An Essay On Iraq Research Paper

Covering up to 500,000 square miles, these were extremely fertile lands, watered by the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. Long, long ago, the area was so populated and so prosperous that it has been nicknamed the Cradle of Civilization. But it collapsed. Due to thousands of years of irrigation, subsequent salination, and displacement of forest with agriculture; the area now is the cradle of misery and hostility. It is now part of the deserts and arid lands of Israel, Lebanon, Jordon, Syria, Iraq, and southeastern Turkey.

The two rivers are Tigris and Euphrates River which roughly correspond with modern day Iraq.

“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

The capital of Iraq, Baghdad, is the location of their government (). Iraq`s government is made up of the executive, legislative, and the judicial branch (). The legislative is the branch that elects the president of Iraq (). The legislature is known as the Council of Representatives (). The first Arabic country to have a female in politics is Iraq (). In Iraq, most of the leaders do not die of natural causes ().

The Iraqi War This is a discursive essay for the argument against America going to war with Iraq. In this essay, I will briefly include a summary about Iraq and go on to give evidence about previous incidents and other significant points that finally led to the war. Iraq is a dictatorship that was under the rule of the tyrant Saddam Hussein until the coalition forces invaded and toppled the Iraqi regime. Saddam Hussein officially became a dictator in the year 1979.

It all started to change when Turkey started grasping over water resources in the twentieth century. Since Turkey control approximately 80-90% of the rivers’ water flow, they constructed enormous amount of dams to suppress the water at the riverhead from their side. And our neighbor Iran follow Turkey’s lead in constructing dams upstream. As of 2001, there were 32 dams upstream with another 21 were planned, that was not the only reason so far. In 1991, Marsh Arab rebel against the government and contribute in the uprising against the bygone regime, the upraising failed and now the government is coming after those rebellions for punishment. The regime used all available resources and built canals, dams and dykes to sewer these antique marshes and discipline the Marsh Arabs for rebellion’s support. The bygone government did not bother to conceal the drainage project, probably due to the enormous size of the project, which was futile to hide. Instead, exploitation of oil reserves and wash away the salty, over-irrigated farmland was their alleged excuse to execute their wicked plan. The green, lush fields of the Marshlands turned into brown deserts because of the drainage project.

Iraq consists mainly of desert, however, near the Euphrates and Tigris rivers there are fertile plains. The north of the country is mostly composed of mountains Iraq has a small coastline along the Persian Gulf. To the south is Kuwait and Saudi Arabia. Muslim is the primary religion in Iraq with more than 95%of the country claiming to be Muslim. There are four main languages which are spoken in Iraq; Arabic, Kurdish, Assyrian, and Armenian.

The Fertile Crescent curves from the Persian Gulf to the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea. Within the Fertile Crescent lies a region that the ancient Greeks later named it Mesopotamia, which means “between the rivers.” Mesopotamia is the area of land between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, which flow from the highlands of Turkey through Iraq and form the Shat-al-Arab River before it flows into the Persian Gulf. Around 3300 B.C., the world’s first civilization developed in southeastern Mesopotamia, in a region called Sumer.

The post 9/11 conflict in Iraq and the undeclared war in Vietnam both had a profound impact on the United States. These two military conflicts have been a source of contention among the American public for decades. These wars became tedious as a result of their longevity, both the Vietnam War and the war in Iraq lasted for almost a decade, and according to the US Department of Defense and Time magazine, those wars cost upwards of 100 billion dollars each. Another similarity between the Vietnam War and the war in Iraq is the high number of causalities. The Vietnam War has an estimated 1,353,000 casualty count that includes allied military deaths, NVA/VC military deaths, and civilians that died from both North and South Vietnam, from years 1965

