2. 1. Arab-Israeli Conflict  A conflict between Jews (Israelis) and Muslims (Arabs)  Happening in Israel and the Palestinian Territories

3. Reasons for Arab-Israeli Conflict  Centuries before Jews had been driven from their homeland.  Meanwhile, Muslims settled in the region known as Palestine.  After WWI, the British who ruled Palestine supported a Jewish homeland there.  After WWII and the Holocaust, some land was taken from Palestine to create Israel as a country for Jews.

4. Reasons for Arab-Israeli Conflict continued  The Arab Muslims living there opposed the creation of Israel because they felt like it was their homeland.

5. History of the conflict  In 1967, in the Six Day War, Israel took control of some Arab areas including  East Jerusalem  West Bank  Gaza Strip  the Sinai Peninsula (later returned to Egypt)  Golan Heights  Arab Muslims within and outside of the region opposed this

7. Jerusalem has holy sites of three religions

8. Dome of the Rock

9. The Rock  The place where Muhammad ascended into heaven

10. Western Wall  Only wall remaining of Ancient Jerusalem (Temple Mount) which the Romans destroyed  Holy site for Jews  Jews believe the Messiah will return there

11. Holy Sepulcher  The site where Jesus was crucified and buried

14. History of the conflict continued  In 1973, many of the Arab Muslim countries in the region who were rich in oil formed OPEC  In response to Israel’s taking of Palestinian land, OPEC raised oil prices and stopped the flow of oil to countries who supported Israel, like the USA

16. History of conflict continued  In 1993, Israel agreed to allow the Arab Muslims to create the Palestine Authority to govern the West Bank and Gaza Strip, however they are NOT independent countries and Israel retains control of some parts

18. History of conflict continued  A militant group called Hamas took control of the Gaza Strip  Violence in the region continues

19. Consequences of conflict  The Arab-Israeli conflict stretches beyond the borders of Israel and Palestine. The conflict has created divisions between Muslim countries and Israel’s allies, which includes the USA and most of Europe

20. 2. Iran’s Islamic Revolution  1979  Iran turned into a strict Islamic theocracy

21. History of Conflict  After WWI, Iran was run by a leader called a shah. The USA supported the shah.  1979, the shah was overthrown by the Ayatollah Khomeni

23. History of conflict continued  The Ayatollah enforced the strict laws of a traditional Islamic society, called Sharia  Relations between the US and Iran broke down in 1979 when some Iranian students took 52 Americans at the US embassy hostage for over a year  The Ayatollah supported this act  The US and Iran continue to conflict over important issues today

28. 3. Iran-Iraq War  Iran and Iraq clashed, especially in 1979 after Iran’s Islamic Revolution  In 1980, Iraq, which was ruled by a dictator, Saddam Hussein, invaded Iran

29. Results of conflict  Lasted 8 years and ended as a ceasefire (they just stopped fighting)  Over 1 million people died

30. 4. Persian Gulf War  1990, Iraq, while controlled by Saddam Hussein, invaded the small oil rich nation of Kuwait  The USA got involved in the war to protect stability in the region  The USA was able to force Iraqis out of Kuwait rather quickly, but Saddam remained in power

33. 5. Iraq War  In March 2003, the former US president, George W. Bush, believed that the dictator of Iraq, Saddam Hussein,was hiding weapons of mass destruction.  Bush believed that Saddam could give those chemical weapons to terrorists.

34. History of conflict  Bush gave Hussein an ultimatum  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Xycyq2j8 JI (6:55) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Xycyq2j8 JI  Saddam did not respond to the ultimatum, so the USA invaded in March of 2003 and in May, Bush declared that large scale fighting was over.

35. History of Conflict  In December of 2003, Saddam Hussein was found hiding in a hole. He was captured, put on trial for crimes against humanity, convicted, and executed all before the end of 2006.

37. Current Status of War  Iraq currently governs itself and has done so since the elections in 2005  The US began withdrawing troops from Iraq in 2009 and the last military personnel was withdrawn in 2011.  Obama declared an end to Operation Iraqi Freedom on August 31, 2010  There have been over 4,300 US soldiers killed in the Iraq War.

38. History of Conflict  The US was involved in the Cold War with the Soviet Union (USSR) from the 1950s-1990

39. The Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan  1979-1989  The US backed and trained a group of Afghan fighters called the Mujahedeen (proxy war)  The Mujahedeen was able to force the Soviets out of Afghanistan  The Mujahedeen took over the government of Afghanistan and a civil war broke out (war between different groups in the same country)  Effects of these wars: Afghanistan’s infrastructure, which wasn’t much was destroyed, landmines were left throughout Afghanistan, and the economy weakened

40. 6. US War on Terrorism in Afghanistan  The Taliban, a very strict Islamic group, ruled Afghanistan from 1996-2001  In October 2001, the US invaded Afghanistan because the leader of the terrorist organization, al-Qaeda, and mastermind behind the September 11 th attacks, Osama bin Laden, was hiding out there.  Afghanistan’s president at the time refused to hand him over, so the USA invaded.

41. Osama Bin Laden  Born in Saudi Arabia but lived in Pakistan and Afghanistan after college  Trained and worked with the Mujahedeen in the 1980s  Formed Al-Qaeda in the late 1980s  Became angry with Saudi Arabia and the US after the Persian Gulf War (after Iraq invaded Kuwait, Saudi Arabia needed protection, instead of accepting Osama’s offer of protection, Saudi Arabia allied with the US)  Osama and Al-Qaeda began carrying out attacks against the US in the 1990s  Osama was the mastermind of 9/11  On April 30 th 2011, Osama bin Laden was found in Pakistan and killed by Navy SEAL Team 6.

42. Current status of war  The war continues and there have been about 2,000 American deaths  The US continues to have soldiers stationed in Afghanistan, but US troop withdrawal is set for 2014.