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TRANSCRIPT
IRAQ & THE ARABIAN PENINSULA
DEMOGRAPHICS
Area has just over 94 million people
Iraq, Saudi Arabia & Yemen all have over 20 million people
Life Expectancy: 70 (78 in Kuwait…63 in Yemen) Richer countries
Kuwait ($52,000) UAE ($28,000) Saudi Arabia($23,000)
Poorer countries Iraq($5,000) and Yemen($2,210)
Yemen is the only country on the peninsula that doesn’t have vast oil reserves
FAMOUS PEOPLE
LEADERS
Saudi king: King Abdullah
Dubai Crown Prince: Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum
“bin” means “son of”
“al” means “the”
“bin” and “al” are common in Arabic names
Except for Iraq and Yemen, countries are absolute monarchies
Iraqi President: Jalal Talibani
IRAQ
IRAQ
Saddam Hussein gained power in 1979 (was the VP; led a coup against the leader)
1980s: Iraq and Iran fought a bloody eight year war over land possession near the Persian Gulf
Saddam used WMDs against his own people (Kurds)…he suspected they were helping Iran
IRAQ
1990: Iraq invaded Kuwait to gain their oil
Early 1991: U.S.-led/U.N. supported coalition tried to protect Kuwait (Desert Shield) and eventually invaded Iraq (Desert Storm)
Fighting was quick---fewer than 300 American deaths
IRAQ
Iraq military was overwhelmed by coalition weaponry and tactics
IRAQ
End of war was based on cease-fire agreement that said Saddam would get rid of his WMDs and weapon programs
Most leaders felt he did not/was not going to do this
March, 2003---U.S. led coalition(but without full U.N. support) invaded Iraq
IRAQ
Goals were to find weapons, find Saddam and try and create a peaceful, and hopefully, democratic Iraq
Dec. 13, 2003---Saddam was captured; executed on Dec. 30, 2006
Over 4,200 deaths since war began in 2003
IRAQ
Iraqi ethnic makeup is unique for the region
1/3 Shiite
2/3 Sunni
No other country in the region has less than an 88% majority in terms of religious preference
IRAQ
This ethnic & religious diversity creates a situation where Iraq is a country that has people that want vastly different things
This diversity also makes it hard to impossible for U.S. forces to control
Some want a partition of Iraq---but given the diversity, the logistics of that would be tough as well
SAUDI ARABIA – HOME OF ISLAM
SAUDI ARABIA
World’s leading oil exporter: has 25% of the world’s oil…most is on the Persian Gulf coast
Islam is the state religion---almost all are Sunni
Nation uses “sharia” law---sharia involves a very extreme type of punishment system
Includes beheadings, amputations, stonings, lashings, floggings, etc.
SAUDI ARABIA
Punishments are carried out in public in a place called Deera Square in the capital of Riyadh: area is nicknamed “Chop-Chop Square”
Sharia also involves a high degree of gender discrimination
Women can’t drive, only make up 5% of the workforce (lowest in world), women cannot testify in court if a man was present during the crime
DEERA SQUARE
SAUDI ARABIA
Other gender discriminations
Women are commonly covered in a black cloak…women can be punished for not being covered
Separate living rooms for men/women, separate doors
SAUDI ARABIA
Country is home to Mecca---the destination for the Muslim Hajj
Non-Muslims cannot enter Mecca 16 of the 19 hijackers of 9/11
airplanes were Saudis---they dislike the Saudi government for their relationship with U.S.---they feel Saudi Arabia shouldn’t export oil to America; also felt US troops based there during the Iraq war was an insult to the home of Islam.
MECCA
MEDINA
RIYADH
SAUDI ARABIA – OIL FIELDS
UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
Country also has high amounts of oil
However, the UAE has prepared itself for life without oil
They have taken their oil profits and created places that will make money long after oil is gone…most famous place is the city of Dubai
UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
In Dubai, you will find:
World’s fanciest hotel: Burj al Arab
Palm Islands
“The World” islands
The world’s tallest building: the Burj al Khalifa
Malls, indoor ski resorts, water parks, etc.
DUBAI
Has become THE destination over the last
10 years
It is said that Dubai has 15-20% of ALL
the world’s skyscraper construction
cranes.
DUBAI - IN 1990
DUBAI – SAME STREET….IN 2003
DUBAI
DUBAI
DUBAI
BURJ AL ARAB HOTEL
BURJ AL ARAB HOTEL
BURJ AL ARAB HOTEL
DUBAI INDOOR SKI RESORT
DUBAI INDOOR SKI RESORT
DUBAI INDOOR SKI RESORT
BURJ AL KHALIFA
BURJ AL KHALIFA
BURJ AL KHALIFA
BURJ AL KHALIFA
BURJ AL KHALIFA
PALM ISLANDS
PALM ISLANDS
PALM ISLANDS
THE WORLD ISLANDS
THE WORLD ISLANDS
THE WORLD ISLANDS
And some future projects that are scheduled for Dubai (be sure you look at the underwater hotel—the Hydropolis)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_development_projects_in_Dubai
OTHER COUNTRIES IN ARABIAN PENINSULA
KUWAIT Contains 10% of the world’s oil Richest country in the Middle East Was devastated after Iraqi invasion in
1990 QATAR Home of U.S. military headquarters
during first stages of war in Iraq World’s #1 Per Capita GDP $179, 000
KUWAIT
OTHER COUNTRIES IN ARABIAN PENINSULA
BAHRAIN Has heavy foreign work force(has more
foreign workers than non-foreign workers)
YEMEN Has very, very little oil Poorest country in Middle East Issues with fundamentalism and terrorist
organizations; “Arab Spring” revolutionary movement
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/special/world/middle-east-
protests/
YEMEN