...The Good, the Bad and the Worst An Assessment of the U.S relations and policies in the Middle East Gold and silver where the elements of wealth during the peak of mercantilism as the sole policy back then was the 3G’s policy (God, Gold and Glory) in the reign of the British and French Empires. Oil, however, climbed to the top of the chart of the most strategic commodities starting the early years of industrialization passing by the Second World War, when the U.S. became by far the largest oil consuming nation; consuming oil at abundant rates to support their troops overseas and to maintain the high rate of consumerism of the American lifestyle in the homeland. Soon oil grabbed the attention of the top industrialist nations as the most critical element of their survival as super industrial economies to ensure their growing manufacturing base is supported by adequate oil supplies. Having almost two thirds of the oil reserve in the world, the Middle East became the center of attention for all industrial nations, some of which had more strategic plans than others. Both, Britain and the United States realized that their wealth and survival as super powers is so much correlated with their level of control and development of the Middle East oil-rich countries. However, the feasibility of running the Arabian states both politically and economically faded in the 20th century, since maintaining their administration was too expensive for the United Kingdom, and gradually started...
Words: 3243 - Pages: 13
...Degredation of Iraq Joseph Stalin. Fidel Castro. Adolf Hitler. Saddam Hussein. These names are all those of leaders who have used a totalitarian approach to leading a nation. Stalin and Hitler ruled in the early to mid-nineteen hundreds. Like Fidel Castro, Saddam Hussein is now. Saddam Hussein belongs to the Baath Party of Iraq. This party adopts many techniques similar to those used by Stalin and Hitler. Saddam Hussein conceived a plan to invade Kuwait. It was, perhaps, one of the worst mistakes he could have made for his own reputation and for his country. The invasion of Kuwait as well as the world's response to it, the environmental disaster it caused, and the degradation of Iraq were completely the fault one man and his government: Saddam Hussein and his Baath Government. One of Hussein's weaknesses is negotiating. Negotiating in his terms is to fight it out with as much carnage as possible until his side comes out "victoriously". Repeatedly, Saddam and his government break international convention laws. During his war fought with Iran, the Iraqi army used chemical weapons on the Iranian troops and even on their own Iraqi population. This was seemingly overlooked by the rest of the world because most nations didn't want to see the Ayatollah's Islamic revolution rise. Iraq often obtained foreign arms support from other nations because of this. It wasn't until the invasion of Kuwait that the rest of the world seemed to realize the danger that Iraq posed ...
Words: 1801 - Pages: 8
...Did you know that over the last ten years, two million child soldiers have died in war, four million have been seriously injured, and ten million have been left with serious psychological trauma? Armies and terrorist groups capture and use children for many traumatizing jobs that sometimes involves executing or torturing others. Young children are also being sent into war and suicide missions were their lives could easily end in an instant. Many children are stripped of their rights and are forced to obey orders unquestioningly. Use of child soldiers in Iran is a dangerous and deadly violation of human rights that impacts children daily. First, child Soldiers are being used in fighting and battle all over Iran. Many children under seventeen...
Words: 857 - Pages: 4
...seen numerous reports in the news on the Iraq war and the war in Afghanistan and they seem to be very similar in terms of location and affairs. This piece will compare and contrast different aspects of the wars such as leaders, civilian deaths, physical georgraphy and location. The War in Afghanistan and the War in Iraq have different logistical operations, causes of entrance relations with the local government, and international responses. Both Iraq and Afghanistan have been under great influence from the U.S.A. The U.S.A has been the main country in leading the invasions in attempts to solve the countries economical and political dilemmas. The reason that they entered Iraq originally was that they believed that Saddam Hussein was in possession of Weapons of Mass Destruction .Hussein was also very aggressive to surrounding countries such as Kuwait; he wanted the oil they had. The response to Bush’s invasion was negative and when the C.I.A announced that there was no evidence of any weapons of mass destruction, Bush’s decision appeared even worse. The reason for entering Afghanistan was looked upon more positively.. The Americans wanted to disarm al-Qaeda and stop them from using Afghanistan as base. They succeeded in doing so very quickly and in September 2001 there was an attack on America thought to be carried out by al-Qaeda. This was thought to be as a result of the invasion. The invasion began to be viewed negatively. Iraq is located in the middle east is largely...
