Erbil Research Paper

Mesopotamia, “the Land between Rivers,” was one of the greatest and the oldest ancient civilizations of the world. This civilization flourished around 3000 B.C. on the piece of fertile land, now known as Iraq, between the rivers Euphrates and Tigris. Before 1792 B.C., the city-states of ancient Mesopotamia were not united and constantly clashed in turmoil and warfare. In 1792 B.C., King Hammurabi conquered and merged the neighboring city states of ancient Mesopotamia, creating a Babylonian empire and becoming the sixth king of its capitol city, Babylon. During his reign, Hammurabi established law and order and funded irrigation, defense, and religious projects. He personally took care of and governed the administration. In

In 1972, the production of oil in Iraq was nationalized. Seven years later in 1979, the production of oil peaked at 3.5 million barrels of oil produced per day (Penn Wharton). A year later in 1980 a war between Iran and Iraq broke out and the war decreased Iraq’s foreign exchange reserves and left the country with more than $40 million in debt (Penn Wharton). On top of that, in 1990 the leader of Iraq decided to invade the country of Kuwait which depleted their foreign exchange reserves even

This process allowed Hussein to expand the government’s role in the 1970’s, until state-sponsored compulsory education, literacy programs, and free hospitalization to everyone were possible. (Saddam Hussein Biography, 2008 Furthermore, Iraq’s public healthcare system was so impressive and superior to other Middle Eastern healthcare systems that Saddam Hussein was given an award by the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization. Over the next decade, Saddam worked tirelessly to bring wealth and reform to the peasantry of his country and was met with resounding success. In a few short years, Hussein had managed to establish farming cooperatives that trained unskilled workers and helped the agricultural industry boom. Iraq became such a booming center for expansion that over two million workers from neighboring countries crossed the border to fill in for labor shortages. (U.S. army nurse reveals hidden side of Hussein, 2009)

“The expansion of Islam in the eighth century transferred the seat of the Islamic caliphate from Damascus to Baghdad . . . it became the most powerful state west of China”. The rule of Iraq transferred many times, from the Mongols in the 13th century to the Prussians who held power until the 16th century and then resting with the Ottoman Empire up into the 20th century. “The Ottomans divided Iraq into three vilayets centered on Mosul, in the Kurdish north; Baghdad, a largely Sunni city in the centre; and Basra, in the Shi’ite south”. The fall of the Ottoman Empire brought British occupation to Iraq during World War I; subsequently Iraq received authorization from the League of Nations to establish a responsible government. Incrementally Iraq gained its independence and throughout the next seventy-five years, military strongmen ruled the country, resting finally with Saddam Hussein during the U.S. invasion. While attending the university in Bagdad he joined the Ba’ath party and rising through the ranks, assumed the position of head of state of Iraq in 1979. The ethnic divide in the population of Iraq dates back as far as the 16th century and has devolved even further with the

During the Cold War Saddam Hussain and the Arab Socialist Ba 'ath Party lead Iraq. Sunni Muslims, who were a minority in Iraq, enjoyed increased political power as most politicians were Sunni. During the Cold War Iraq began to increasing align itself with the USSR and espouse the philosophy of uniting all the Arab world under socialism. However the dream of Arab unity was shattered during the Iraq-Iran War. In Iraq 400,000 soldiers died, 400,000 were wounded, and 100,000 civilians died. A few years after the war, the USSR collapsed, and Iraq lost its biggest supporter, and dream of socialism began to fade in the population’s eye. Right after the collapse, Iraqi invaded Kuwait, triggering the Gulf War. Iraq was defeated by the USA. Sensing weakness in the Iraqi government, full scale rebellion broke out in Northern Iraq. Saddam accused

In 2013, the GDP was at an all-time high, even compared to prior the invasion of 2003. Showing that despite several years of stifled growth the long-term effect of the reconstruction of Iraq is starting to look more positive. This contrasts with the previous view that the Iraqi economy has not been successfully reconstructed. This is because Iraq was not a failed state, therefore the Iraqi economy was not disastrous prior to the invasion. Meaning an improvement on GDP is a positive sign. The graph in figure 1 appears to show a similar reconstruction performed by the Hussein administration after the first Gulf War in the early 1990s. Suggesting that the US reconstruction effort has not been much better than an attempt by a corrupt regime which the US eliminated. However, the recent faltered of both the fortune of both the Iraqi economy and Iraqi people appears to correlate with the absent of the US in the country. Signifying that the heavy use of US money and corporations has led to a good short-term development but have led to a problem in long-term development. This is mainly due to a lack of expertise and skills to be able to deal with problems as noted previously. Two main examples of this are the health industry and education, health which has some of the best equipment

Iraq is mostly desert land with a small portion of the Zagros mountain range to the north, and consists of mostly flat sandy plains with two major rivers known as the Tigris and Euphrates. These two rivers run completely through the country. Starting at the small

Iraq has withstood a multitude of adversity, suffering, and catastrophe throughout the previous eras. A battle over turf with Iran started in 1980, and in a short time, in 1990 Iraq attacked Kuwait, which started the Gulf War. Also, a result of Iraq’s unstable history is their inconsistent administration. This paper will highlight some interesting information in regards to Iraq’s economy, the government corruption, and how the United States Army Air Defense Systems played a part in the Gulf War.

