1. History 102SY The United States and the Middle East 1900 to the Present

2. The Iraq War and Beyond

3. February 2003—Secretary of State Colin Powell repeated both Curveball’s and al-Libi’s claims at United Nations

4. September 2002—Bush called on UN to pass resolution demanding that Iraq disarm itself of weapons of mass destruction

5. CIA Director George Tenet

6. October 2002—Supplied with misleading intelligence, Congress passed Iraq War Resolution CIA “White Paper” on Iraq and WMD

7. November 2002—UN Security Council passed Resolution 1441, calling on Iraq to disarm itself of weapons of mass destruction, warning of “serious consequences” if it failed to do so

8. Late 2002—UN inspectors started operating in Iraq

9. December 2002-January 2003—US deployed more troops to Persian Gulf; France and Germany opposed use of force without subsequent UN resolution German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer

10. Early 2003—UN weapons inspectors found no evidence of WMD programs but asked for more time to continue investigation Chief UN weapons inspector Hans Blix

11. March 2003—US, Britain, and “coalition of the willing” launched Iraq War without second UN resolution

12. April 2003—Saddam Hussein regime fell; but US forces failed to provide adequate security, permitting widespread looting and violence

14. Summer 2003—Iraqi Insurgency broke out

15. 2003-2008—Iraqi civil war

16. 2007-2008—US “troop surge,” combined with “Sunni Awakening,” helped to stabilize country

17. December 2011—US troops withdrawn from Iraq

18. In early aftermath of 9/11 there were prospects for better relations between United States and Iran Mohammad Khatami

19. But relations soon soured due to Iran’s nuclear program and Bush’s inclusion of Iran in “Axis of Evil”

20. 2005—Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, hard-line Islamist, elected president of Iran, causing relations to deteriorate further

21. Ongoing controversy over Iran’s nuclear program

22. Mahmoud AhmadenijadBenjamin Netanyahu

23. Arab Spring

24. Libya Muammar Qaddafi

25. Syria Bashar al-Asad Syrian army defectors

26. Economic distress in Arab world

27. Israel-Palestine dispute

28. Since 9/11—Growing US reliance on paramilitary operations

29. May 1, 2011

30. Warrantless Wiretapping

33. Obama and drone strikes

34. Civilian casualties in Pakistan