Words: 1088 - Pages: 5
...To what extent was the Iraq-Kuwait Gulf War Conflict provoked by internal forces? International History Ben Aston 24.04.03 Iraqi forces invaded and annexed Kuwait on 2 August 1990. Within twenty four hours Kuwaiti military resistance had effectively ceased, and the government and emir of Kuwait had fled to Saudi Arabia. A puppet administration was installed and Kuwait was declared to be a province of Iraq. The Persian Gulf War, more commonly referred to as the Gulf War, which began in 1990 and continued through to 1991was driven by a myriad of internal factors. But to what extent were external factors instrumental in the provocation of war? Can some blame be attributed to external forces or would the conflict have occurred despite their involvement and influence? In this essay, the Iraq-Kuwait Gulf War will be understood to mean the conflict which began with Iraqi incursions into Kuwait in 1990 and the subsequent events and conflict which continued during early 1991 until 28 February when a ceasefire was declared. Many Gulf War theorists believe the Gulf War was internally provoked and believe a large portion of the blame can be held to Saddam. Lawrence Freedman suggests “real responsibility [for the Iraq-Kuwait conflict] lies with Saddam Hussein, for the origins of the crisis are to be found in his chronic political insecurity and the lengths to which this drove him.”[1] Although there were many factors which led to Saddam’s...
Words: 2208 - Pages: 9
...Persepolis is a memoir written by Marjane Satrapi. Marjane writes a story that describes her life in Iran during the Islamic revolution. Persepolis represents a unique life of a child in Tehran, Iran and the actions she took in order to survive the political upheaval her country was facing. Iran having the Islamic Revolution in 1979 was the end of the old and start of the new. Many changes that took place in Iran during this time period such as mandatory laws stating that women wear veils and how all games, alcohol, and parties were banned. Life in Iran had dramatically changed in just a few years during this time period. The Islamic Revolution and the war that followed the revolution are important in history because they show the causes and effects of war and how it can destroy a country and provoke tyranny and injustice. During the time of revolution there is the loss of government, creating a hostile environment in a society. The events described in Persepolis also inform others of the chaos Iran has gone through to get to its current state. In January 1979, the Shah left Iran; he died abroad several years after. On February 1, 1979, exiled religious leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini returned from France to lead a revolution resulting in a new, theocratic republic guided by Islamic principles. Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini back in Iran after 15 years in exile in Turkey, Iraq, and France, became Iran's national religious leader. After Khomeini's death on June 3, 1989, Ali...
Words: 701 - Pages: 3
...Will A Nuclear Deal with Iran Impact the Iranian Regime’s Behavior and Change the Regional Dynamic in the Middle East? Mike Maleki December 06, 2014 Illustrated by Paul Combs of the Tribune Media Services. Many in the West have expressed concern about a possible failure of the P5+1 countries – the five permanent members of the UN Security Council plus Germany – to secure a comprehensive deal with Iran on its controversial nuclear program. These concerns, however, represent a somewhat myopic view of the bigger picture concerning Iran’s nuclear ambitions. A thorough look at the Iranian regime’s domestic and foreign policies reveals that a nuclear deal would, in fact, have very limited effect on the behavior of Iran’s authoritarian theocracy and change very little about the dynamics in the 1 Iran’s 1979 Islamic Revolution changed the balance of power in the Middle East. Following the revolution, Iran, a pillar of the US’ regional Cold War policy, became increasingly isolated as it quarreled with its majority Sunni neighbors for influence and sought to export its Islamic revolution as far as to Europe.1 However, Iran attempted to overcome its isolation as a Shiite and majority Persian state by tempting the aspirations of the region’s Arab population with its support for radical anti-Israel/anti-US regional movements, thus successfully establishing a web of proxies and surrogates – the so-called “axis of resistance.” Furthermore, since 2003, the Iranian...
Words: 6885 - Pages: 28
...The Growing U.S. Concerns with Iran Jeremy Bondy American Military University DEFM600 B001 Win 12 Dr. Oliver Hedgepeth February 25, 2012 Table of Contents Introduction 3 History 4 Assumptions 5 Secrecy of Iran's Nuclear Program 6 Evidence of Nuclear Weapon Development 6 Refusing IAEA Inspections 7 Closing the Straits of Hormuz 8 Iran Aid to Syrian Government 9 Iran's Supporting of Militant Groups 10 Replacing the Iranian Regime 10 Variables Used to Define a Model 11 Conclusion 12 References 13 Introduction As time goes on Iran is becoming an increasing area of concern and threat to the United States and its allies. Iran has been working for some time at trying to establish itself as a dominant power, especially within the Middle East. This quest for recognition has caused rising national security concerns within the United States and some of its allied countries. Some of the most recent concerns include; Iran's nuclear program, threats of closing of the Straits of Hormuz, the oil sanctions, and Iran's threats towards other oil producing Arab nations. Iran has also been working at strengthening its ties with Syria, the Hezbollah in Lebanon, Shiite groups in Iraq, and ties to groups in Palestine and Afghanistan. According to Mansour (2008), Iran has many tools in place that have a major impact on their surrounding countries and on the United States. Iran is gaining allot of ground on becoming a dominating force...
