The Iraq-Iraq War

Oil has often been referred to as any economy’s lifeblood. Although this is an overemphasis, oil has been the key, nonhuman resource of the economy throughout the largest part of the 20th century. In the book “The Prize: The Epic Quest for Oil, Money, And Power” by Daniel Yergin, the author illustrates the political, societal, economic, and geo-strategic importance of this product.

The two most important resources in this region are oil and water. The huge oil “deposits there and in the neighboring countries around the Persian Gulf (the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, and Bahrain) established these countries as some of the richest in the world” (Document F). Nevertheless, the countries who do not have as much access to oil are weak economically. Oil is the biggest export in the Middle East, and in a way, the amount of oil a country has determines how wealthy that country will be. Another component of oil is that countries and ethnic groups are disputing for the control of prices of this economic resource. It has gone to the far extent of foreign countries attempting to control the oil price and also the use of weapons for this (Document E). In addition, it is impossible for each country to have equal access to water due to the unbalanced distribution of these essential resources. As a result of this, these countries are fighting for as much control of water sources they can get. Radically, there are many countries in the Middle East that are striving to obtain as many natural resources to strengthen their economy and lifestyle, and it seems most obvious that the scarcity of these resources is a significant problem in the region

In 2003, President George Walker Bush and his administration sent the United States military to war in Iraq to overthrow Saddam Hussein, Iraq’s ruler and dictator, who murdered over 600,000 innocent people, and “...used chemical weapons to remove Kurds from their villages in northern Iraq…” (Rosenberg 2). According to the Department of Defense’s website, the war removed Saddam Hussein from power, ending an era when “Iraqis had fewer rights than when its representatives signed the Human Rights Declaration in 1948” (1). American blood, money, and honor was spent in what was allegedly a personal war and perhaps a fight to gain oil and natural resources, but only history may reveal the truth. Although the Iraq War removed tyrant Saddam Hussein from power, the failures of the war dwarf the successes.

The Persian Gulf War all started because of one country’s greed for oil. Iraq accused Kuwait of pumping oil and not sharing the benfits, and Kuwait was pumping more oil than allowed under quotas set by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, it decreased the price of oil, Iraq's main export. Iraq's complaints against Kuwait grew more and more harsh, but they were mostly about money. When Iraqi forces began to assemble near the Kuwaiti border in the summer of 1990, several Arab states tried to intervene the dispute. Kuwait didn’t want to look weak so they didn’t ask for any help from the United States or other non-Arab powers for support. Arab mediators convinced Iraq and Kuwait to negotiate their differences in Saudi Arabia, on

The Gulf War is often remembered as an easy victory by most Americans. Perceived as an intense military campaign intended to bring about a swift victory, and often referred to as a battle between good and evil. In reality, the U.S. military had a host of troubles in the conflicts of Operation Desert Shield and Operation Desert Sheild which became known as the Gulf War of 1990-91, many of troubles were caused by the unnecessary deaths of allied troops, and the Iraqi civilians alike. Other catastrophes were avoided purely by luck or incompetence of the Iraqi Military. What new military strategies, procedures and technologies are now in place as a result of lessons learned. Hopefully to ensure that some of the worst mistakes that were made evident by the Gulf War will not be repeated in a subsequent war in Iraq or elsewhere. The intense reality of the actual battle fought by the United States and its allies against Iraq, left many a U.S. military spokesmen were scoffing at the Iraqi forces as “the fourth-largest army in the world.” And “the second-largest army in Iraq” by the world at the end of the Gulf War,

The Middle East is one of the birthplaces of human kind’s civilization. Since the Ancient Egypt, Sumer, the Arab Empire, Turkey Empire, or even to present day, the Middle East has always been a valuable strategic point for not only because of its geographic location but also it full of petroleum and nature gas. According the OPEC (Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries) that 66% of the global oil reserves are in the Middle East and only 6% in North America, this makes a lot of powerful countries want to share a pieces of the Middle East, Stephen mentions “Much of the world 's oil wealth exists along the Persian Gulf, with particularly large reserves in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait

On September 11, 2001, two planes crashed into the World Trade Center in New York City, New York. This was the very first contact that the United States of America had with the terrorism that went on in Iraq. March 20, 2003 marked the day that President George W. Bush announced the start of the war against Iraq (1). This was the beginning of a very costly war on both America and Iraq. The cost of the Iraq War was not just the amount of money spent, but the impact of war on the soldiers and the toll that it took on the families of those who were involved, as well as the amount of time and dedication of resources put into the war by the Government.

Two-thirds of the world’s remaining oil reserves are in the Middle East which will make international policy imperative in the future (Campbell 2007). It is

Saddam Hussein had the nearly hopeless task of justifying the invasion. He plead the fact that Kuwait had

In mid-1990, the leader of Iraq, Saddam Hussein, delivered a speech accusing the nation of Kuwait of stealing crude oil from their oil field called Ar-Rumaylah on their border. He wanted Kuwait and Saudi Arabia to pay for Iraq’s $30 billion dollar debt, saying that they caused the oil price to be low. After the speech, Iraq even put troops on Kuwait’s border. When President Hosni Mubarak of Egypt heard about these actions, he tried to negotiate with Kuwait and Iraq. But Saddam Hussein refused. On August 2, 1990, Hussein ordered the invasion of Kuwait. Hussein later declares Kuwait the 19th providence of Iraq. Kuwait’s government turned to the United States for help.

During the 1980’s, Saddam Hussein and the Arab Socialist Ba’ath Party controlled the Iraqi government. During their rule, Iraq had and unprecedented amount of high economic growth and soaring prosperity, but they also faced social and political stagnation. The annual income for an average citizen had decreased because of foreign sanctions, and several Ba’ath party economic policies. Hussein surrounded himself with those who were most loyal to him and became the father of the nation to the Iraqi people. During this period, Iraq was considered a stable state and considering the fact that many horrific criminal acts were committed by the regime, the state of Iraq was a functional one. As history has shown us many developing countries with dictator’s states tend to be more successful under an oppressive regime than having a democratic society. The Ba 'ath Party also created what would become a propaganda center for pro-Saddam literature, Movies, songs, and more. It was said that the propaganda campaign created a common sense of

Conflict over energy resources—and the wealth and power they create—has become an increasingly prominent feature for geopolitics particularly in the Middle East . The discovery of oil in the late nineteenth century added a dimension to the region as major outside states powers employed military force to protect their newly acquired interests in the Middle East. The U.S.’s efforts to secure the flow of oil have led to ever increasing involvement in the Middle East region’s political affairs and ongoing power struggles. By the end of the twentieth century, safeguarding the flow of oil from the Persian Gulf had become one of the most important functions of the U.S. military establishment. The close relationship between the United States and the Saudi royal family was formed in the final months of World War II, when U.S. leaders sought to ensure preferential access to Saudi petroleum. The U.S. link with Saudi Arabia and other countries in the region has demonstrated to be greatly beneficial to both parties, yet it has also led to ever deepening U.S. involvement in regional politics.

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

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

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