US Central Command Area of Responsibility

• Area of Responsibility• Religion• Language• Political Systems• US Interests

Overview

• Hotbed of activity in recent history– Iran Hostage Crisis– Attacks on Marines in Beirut– Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait– OEF and OIF

Area of Responsibility

• USCENTCOM established 1 Jan 83• Focus on potential Soviet invasion of

Iran gave way to concern over Saddam Hussein– Desert Shield/Storm

• Humanitarian crisis in Somalia—Operation Provide Hope

• Khobar towers attack

Area of Responsibility

• Territory– Establishment of USAFRICOM on 1 Oct 2008

pulled six countries from USCENTCOM– USCENTCOM

currently responsible for twenty countries in Asia and Africa

Area of Responsibility

Area of Responsibility

• History of the Region– The Crusades– Rise and Fall of Soviet Union– Establishment of Israel– Fundamentalist Islam and Militant

Islamic Terrorism

• Home of three of world’s major religions– Judaism– Christianity– Islam

• Commonalities– Abraham– Sacred texts– Jerusalem

Religion

• Dominance of Islam–Majority of USCENTCOM nations are Muslim– Except for five countries, 90% of countries’

population is Muslim

• Five Pillars of Islam– Recitation of Creed– Daily Prayer– Almsgiving– Fasting– Pilgrimage to Mecca

Religion

• Sunni-Shi’a Split– Sunnis• 85-90% of Muslims• Abu Bakr succeeded Mohammed• Current imams not inspired

– Shi’as• 10-15% of Muslims• Ali ibn Abi Talib succeeded

Mohammed• Current imams are infallible

manifestations of God

Religion

• USCENTCOM AOR is linguistically diverse–Most common languages are Arabic and Persian• Great variety in regional and country dialects, e.g.,

Afghanistan has two official languages, Dari and Pashto

– Arabic language somewhat standardized in Middle Eastern countries

– Turkic languages—Kyrgyz and Kazak—are common in Central Asian nations

Language

• Majority of countries are republican or democratic; however, some are only nominal representatives of democracies

• Fallacy to assume all USCENTCOM nations are authoritarian or anti-Western

Political Systems

Political Systems

Afghanistan—Islamic Republic Oman—Monarchy

Bahrain—Constitutional Monarchy Pakistan—Federal Republic

Egypt—Islamic Republic Qatar—Emirate

Iran—Theocratic Republic Saudi Arabia—Monarchy

Iraq—Parliamentary Democracy Syria—Authoritarian Republic

Jordan—Constitutional Monarchy Tajikistan—Republic

Kazakhstan—Republic Turkmenistan—Presidential Republic

Kuwait—Constitutional Emirate United Arab Emirates—Federation

Kyrgyzstan—Republic Uzbekistan—Republic

Lebanon—Republic Yemen—Islamic Republic

• Continued focus of Global War on Terror– Afghanistan and Iraq– Usama bin Laden killed in Pakistan– 200,000+ US military members

serving in USCENTCOM AOR

• USCENTCOM Mission– Respond to crises– Promote cooperation among nations– Deter/defeat state and nonstate aggression– Support development/reconstruction to establish the

conditions for regional security, stability, & prosperity

US Interests

• Area of Responsibility• Religion• Language• Political Systems• US Interests

Summary