1. Continuing Problems in the Middle East and Asia

2. Iran Iraq War 1980-88 Cause: Border dispute (disagreement) Iraqi Dictator, Saddam Hussein took advantage of turmoil in Iran after the Iranian Revolution of 1979 Long and bloody war that lasted till 1988 Significance: Hurt both of their economies and caused heavy casualties

3. Kurdish Genocide Hussein put down a revolt by the Kurds who wanted their independence Used chemical weapons on the Kurds Significance: World was outraged and brought on charges of genocide on Hussein

4. Gulf War of 1991 Hussein invaded Kuwait for their oil fields U.S. saw this as illegal and a threat to their ally, Saudi Arabia as well as oil in the Persian Gulf

5. Gulf War of 1991 UN and U.S. invaded Kuwait and quickly forced out the Iraqis However, Hussein did stay in power and continued to torture people in his own country for another decade

6. War in Iraq (2003-Present) U.S. and British charged Hussein had weapons of mass destruction (Nukes) and were supporting terrorists UN had been trying to stop Iraq from using oil profits to build Nukes for years but Hussein continued to defy their orders Significance: Invasion by these 3 groups led to the overthrow of Hussein leading to free elections Hussein would face trial for human rights violations and war crimes and was executed

7. Present Day Iraq Violence still exists today making it difficult for the new government to create stability Why? Iraq is very diverse: Sunnis, Shiites, and Kurds These groups fear each other being in power and there is fear of civil war if foreign influence is removed

8. Yugoslavia Breaks Apart

9. Yugoslavia Former satellite nation of the Soviet Union Tore apart due to ethnic, nationalist, and religious tensions Country was led by Milosevic who favored the serbs Due to their differences they broke apart into 6 different countries in the 1990s Conflicts arose between the majorities and minorities in these new countries

10. Example of Conflict: Bosnia Civil War began when they declared their independence Groups: Bosniaks, Serbs, and Croats During the war, all sides committed atrocities Ethnic Cleansing (Regents): Serbs attempted to kill off all Bosniaks and Croats to make ethnically “pure” areas (Human Rights Violation) Tens of thousands of people were brutally killed Croats took revenge by doing the same to Serbs in their areas

11. Peace in Bosnia NATO stepped in and began bombing the Serb military forces leading to attempts at peace Dayton Accords: fragile peace agreement was established with international help