Family units regulate many of the activities throughout the Arab society whether it is economic, political or religious. Iraqis view family very seriously and is revealed the primary focus of loyalty from the lowest level to the top. A person’s social status derives from their family’s position in society. The status and occupation of a person and their family often determines whom they will marry. It is very common to have arranged marriages in Iraqi society. “Muslims were brought under a single body of family law for the first time in 1959 with the enactment of a secular law on personal status, based on Sharia…” (Metz 111) Sharia is the religious law stated by the Islamic Koran. At times, families from different decent will attach themselves to a specific lineage in order to gain from it whether it is wealth or status. Industrialization in Iraq has come a long way over the last seventy-five years. Despite numerous attempts to bring new change to spark growth in its economy, Iraq has been quite counterproductive in industrial growth. Oil and cash crops have always been the economies largest earners in Iraq. Once oil revenue began to grow so did the rate at which industry grew. Fertilizer production began in 1984 in Iraq. It did not take long before they were producing 3.4 million tons of phosphate per year into fertilizer. Iraq soon would produce enough fertilizer too be self-sufficient and still export 75% of its

Mesopotamia is the ancient Greek name referred to the historic region located within the Tigris-Euphrates river system, establishing the present day of Iraq. The concept

The Republic of Iraq is also known as ‘The Cradle of civilization’ because of its vast and remarkable history. The fertile strip of Iraq in precise, between Euphrates and Tigris; the two rivers, was known as Mesopotamia. Mesopotamia is renowned for its inventions, such as cuneiform; one of the earliest forms of writing. Iraq was the hub of the world and the people of Iraq were living in a golden age. People from all over the world came to Baghdad in order to exchange knowledge. During WW1 the Ottoman Empire became an ally with Germany and their defeat in 1918 led to the British taking control over Iraq in 1920. Iraq is a multi-religious country, consisting of 60% Shia Arab, 20% Sunni Arab, 17% Sunni Kurd and 3% others. The problems in Iraq

Iraq’s political economy has undergone various changes and was shaped greatly by the wars, sectarian violence and sanctions. However, it has the potential to be one of the greatest, most balanced economies in the Middle East. The economy depends greatly on oil, whereas other sectors like agriculture, services and industries contribute very little to the economy. This dependence on oil has been there since the mandate years, but the nationalization of oil in1972 increased oil production, allowing the Baath party to diversify the economy. For most of modern history, the Iraqi government has been in control of directing and stimulating the economy, Especially during Saddam’s era, where the government was centrally directing the economy. Although

Iraq is located in the eastern portion of the Fertile Crescent. The Fertile Crescent is the region of the Middle East and North Africa that is considered more fertile than the other arid parts of the region. This area was significant to early civilization’s success. Iraq is the 58th largest country in the world. The geography of Iraq can be divided into four main regions. The regions are the desert in the west and southwest, the upland between the upper Tigris and Euphrates rivers, the highlands in the north and northeast, and the plain through which the Tigris and Euphrates flow. The Tigris-Euphrates river system has a large impact on Iraq and gives Iraq rich soil, which helps with agriculture. All four of these regions are very diverse.

At one time, that was consider true when Saddam Hussain government made it impossible for any business internal or external to flourish. For example, “According to the Economist Intelligence Unit data, Iraq’s GDP stood at roughly $38 billion in 1989, measured in constant 2003 dollars. From 1990 until Saddam accepted the terms and conditions of UN Resolution 986 in 1996 the GDP in Iraq remained at less than 30 percent of the 1989 value. In the 1996 to 2002 period, the data shows a gradual recovery as GDP increased from $10.6 billion in 1996 to $33 billion in 2000 before dropping back to $29 billion in 2001” (CIA). However, this form of economic trials were a decade ago, Iraq has grown its economy at a slow steady pace since Saddam’s rule. In fact, “in 2014 the estimated gross domestic product in Iraq was around 232 billion U.S. dollars, more than six times higher than a decade before” (Statista). This new information is not publicly known as a result too many people continue to see the Republic of Iraq as impoverish. Even though, there are still some lingering economic harsh ships in the nation such as military expense against terrorism, the nation has changed a

The Republic of Iraq is a developing country and acknowledges to having cases of illegal labouring, but our government is working diligently to eradicate illegal labouring from The Republic of Iraq. After the war against the United States it has been a struggle rebuilding. Before the war, we had a running economy and cheerful families living together in a safe environment, however working conditions were not the best. Now we are slowly climbing