USSR & USA in the Middle East

The Resurgence of IslamWestern Materialism = BadIn addition to the existence of Israel and the abundance of oil, Fundamentalist vs Moderate Islam is a major contributing factor to conflict in the Middle East (eq: Iran, Iraq)

Iran becomes a TheocracyAyatollah Khomeini returns from exile in 1979 and began his Islamic Fundamentalist RevolutionIran became a theocracy – a country run by a religious governmentReligious laws became the laws of the country

Iran is still a theocracy today, as is Saudi Arabia (and the Vatican)

Iran-Iraq War: 1980-88Saddam Hussein, leader of Iraq, feared Khomeini's fundamentalist revolution would take hold in Iraq

Brutal dictator, yes, but religious fundamentalist, no

Iran-Iraq WarThe two sides fought a nasty fight for 8 years, but nobody wonBoth sides used chemical weaponsEventually they agreed to peace termsAbout 1 million men died

The Gulf War: 1990-1991In August 1990 Saddam Hussein, president of Iraq, invaded his southern neighbor, oil rich KuwaitWhy? Iraq claimed that Kuwait historically belonged to IraqWhen the British drew the new borders after WWI,

most of Basra went to Iraq, but Kuwait remained a British protectorate (gained independence in 1961)

The British were protecting their dominance of the Persian Gulf by denying Iraq access to it

International ResponseThe world, especially the US, was concerned that Iraq would control too much of the world's oil supply and have too much power to control the Persian GulfThe UN ordered Iraq to remove troops by 15 January 1991

International ResponseA coalition force, led by the USA, assembled (included Britain and Canada)Saudi Arabia, Syria, and Egypt joined the coalition because they feared Hussein's intentions in the regionThe USA convinced Israel to stay out of the coalition so that the Arabs would stay in

Operation Desert StormHussein did not withdraw, so the coalition attackedBaghdad was bombed for a monthThe coalition also attacked with a large ground force and removed Hussein's forces from Kuwait in about 4 days

Operation Desert StormIraq lost about 90,000 troops (killed, captured, woundedHussein used the one weapon he had left, SCUD missiles, against Israel and Saudi Arabia The US managed to keep Israel out in order to maintain the strength of the coalition – Patriot missiles

SCUD Missile

Coalition MistakeThe UN resolution required that Hussein be removed from Kuwait, not removed from powerHussein continued to suppress his own people including ruthlessly putting down two uprisings after the Gulf WarShiites in the south, Kurds in the northMany blamed this on the Americans because they did not remove Hussein from power

The Soviets in Afghanistanthe Afghan Marxist party took control in 1973they were opposed by the Mujaheddin (Muslim rebel force)in 1978 a civil war broke out between the Marxist ruling party and the Mujaheddin rebels

The USSR Invaded in 1979Reasonsto support the Marxist

government against the Muslimsto install a puppet government

more closely linked with Moscowto gain further influence in the

Persian Gulf / Middle East Region

A Vicious War followed 1980-88The Soviets encountered hostile resistance from the Mujaheddinthis became another guerrilla warthe Soviets withdrew in disgrace beginning in 1988

Soviets experience in Afghanistan was similar to the American experience in VietnamBoth experienced a war in which the native population was largely against the foreign forcesBoth faced guerrilla forces dedicated to their causeBoth military forces had to struggle with their own disillusioned troopsWorld public opinion turned rapidly against both foreign invadersBoth withdrew with discredited armed forces