Middle East Notes

Afghanistan

Afghanistan Capital: Kabul Since the beginning of its history Afghanistan has been a tremendous importance to European imperial powers as Russia and Britain fought for control of it because of its access to the East Indies in the late 1880’s. As the Cold War brewed the Soviet Union would invade Afghanistan in 1979. Eventually after several years of war, the Soviets would be defeated.

Afghanistan 1990’s the Islamic fundamentalist group called the Taliban would take over and put in strict Islamic law. The Taliban were supporters of terrorist group al- Qaeda who were involved in attacks on U.S. embassies in Africa in 1998 and eventually 9/11 in 2001. The hunt for al-Qaeda’s leader Osama Bin Laden; would lead to war between the Taliban and the U.S. In Oct., 2001. Hamid Karzi would take over the new coalition gov’t but the war continues.

Israel

israel Capital: Jerusalem The end of World War II found the Jewish people without a homeland. They wanted some place to call home, and their own country where they could protect themselves. The UN, along with several countries decided on what was considered the biblical homeland of the Jews. It settle them in Palestine near the ancient city of Jerusalem.

israel Eventually in 1948 Israel would become a country. This angered the Arab world and several wars would be fought in 1948, 1956, 1967, and 1973. The Yom Kippur War was fought in 1973 It was a decisive and final war between Israel against Syria, and Egypt. The PLO was considered a terrorist organization by the U.S. and Israel. Eventually peace talks started in the 1990’s.

israel The PLO would eventually gain political recognition. Disagreement over the West bank, Gaza strip, and Jewish settlements in those area have led to conflict and distrust of each other. Today, Israel and Palestine are still at odds but no real conflict has resulted. The peace talks have stalled for the most part?

iraq Capital: Baghdad Iraq is the cradle of civilization. Where the region of Ancient Mesopotamia once stood. Iraq has since developed into an oil producing Arab state who would be controlled by both Britain, and the Ottoman empire.

iraq Eventually they would gain indepence in 1932 from Britain. and have brief spells as a monarchy and then a dictatorship. Saddam Hussein would gain power in 1979 as the head of the Baath Party. He would be remembered for the gasing of his people in the 1980’s.

iraq The Persian Gulf War would be fought in 1990-1991 after Iraq invaded Kuwait, and the Iraq war (2003) where he would be ousted. He would eventually be put on trial, convicted, and executed for crimes against his people. The Iraq war officially ended and is under a new democratic government.

Syria Capital: Damascus For centuries Syria has played an important role in trade route to the Mediterranean and to China. It has played an important role in the Middle East but it also shares it’s distrust of Israel and the U.S. It fought in the Six Day War and the Yom Kippur War against Israel with the help of other Arab Nations.

Syria Later it would get involved with Lebanon as Civil War broke out and spilled over into Syria borders in 1975. It would form an alliance with the Soviet Unions and become an enemy of the U.S. After the Soviet Union collapsed tension between the U.S and it would decline.

Lebanon Capital: Beirut Lebanon gained its independence in 1943 from France. Since then it has faced turmoil in its country. It was dominated by Syria in Lebanon because a civil war had broken out.

Lebanon In the 1983 a terroist bombing of U.S. Marine barrack resulted in tension between the two countries. Eventually some stability was restored in the war torn country but conflict with Israel to the South still continued. Even with some rebel groups launching rockets into Israel. It reamains to be seen if they can stabalize the country as a whole.

jordan Capital: Amman Jordan was carved out of Palestine in 1921 by the British. It gain its independence from them in 1946. Since then it has become a constitutional monarchy but has little to no democratic values. It was lead by King Abdullah Hussein and when he was assassinated his son took over.

jordan Palestinians who lived in the country were very unhappy and formed a resistance. However, the king was eventually able to gain control of the country and put down any rebellion. During the Persian Gulf War in 1991 Palestinians from Iraq fled to Jordan overwhelming its already weakening economy.

Saudi Arabia Capital: Riyadh It is currently under a monarchy type government. Saudi Arabia is one of the wealthiest countries in terms of its oil producing ability. It’s wealth it has obtained has allowed it to become very important to the western world.

Saudi Arabia For a long time the Saudi’s and the U.S. had a very tense relationship. However, oil, and the fact that some Islamic Fundamentalist groups see Saudi Arabia as to secular has made them allies today. During the Persian Gulf War the U.S. helped protect them from Saddam Hussein.

The Kurds The Kurds were a nomadic ethnic group that lived in Iran, Syria, Turkey, and Iraq. In the late 1980’s the Kurds protested the brutal regime of Saddam Hussein, and he used chemical weapons killing hundreds. They fled to other countries to flee the Iraqi army and would slowly come back to their homes.

The Kurds In 1991 the Kurds once again protested in the streets after the Persian Gulf War. They fled to borders of Iran and Turkey. They were hoping the U.S. lead coalition would support them. They came to live in a refugee camps until it was safe to comeback. The two main political groups the PUK and KDP were pushing for a Kurdish homeland in the Northeastern part of Iraq. The formation of their own country has not happened even after the Iraq War of 2003.