2.  In 1917 Britain invaded the region and made Iraq a British mandate.  The borders of modern day Iraq were drawn into a map by the French and the British to settle a territory dispute. They did not pay attention to the ethic groups living in the country.  When the people protested they were put down by British air raids.

3.  In 1932 Iraq was recognized as an independent state, but still had a king who was very closely tied with Britain.  After World War II Britain’s power was declining, but America’s power in the world was increasing.

4.  In the 1950’s Iraq saw the US involvement in Iran, and how they attempted to gain access and control of natural resources through the Shah.  This made Iraq concerned about foreign involvement in their country.

5.  In 1958 there was a coup led by the Ba’ath party. The coup led to the British backed king being overthrown.  Saddam Hussein was a member of the Ba’ath party, and was a part of a second coup attempt against the leader who was put in power to replace the king.

6.  From 1963 – 1968 there were several more coups (some led by the CIA).  In 1968 Saddam Hussein helped to lead a revolt that put General Ahmed Bakr in power (Hussein was made vice president).  In 1972 General Bakr nationalized Iraq’s oil which made conflict with the US.

7.  The US tried to arm the Kurds (a group of people who live in the northern part of Iraq) against General Bakr.  The US also tried to have the Shah in Iran back up their attempts to arm the Kurds against the Iraqi government.  However, Iran and Iraq were able to reach an agreement about a different issue so Iran stopped aiding the US.

8.  The revolution in Iran ended US involvement in their country.  In 1979 Saddam Hussein took the conflict in the region as an opportunity to overthrow General Bakr and seize control of the government.  Once he took power Hussein ordered anyone who wasn’t loyal to him to be killed immediately.

9.  Hussein ruled his people based on fear, he did not hesitate to kill those who he believed opposed him to make an example.  Hussein established Iraq as a Sunni Muslim country (Iran is a Shia or Shi’i Muslim country) to reflect the majority of the population living there.