Important Events in World History Post WWII

****THE MIDDLE EAST****

The Russians in AfghanistanEvent #1

The Soviets in Afghanistan USSR invades Afghanistan

To install a pro-Soviet leader

Would become the USSR’s “Vietnam” – led the downfall of the USSR

Unpopular war, drains military resources, very expensive

War in Afghanistan 1979-1988 Results of the war

Over 14,000 Soviet troops dead Afghan losses are well over

100,000 Afghan civil war continued

Until Taliban took control in 1996

Increased tension with the US Boycotted the 1980 Olympic

Games

The Arab Israeli ConflictEvent #2

The Arab Israeli Conflict After WWII Israel was

established & provided shelter to Holocaust survivors

The area of Palestine was divided into an Arab State & a Jewish State in 1947

War soon broke out between Israel & it’s Arab neighbors

The Six-day War 1967 Israel bombs Egypt and

captures Arab areas including Jerusalem

This event shapes the middle east today

1 million Palestinians come under Israeli control

Yasir Arafat becomes new leader of PLO

OPEC

Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries

1960 Goal is to control oil prices During Arab Israeli War, Arab

states refused to sell oil to countries supporting Israel including the US

This caused a gas crisis in the US but was resolved in 1978 by US President Jimmy Carter

War in the Middle East Event #3

Iran’s Islamic Revolution

Post WWII Iran was the biggest ally of US & UK in middle east

Many Iranian Muslims disliked their Shah

Iranian turned to their highest religious leader the Ayatollah Khomeini

Khomeini assumed power after protest and the Shah fled

Khomeini & the USA Khomeini installed a strict

Muslim govt. Many Iranians hated the US

b/c we supported the Shah In 1979 student militants

took 52 Americans hostage at the US embassy in Tehran

The Persian Gulf War In the 1980s Iraq and Iran

fought a long war Iraq was led by Saddam

Hussein After the war Iraq needed

money and seized the oil fields of Kuwait in 1990

In 1991 a US led coalition forced the Iraqi army from Kuwait

The Ongoing Mideast Crisis Palestinians grew tired of being under Israeli rule & an

uprising occurred Palestinian Authority was given control of some areas in

the early 90s Despite these peace efforts conflict resumed in the late

1990s In 2006 Hamas the Palestinian resistance party was elected

to power escalating tensions War broke out b/w Israel and Lebanon who was led by a

radical Islamic group, Hezbollah War was July – August 2006

Israeli Bombings of Lebanon 2006

The War on Terror Terrorism – is the use of

violence against civilians to reach a political goal

Iraq, Iran, Syria, Cuba, Afghanistan and North Korea have all aided terrorist groups

9/11 attacks on NYC led by al-Qaeda & Osama Bin Laden

Who is Osama Bin Laden?? Al-Qaeda grew out of the was between the Afghans

and the Russians Bin Laden was an Afghan fighter in that war He used his families riches to turn al-Qaeda into a

powerful terrorist network Attacked US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania in

1998 and a Naval vessel in Yemen in 2000 Sponsored and planned the 9/11 attacks Currently MIA

The War in Iraq 2002 George W. Bush sought to remove Saddam

Hussein from power US claimed Iraq had WMDs UN doubted these claims and the US attacked Iraq

with very little world support In 2003 the US invaded Iraq and quickly defeated

the army The US goal of rebuilding Iraq, installing a new

government and training Iraqi police and military has been met with much resistance

The “insurgents” are Hussein supporters, terrorists and Islamic militants