1. SS7H2 The student will analyze continuity and change in Southwest Asia (Middle East) leading to the 21st century. d. Explain U.S. presence and interest in Southwest Asia; include the Persian Gulf conflict and invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq.

2. Nation of Israel Created 1948 Israel is founded as a Jewish State. (technically Secular, but most Jewish) Israel is recognized by the United Nations as a separate country. Since the creation of the nation, Israel has fought many wars with the Arab nations that border it, like Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, and Jordan.

3. Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) 1964 The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) is founded with the aim of destroying Israel and returning lands in Israel to the Palestinian people. Yassir Arafat is their leader. This well known terrorist organization used violence and terrorism to send its messages to the world. It was very active in the 60s and 70s in Terrorism, but recently does NOT used terrorism. In 1988 Arafat renounced Terrorism. Israel and the PLO have held talks and the PLO are the leaders of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. People who still want to use Terrorism against Israel today normally join the Hezbollah or Hamas, not PLO, because the PLO and Israel have held discussion and want to move towards a peaceful solution. http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/ Terrorism/plo.html

4. Wars between Palestinians and Israeli 1967 Six Day War: Egypt, Syria, and Jordan form an alliance against Israel. Israel retaliates and gains control of the West Bank, Gaza Strip, and East Jerusalem. 1973 Yon Kipper War: Egypt, Syria, and other Muslim nations attack Israel. Israel rebounds and controls even more Palestinian lands. 1982 War: Israeli jets bomb PLO strongholds in Beirut, Lebanon. The Israelis hoped to eliminate the PLO and sign a new peace treaty. A peace treaty was not signed and the violence continues today.

5. Saddam Hussein Rules Iraq » 1979-2003 A violent, harsh and cruel dictator that ruled Iraq with an iron fist. Saddam supported the nation of Palestine, used chemical weapons in battle against their neighbor Iran, and committed genocide against the Kurds of Northern Iraq. It has been estimated that the regime of Saddam killed around 180,000 people. In 2006, Saddam was captured and hanged for his crimes against humanity.

6. Iranian Revolution 1979 A revolution that transformed Iran from a monarchy, to an Islamic Theocratic Republic. The country is ruled by the Ayatollah: a religious scholar of Islam. The country is a Theocracy, or uses religious rule. Government is formed from Islamic ideals with the goal of removing western culture from Iran. The revolution made Islamic fundamentalism a political force. There is evidence of financial and military support of terrorist groups like Hamas, Hezbollah, and the PLO by the Iranian government. Iranians believe that obeying the Islamic government is an expression of obedience to Allah. Human rights are often violated. Strongly disagrees with USA. Fought War in 1980- 1989 with Iraq. 1.5 Million injured in Iraq and Iran

7. Gulf War 1990-1991 Gulf War- A conflict between Iraq led by Saddam Hussein and 30 nations led by the United States. Iraq accused Kuwait of illegally drilling oil in their country to sell for profit. Iraq was in debt from 8 year long war with Iran The USA went to war because Iraq threaten the oil supply of many nations and Kuwait was a part of the UN. Iraq was defeated and Kuwait was set free. Gulf War From Steven McCurry

8. War on Terrorism 2001-2011 War in Afghanistan The war began in October of 2001 in response to the terrorists attacks of September 11 th, 2001. The USA was attacked by terrorists called al-Qaeda. The war marked the beginning of the United States war on terrorism. The goal of the war was to remove the Taliban (Government of Afghanistan sympathetic to al- Qaeda) from power and find the al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden. This war is not related to Iraq or to Saddam Hussein.

9. From Discovery Education

10. War in Iraq 2003-2011: Operation Iraqi Freedom A coalition of countries led by the United States attacks Iraq and removes Saddam Hussein (violent dictator) from power as an attempt to establish a democracy and remove weapons of mass destruction. The United Nations inspectors have never found any of the nuclear weapons. Saddam Hussein is not connected Osama Bin Laden’s al-Qaeda terrorist network. There is NO connection between the terrorists and the war in Iraq.

11. War in Iraq The war has costs billions of dollars Hundreds of thousands of lives lost Fighting between Ethnic and religious groups and extremists still are occurring. http://costsofwar.org/

12. Wars between Israel and Palestine (and other Arab States) 1948, 1967, 1972, 1982, 2006 Iran Revolution 1979 Gulf War USA, Iraq, Kuwait 1991 War on Terror USA and Afghanistan (War on Terror and Osama Bin Laden/ Al-Qaeda) 2001-2011 Operation Iraqi Freedom Iraq and USA To remove Saddam Hussein and Weapons of Mass Destruction 2003-2011 Conflicts in the Modern Middle East