Origins and Causes of Wars
Long-Term Causes With the ostentatious objective to establish superiority and power, Saddam Hussein, then the current leader of Iraq, attacked Iran on September 22, 1980. Fueled by centuries of increasing tensions from territorial disputes, religious differences, and resentment the Iran-Iraq War continued for the next 8 years. The unabating conflict that led to the Iran-Iraq War has its origins in tensions dating back to the ancient conflicts between the Persian and Ottoman empires for territories and power in the Middle East. These conflicts were concentrated about the Shatt al-Arab, a waterway that was often used to separate the two territories (Rajaee 17). Based on this pretense that the original ownership
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Of these several areas were the Shatt al-Arab waterway, Khuzistan, and lands that would aid the nation in territorial expansion. The placement of the Shatt al-Arab waterway was strategic in that it connected the Persian Gulf with the Iranian ports of Khorramshahr and Abadan (Hume 26). The Shatt al-Arab and its position has economic importance for both countries. The sole Iraqi port with any economic significance is Basra which is situated along the Shatt al-Arab. Along the Shatt al-Arab, are “export pipelines for petroleum which run along the Shatt al-Arab's river bank with a crude oil depository located at al'Faw near the estuary of the river on the Persian Gulf”. Also an essential port located near the Shatt al-Arab is the Iranian Port of Khorramshahr as it also serves as a rail-head for the Trans-Iranian railroad system (Geller …show more content…
The war became a national effort and with this came several economic and social changes. Prior to the war in the 1970's, the Iraqi economy, began to flourish with the decision to nationalize their oil in 1972. Iraq reached a record in oil production by producing over 3 million barrels per day. Though, by the time the Iran-Iraq War began to deteriorate their economy by the early 1980's, their oil production had plummeted to around 800,000 barrels per day. By the end of the war, Iraq had accumulated a debt of over 100 billion dollars. The war also affected Iran and its economy as most of Its oil sectors were mostly located near the war areas constantly attacked by Iraq. This became a bigger problem for Iran than it was for Iraq. During the earlier stages of the war, Iraq began to shift its exporting focus from the Gulf area to other areas as well. Iran on the other hand was heavily affected since they continued to heavily rely on exports throughout the Gulf areas. Throughout the war, both countries had accumulated a large amount of war debt, especially from arms providers. The two countries were billions of dollars in debt to their providers such as Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, most of which has still not been reimbursed
In the late 1970's, the world was hit with the events of the Iranian Revolution, a movement in which the Shah was overthrown in replacement with Ayatollah Khomeini. Causes for this movement included the economic, political, and socio-economic conditions in Iran before the Revolution. Economically, the Shah's hopes for the country ended up being their downfalls while politically, the Shah's ruling as a dictator prohibited the freedom of the Iranians. Socio-economically, the Shah didn't place much emphasis on religion, angering the majority of the population. The overthrow of the Shah led to the uprise of a religious leader, Ayatollah Khomeini, a figure supported by many. Unlike advice
The United States involvement in the Iran-Iraq War escalated conflict and destabilized the area by giving arms to both sides. The Iran-Iraq War was fought between 1980 and 1988. It began by Iraq invading Iran for oil and territory because they thought Iran would
The Persian Gulf War began with Saddam Hussein, the dictator of Iraq moving his forces into the neighboring country Kuwait mid-1990. During this time Iraq had the fourth largest army in the world, after being supplied by the United Sates during their eight year war with Iran raised some concerns. (Operation Desert Storm) Also with the chance of Iraq controlling one-fifth of the world’s oil supply didn’t sit well with the United States, nor its Allied forces. (Operation Desert Storm) Early August 1990 the United Nations Security Council directed Iraq to withdraw from Kuwait by 15 January 1991. (Operation Desert Storm) Towards the end of 1990 United Sates began the defense of Saudi Arabia, which known as Operation Desert Shield. Along with multilateral support, the United States sent
Often called “The Crossroads of the World”, the Middle East stands between three continents: Asia, Africa, and Europe. Over thousands of years, migrating traders and conquerors crossed this region and spread the ideas, inventions, and achievements of many civilizations. It is an incredibly important part of the world with rich history, important resources, and deep religious and cultural traditions. However, in the past decades up to today, the Middle East has been consumed by conflict and chaos. Although different circumstances surround each issue, religion, terrorism, disputes over the control of natural resources, and weak governance primarily allow conflict to persist in the Middle East.
The Iran-Iraq War, taking place from 1980-1988, started when Iraq, led by Saddam Hussein, tried to invade Iran, sparking an armed war between the two countries. This war had many effects on the oil industry, led to many weapon innovations in Iraq, showed the world who Saddam Hussein was, and how the treaty with the United Nations affected the world.
