28 million
Arab 75%-80%
Kurdish 15%-20%
Turkoman, Assyrian or other 5%
Muslim 97%
Shi'ite 60%-65%
Sunni 32%-37%
Christian or other 3%
British invasion
Military occupation, 1916-20
Nationalism
King Faisal, r. 1921-33
Weak son and grandson, 1933-1958
Series of coups
5,000 members 1968
Dictatorship
Nazi and Leninist techniques
Secular nationalism
Personal loyalties
Tikrit connections
Intimidation
Oil wealth, 1970s
Overall: 74.1%
male: 84.1%
female: 64.2%
Alliance with the Soviet Union
Nationalistic border claims over oil-rich territory
War with Iran 1980-88
Soviet and U. S. support
Invasion of Kuwait, Aug. 1990
Colonial border claims
U.S. Motives
Territorial rights of Kuwait
Oil supplies of Kuwait and Saudi Arabia
International support
U.N. Security Council
Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Syria, etc.
Powell doctrine
George H. W. Bush and Brent Scrowcroft. A World Transformed. New York: Vintage, 1999, p. 489:
"Trying to eliminate Saddam, extending the ground war into an occupation of Iraq …would have incurred incalculable human and political costs...We would have been forced to occupy Baghdad and, in effect, rule Iraq. The coalition would instantly have collapsed, the Arabs deserting it in anger...there was no viable 'exit strategy' we could see...Had we gone the invasion route, the United States could conceivably still be an occupying power in a bitterly hostile land."
Panic?
9/11 and “War on Terror”
Poor or misjudged intelligence?
Weapons of mass destruction
Warm reception
Economic gain?
Oil supplies
Psychology?
Father-Son competition
Unclear
Mainly European
U.N. Security Council opposed
Arab countries opposed
Invasion, 3/19
145,000 ground forces
Capture of Baghdad, 4/9
Liberators or occupiers?
Gen. Eric Shinseki’s estimate of occupation troops
“Several hundred thousand”
Looting, April 2003
De-Ba'thification, May 2003
Anti-American insurgency
4000+ U.S. Military Deaths (Monthly Statistics)
Iraqi civil war
Religious and ethnic violence
Sunni Arabs, Shi’ite Arabs, Kurds
Personalistic politics
Militias
Criminal gangs
Iraqi Civilian Deaths, 2003-present
Record keepers?
100,000-660,000 depending on estimate
Iraqi Refugees
2.3 million in 2007
8% of population
World's 3rd largest after Afghanistan!
(For current figures, see U.N. High Commission for Refugees "Country Operations Profile: Iraq")
Jordan and Syria
Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA)
April 2003-June 2004
Paul Bremmer
Iraq Interim and Transitional Governments
June 2004-May 2006
Iraq constitution approved, Oct. 2005
Iraqi government elected
May 2006-present
1. How did British colonialism encourage political instability and authoritarianism in Iraq?
2. How did Saddam Hussein bring stability to Iraqi politics? How did his foreign policy contribute to his demise?
3. How did American planning for the first Gulf War in 1991 differ from the invasion of Iraq in 2003? Why did the American invasion of Iraq in 2003 destabilize Iraq?
1. How did media depictions of the fall of Saddam Hussein's statue in Baghdad differ in America, Europe and the Middle East? What explains the differences? Did the U.S. media serve the interests of the American people?
1. What is Riverbend's background?
2. What social and public safety problems does Riverbend describe in Iraq in August 2003? Why was it impossible for her to continue working after the U.S. invasion?
3. What are Riverbend's opinions of President George W. Bush, the U.S. Coalition Provisional Authority governing Iraq under Paul Bremmer, American troops posted in Baghdad, and Iraqi politicians who cooperate with them? Do you think that she is being fair?
