussein’s army
The war against Iraq began on March 20, 2002, when the U.S lunched “Operation Iraqi Freedom”. This was after President Bush called Iraq part of an “axis of evil”, also calling the country dangerous which is threatening U.S with the world’s most destructive weapons. The major phase of the war began when U.S troops marched within 50 miles of Baghdad with heavy aerial attacks on Baghdad and other cities. After the attack on the Twin Towers and the Pentagon which was believed to be the work of Al Qaeda, U.S was concerned about the security of the Untied States which lead to the war in Iraq. Even though U.S officials felt the war in Iraq is the main priority, but many people in U.S opposes the war which brings up a lot of controversial issues.
Wars have been apart of this world almost as long as anything else has. Even in the Bible days there are records of wars. There are many reasons that states choose to go to war. Sometimes it is for the expansion of a nation or state, other times it is for financial gains, and it also could be for security or defense purposes. Whatever the case may be, wars have been apart of human life and will always be. There were no differences when it came to the Persian Gulf War. This war involved the United States, Iraq, and Kuwait. When trying to determine the purpose behind this war I chose to view it from a comparison of both the realist and liberalist views on the war.
SOCIALLY, following the war with Iran in 1988, Iraq was ranked 50 in the 1990 UNDP Human Development Index, which measures national success in education, GDP, and health. Iraq was nearing the top of the middle range of countries in regard to the implementation of basic social services and infrastructure. However, under Saddam’s rule, the prosecution of Shiites and Kuwaitis was a normal occurrence. Called by some a genocide, the period of murder, terror, and persecution faced by these groups was the foundation for a long-lasting unrest within the hearts and minds of Iraqi citizens. The rest of the Iraqi citizens, however, lived normal, comfortable lives. In the late 20th century, many traveled from afar to utilize and learn from Iraq’s intricate network of hospitals and social centers regarded as the best in the region. (CIA 2) However, constant war drained Iraq’s wealth and decimated its people. In the Iraq-Iran War, Saddam Hussein unwillingly forced Iraq into a disastrous attempt to overthrow the Islamist government in Iran. When the dust settled, over 200,000 Iraqis were dead, and more than twice this number were wounded. Iraq’s increasing debt, nearing about 75 Billion, soon had the Arab
Before shots were ever fired the two countries had their dislikes in the past. For starters, Iran as well as Iraq both wanted to claim the Shatt Al-Arab River which was jointly located in between the pair. The Ottoman Empire claimed both sides although the Persian side was not ruled by the Ottomans. Based on the strength of this, Iraq claimed the east bank (Iranian side) of the river, a critical piece of property, since the Shatt al-Arab is its only outlet to the Persian Gulf. Iraq agreed to the share Shatt al-Arab with Iran in a treaty in 1975, which Saddam Hussein claimed was not true in 1980, just before the war commenced. Iraq also claimed many of the disputed islands in the Persian Gulf. Saddam Hussein was to be unwilling to change his mind, lacked military training, was a careless planner, overestimated his troops, and executed generals who retreated.
In recent years, the Iraqi nation has endured a crisis that will forever remain in the hearts and minds of the Middle Eastern culture. However, the outcomes of the War on Iraq will not change the long-lasting and passionate traditions and memories that have been held in the country for decades. One major event that happened in Iraq’s history is that on October 3, 1932 Iraq was established as an independent nation. Iraq has always been a country in which respect and generosity have been highly valued and play an important cultural role in everyday life. Additionally, approximately ninety-five percent of Iraqis are Muslim, and therefore Islam is the official religion of this nation (Gutierrez 1). Furthermore, Iraq is a