Iraq and Iran have been subjected to a civil war since the seventh century (Murphy 1). This existing problem began because of political and theological divergence, but with the help of outside forces such as Britain, Russia, and North America, it developed into a more complex crisis.
What triggered the Iraq War that we are currently still having? During this time in history we were still in the cold war as well Cold War (1945–1991), a lot of events has happened during this time period. I am going to start with the Iran-Iraq war which started in 1980 and ended in 1988. The war began when Iraq invaded Iran, launching a simultaneous invasion by air and land into Iranian territory on 22 September 1980 following a long history of border disputes, and fears of Shia insurgency among Iraq's long-suppressed Shia majority influenced by the Iranian Revolution. (Wikipedia, Iran–Iraq War, 2011). This war had at least a million and half casualties and it severely damaged both their economies, the Iran-Iraq war conflict is often
The Persian War was a string of battles fought between Persia and the Greek city-states of Athens and Sparta. At impossible odds, the divided Greece was able to unite to defeat the biggest enemy that existed in that time. The fact that even at impossible odds, the Greek army was able to use intellectual military tactics and outsmart the Persians with their colossal army was a huge accomplishment for the Greek city-states. The most important battles of the Persian War were the battle of Marathon, Thermopylae, Salamis and Plataea.
“One of the good things about the way the Gulf War ended in 1991 is, you 'd see the Vietnam veterans marching with the Gulf War veterans” (George H. W. Bush). President Bush stated that the Persian Gulf War was not fully supported by the soldiers who fought in the war. Gulf War veterans marched like Vietnam veterans because they also viewed the war as unjustified. Persian Gulf War veterans would say, “American soldiers lost their lives’ for oil.” The first Persian Gulf War started from August 2, 1990 and ended on February 28, 1991. This war began by the invasion of Kuwait by Iraq. During this invasion some of the oil fields of Kuwait were set on fire and some of the oil spilled to the Persian Gulf. The Persian Gulf was the oil supplier for western countries. So anything happened to the Persian Gulf, the western countries will naturally react. The factors that led to The United States’ involvement in the first Persian Gulf War included Saddam Hussein’s invasion of Kuwait, his control over a sizable share of the world’s oil reserves and his power over the economies of the world. Many Americans believe that the first Persian Gulf War was not necessary for the United States.
Benson, Sonia G. "The Iran-Iraq War: 1980 to 1988." Middle East Conflict, 2nd ed., vol. 1: pp. 233-250. Student Resources In Context, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/CX4021100021/SUIC?u=j108911&sid=SUIC&xid=08a2ab6a. Accessed 27 Apr. 2018.
Iran/Iraq War While the Cold War saw battlegrounds for certain nations in the Middle East, Iran and Iraq were engaged in their own war. Following the events of World War II, Iran had become friendly with the United States. However, a 1979 coup against the leader of Iran (the Shah), saw the nation become hostile toward the
government officials that were identified as conspirators against the Ba’ath party. (5) His ruthless and brutal dictatorship would bring his country to war with neighboring Iran from 1980 to 1988. Initially a territorial dispute, Hussein would cite Iran’s Islamic fundamentalism as his motives for continued combat and Iraq’s use of chemical weapons. (6) The war resulted in more than 100,000 combat deaths and drove Iraq deep into debt. The military annex of Kuwait in 1991 was intended to absolve Iraq of this financial responsibility to it’s neighbor. (7) The United Nations Security Council, in particular the United States, responded with force to drive Saddam Hussein’s army
Transportation was one of the Iraqi economy's most active sectors in the late 1980s; it was allocated a large share of the domestic development budget because it was important to the government for several reasons. Logistics became a crucial factor in Iraq's conduct of the Iran-Iraq War. The government also recognized that transportation bottlenecks limited industrial development more than any other factor [13]. Finally, the government believed that an expanded transportation system played an important political role by promoting regional integration and by heightening the central government's presence in the more remote provinces. For these reasons, the government embarked on an ambitious plan to upgrade and to extend road, rail, air, and
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
Persian Gulf War, also called Gulf War, (1990–91), international conflict that was triggered by Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait on August 2, 1990. Iraq’s leader, Saddam Hussein, ordered the invasion and occupation of Kuwait with the apparent aim of acquiring that nation’s large oil reserves, canceling a large debt Iraq owed Kuwait, and expanding Iraqi power in the region1. The Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein claimed as a reason for the invasion a territorial dispute over the Shatt al-Arab, the waterway which forms the boundary between the two countries2. Saddam Hussein believed that Iran was in turmoil and that his forces could achieve quick victory3.