These regions vary from the most dry and arid environments to the sedimentary. Starting at its highest region, the Zagros Mountain Region consists of mostly high mountain passes and valleys. In this region, there is heavy limestone and shale, which shows that the area was once heavy with water and possibly even heavy life with coral to form the limestone itself. The faces of the mountains to the eastern side are gentle where the faces on the west are steeper. Usually with these clues on the faces of the mountain, it can tell you how the climate is yearly. Since the mountain range is in the northeast portion of the country and is steep on the corresponding side, it causes a dry and desert climate where the other side has more water due to a rain shadow effect. The foothills consist of mostly gravel and more sedimentary rocks. There is vegetation in this region, but it appears during the winter solstice more so than the summer solstice. Within the Jazeera Region, since it is apparent this was also part of a large inland sea like most of Iraq, vegetation is possible and this is the major area for growing crops, especially wheat and barley. The Iraq desert throughout the world is known for its heat and dryness. Its desert region has high winds along with deep wadis because of the desert heavy rainfall on occasion causing water erosion. Finally, the Mesopotamian Plain region is not only sedimentary, it has history. In the Bible, this region is referred to as “Shinar,” and in the Holy Quran, is a reference to the city of ‘Baable,” which was the capital at the time. The southern portion has marshes and floods easily because of the lack of

In the wake of the attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon of the United States of America on September 11, 2001, the American people banded together with a shared sense of patriotism and a willingness to punish those responsible. There was no divide between retaliation against the terrorist organizations that performed the strike and the countries of origin that retained them and millions of innocent civilians in the eyes of the United States government. As war ensued throughout Afghanistan, to extinguish al-Qaeda and remove the Taliban from governmental power, and Yemen, which was believe to be harboring al-Qaeda members, about 36 million people worldwide took part in protest against commencing war in Iraq, which was believe to be bearing weapons of mass destruction and Saddam Husseins’ dictatorship in Iraq having ties with al-Qaeda.

The area named “is made up of seven sites: three archaeological sites and four wetland marsh areas in southern Iraq,” Unesco said.

SOCIALLY, following the war with Iran in 1988, Iraq was ranked 50 in the 1990 UNDP Human Development Index, which measures national success in education, GDP, and health. Iraq was nearing the top of the middle range of countries in regard to the implementation of basic social services and infrastructure. However, under Saddam’s rule, the prosecution of Shiites and Kuwaitis was a normal occurrence. Called by some a genocide, the period of murder, terror, and persecution faced by these groups was the foundation for a long-lasting unrest within the hearts and minds of Iraqi citizens. The rest of the Iraqi citizens, however, lived normal, comfortable lives. In the late 20th century, many traveled from afar to utilize and learn from Iraq’s intricate network of hospitals and social centers regarded as the best in the region. (CIA 2) However, constant war drained Iraq’s wealth and decimated its people. In the Iraq-Iran War, Saddam Hussein unwillingly forced Iraq into a disastrous attempt to overthrow the Islamist government in Iran. When the dust settled, over 200,000 Iraqis were dead, and more than twice this number were wounded. Iraq’s increasing debt, nearing about 75 Billion, soon had the Arab

When one thinks of turmoil in the Middle East, oil is often the first thought, however, water has begun to be a problematic area, both internal and international. However, the cause for water scarcity does not only depend on conditions within its borders (Giordano, Giordano & Wolf , 2004). Israel's water source comes from the Jordan River, an elongated valley in the central Middle East, and is shared with Lebanon, Syria, Jordan and Palestine (Lowi, 1995). The Hasbani River, the Dan River, and the Banyas River are the three tributaries of the Jordan River. Although the Jordan Basin extends into five states, approximately 80 percent

While the Iran-Iraq War during the 1980's may have permanently altered the course of progress in Iran and Iraq, the war also altered the resulting permanent involvement of the rest of the world in the middle-east. The rich and complicated history in Iraq has established numerous cultural and ethnic traditions that all play a part in where the country is today. The Iran-Iraq War brought into focus some of those traditions and how they conflicted, while also bringing Iraq and its economic situation into the spotlight. Being on top of some of the most mineral rich soil in the world makes Iraq a major contributor to the world's economy through petroleum and crude oil exports. This, among other reasons, ties nations