Words: 3169 - Pages: 13
...unprecedented. The advent of a new Islamic revival proved successful upon the birth of the Iranian Revolution and with the overwhelming consent of its people came the Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini as its ruler. With a new political mind-frame, came an authoritarian regime, which volubly conceded to no one, and consolidated itself through each governing tenet. The resilience of this regime brought about terror.( Mehran Kamrava; A Modern Middle East: A Political History since the First World War (2005)) The author of this new political revival which has impregnated into other areas of the Arab World is The Iranian Republic. All Western world influences that attempted to pollute the sanctity of the creation of a democracy out of a theocracy ended with the rule of the Shah of Iran in 1979. The Pahlavi Dynasty: Its demise leads to change The role of the Pahlavi Dynasty in instigating an Iranian Revolution proved to be a highly effective invisible force. As Reza Shah attempted to orchestrate a new modern Iran full of secularist ideas, his regime...
Words: 2053 - Pages: 9
...GULF WAR II-LESSONS FOR THE INDIAN ARMED FORCES INTRODUCTION 1. From time immemorial the land known today as Iraq has been the scene of conflict. Iraq has been, not only a strategic highway linking the Eastern Mediterranean lands with those of the Orient, but also the scene of frequent clashes between empires and great powers. It has seldom been the master of its own destiny, and in the numerous conflicts that stud its history, it has more often than not, been a pawn or the prize of other powers seeking regional hegemony. Until the beginning of twentieth century, most conflicts in the region were imperialistic in nature and involved Iraq because of its strategic important position. However, the discovery of vast oil deposits in the region in 1907 added another element to the equation, and conflicts, since have sprung from imperialistic motives as well as from a desire to protect or control sources of much of the world’s most important strategic resource. 2. Iran-Iraq war and the misadventure in Kuwait bear testimony to the misuse of power by Saddam Hussein. Saddam had always been labeled by the West as a producer of weapons of mass destruction. Ultimately a stage had reached where US and UK convinced themselves that Saddam was stockpiling these weapons. They demanded a change of regime and when threats were not taken seriously by Saddam, they launched Operation Iraqi Freedom or Gulf War II, despite all the opposition the world over, to attack and liberate Iraq. ...
Words: 16645 - Pages: 67
... Introduction 2. A brief history of oil politics 3. Oil Politics and U.S. Militarism in the Middle East 4. Wars and disputes for oil 5. Oil and the Iraq War 6. Conclusion Introduction: The modern era of oil production began on August 27, 1859, when Edwin L. Drake drilled the first successful oil well 69 feet deep near Titusville in northwestern Pennsylvania. Just five years earlier, the invention of the kerosene lamp had ignited intense demand for oil. By drilling an oil well, Drake had hoped to meet the growing demand for oil for lighting and industrial lubrication. Drake's success inspired hundreds of small companies to explore for oil. In 1860, world oil production reached 500,000 barrels; by the 1870s production soared to 20 million barrels annually. In 1879, the first oil well was drilled in California; and in 1887, in Texas. But as production boomed, prices fell and oil industry profits declined. The energy source, which made the Industrial Revolution possible in England in the 18th century, was coal. Coal powered the steam engines which drove machinery in the factories, and the steamboats and railroads of the early industrial age. It has continued to power electric generation plants throughout the 19th and 20th centuries. Among the fossil fuels, coal is the most abundant in the earth, but it is also the most polluting. High sulphur and carbon content, and soot, cause coal to be the least desirable of the fossil fuels. A brief history of oil politics: Oil or...
Words: 3564 - Pages: 15
...The Effects of Alternative & Renewable Energy The Effects of Alternative & Renewable Energy The United States has massive dependency fossil fuels. Based on the US Department of Energy 2010 information, an incredible eighty five percent of the U.S total energy needs are directly related to the use of fossil fuels and seventy percent used for transportation needs. As stated by Lefton, R. & Weiss, D.J. the U.S accounts for three percent of the world’s population, however the U.S gulps down twenty three percent of the world’s oil. To satisfy its thirsty needs the U.S imports fifty seven percent of its oil needs. Fossil fuels come in three different forms, coal, oil and natural gas. This is a result of fossil remains of prehistoric plants and animals that have been in place for millions of years and trapped in sediments and rocks well below the earth surf. The leading exporting of crude oil are Canada, Mexico, ……..(Name top 5) Alternative/renewable energy are common “water cooler” conservation at work and dinner parties, they were also major discussions about alternative/renewable during the last presidential race. As we go about our everyday lives we constantly hear about the subject, from the evening news and our local to national print media. The increased use of alternative/renewable energy can ease the dependency on foreign oil from unstable counties and improve national security. Alternative/renewable would play a key in our efforts to also aid in reversing...
Words: 2395 - Pages: 10
...important commodity in our daily lives and it is one of the main inputs in the economic sectors such as transport, construction and so on. If war occurs in Country A, which is the largest oil producing country in the world, the fuel supply will be disrupted and the economic problems will exist in countries around the world. Let us have a look into a real example of this with the history in world oil market: In 1979 and 1980, events in Iran and Iraq led to round of crude oil price increases (Williams, 2009). It resulted in the loss of 2 to 2.5 million barrels per day of oil production between November 1978 and June 1979 in Iran. At one point, production almost stopped the progress. The Iranian uprising was the immediate cause of what would become the highest price in World War Two. However, its impact on prices would have been limited and of relatively short duration had it not been for subsequent events. Shortly after the revolution, production was up to 4 million barrels per day. In September 1980, Iran already weakened by the revolution invaded by Iraq. By November, the combined production of both countries was only a million barrels per day and 6.5 million barrels per day less than a year before. Consequently worldwide crude oil production was 10 percent lower than in 1979. The combination of the Iranian revolution and the Iraq-Iran War cause crude oil prices to more than double increasing from $14 in 1978 to $35 per barrel in 1981. The oil price rose to $20.45. In 1985, the...
Words: 3174 - Pages: 13
...Carlson Gerelus Professor Patel In to Sociology Film Analysis Media Influence We’ve likely to grown up thinking that the main stream media was our friend, the middle man that is always there when we need it. Faithfully provides us with information that is of common sense and natural judge for everything that matters. They’ve told what to eat, what to drink, how to eat, how to drink, what wear to, and what the standards of beauty should be and look like. The content that’s important, and a reliable guide to existence. As we’ve gotten older we have come to realize that this isn’t quite true as we would want it to be. For that we have to go in depth with what is wrong with the main stream media. From time to time, the greatest messages have been propagandized through the usage of movies and drama over the asphyxiation of motive and emotional sequences, disregarding any logical or factual sequences, thus having media outlets pushing emotional content to its viewers, distorting fantasy from reality. This content is necessary in the eyes of the distributor that is trying to get its consumers to do something or believe in the same ideology as the distributor would want them to believe in. Rather than go through a discussion or debate using logic and facts. Let’s take Fox News for example, a right wing news outlet that specializes in taking tender topics to the extremes to get its viewers hooked on its coverage for consumption, allowing one side of an argument to be seen but...
Words: 2228 - Pages: 9
...Iraq is the fourth leading oil producer in the world. It Produces 4,452,000 barrels per day. Iraq’s oil has been overall a curse for Iraq. This is true because of wars caused by War over oil, mismanagement and neglect caused by oil, climate change that ravaged the country, and erratic prices of oil which curtal’s development. I believe the claim that mismanagement being a human problem not an oil problem, to be silly. Like the Iraqi invasion of kuwait. In this war, Iraqis claimed that kuwait was pumping out their oil via slanted pipeline and invaded kuwait. The United states led a coalition formed against iraq to stop this invasion. Coalition Forces retook kuwait from the Iraqis who were committing war crimes against the local population and burning oil pumps as they retreated. US airstrikes were very devastating to Iraqi infrastructures. Many trucks and supplies were lost on the highway of death, which was a highway where many Iraqis retreated on. The Air Force attacked the highway causing many Iraqis to desert their trucks. The Army wanted to cripple their country in every way including their economy. This would make the country more susceptible...
Words: 714 - Pages: 3
